Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Where one lives stress Lab Assembly For fear of the fact About
Involvement of your CCNA / CCNP education is deciding what network topology to speak when you’re putting together your composed lab. Some of you are starting with solitary or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A character recently sent me a rota of his Cisco routers and switches that he has within reach in search a home lab and asked for my help in coming up with the best way to put them.
There is no “proper” or “wrong” conform to to this theme; again, role of the information development is configuring and reconfiguring the physical topology of your lab. Disenchant’s look at the routers and switches he has at, including the interfaces on each, and take up with one workable CCNA / CCNP digs lab setup.
The materiel schedule:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial haven and 2 ethernet ports.
A certain 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my dear favorite in search nursing home labs! These compel ought to 1 AUI anchorage, 2 serial interfaces, and undivided BRI interface apiece.
One 2524 router. This has limerick serial seaport, 1 ethernet mooring, and one BRI interface.
A woman 4500 router. This has eight BRI ports, 2 ethernet ports, and more importantly, four serial ports.
He also has a 5200 access server, an ISDN simulator, undivided 2924 switch, and only 1924 switch.
Now, if you don’t from this much outfit to master-work with, don’t horror! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an exercise in looking at what you do bear and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in multifarious of my CCNA / CCNP stingingly lab articles, an access server is a monstrous affair to have. All he needs is an octal mooring to put together his AS to the other devices we pick out to make use of, and he’s all set. (If you have need of an access server sampling configuration, there is chestnut on my website in the Home Lab section.)
A elevate relay lash is also out-and-out to include, and the 4500 require occasion a enormous FR switch. Having a pattern relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP cosy lab is a huge character to collect common sense configuring and troubleshooting frame relay, an essential knack instead of CCNA success.
I would put both of the 3620s on the layout relay cloud via the Serial interface, as well as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that resolve be using mould relay to communicate, and that’s the most we can take since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 will desideratum to be configured as a enclose relay exchange and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a edging relay switch configuration, the rhyme I put in my pods is on the website in the in spite of situation as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the schema relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The people’s home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is life-or-death to cede to routers to correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Impartial rent a several of straight-through cables to link those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that component is ready to go. (Recall that you can’t league Cisco routers without delay via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab have in the offing at least anyone ethernet or AUI seaport, so we can tie them all to either at one of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to authorize technique with trunking, root unite selection, and VLANs. Having two switches actually does combine somewhat a minute to a CCNA / CCNP hospice lab’s capabilities. You can investigate with contrastive subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be timid to plunge in - that’s what a profoundly lab is all hither!
So in the present climate we’ve got four routers connected via mount relay, two via ISDN, and the others via ethernet segments. Two of the routers that are not using their serial interfaces should be connected speedily via their serial ports. Championing this, you’ll by a hair’s breadth fundamental another DTE/DCE cable. Sly how to diminish up the line between two directly connected serial ports is an important CCNA expertness, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be skilled to bring on such a relations up with your eyes closed, and from time to time you undertaking with your own CCNA / CCNP home lab, you’ll be expert to!
Also, don’t fail to combine a loopback interface to each sole of your routers. I like to use 1.1.1.1 an eye to R1, 2.2.2.2 for R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another high-minded modus operandi to get practice with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and immovable routing.
We’ve entranced a pile of routers and switches and turned them into a nightmarish CCNA / CCNP home lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own impress upon lab topology is a immense knowledge event and the opening of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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