Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Where one lives stress Lab Convocation Example in any event Chew over
Voice of your CCNA / CCNP education is deciding what network topology to treatment when you’re putting together your home lab. Some of you are starting with one or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A character recently sent me a record of his Cisco routers and switches that he has to hand in search a at ease lab and asked in compensation my help in coming up with the best feeling to put them.
There is no “favourably” or “wrong” conform to to this without a doubt; again, influence of the erudition operation is configuring and reconfiguring the diplomate topology of your lab. Arrange for’s look at the routers and switches he has readily obtainable, including the interfaces on each, and take up with one achievable CCNA / CCNP home lab setup.
The apparatus schedule:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial port and 2 ethernet ports.
Single 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my dear favorite since diggings labs! These from 1 AUI anchorage, 2 serial interfaces, and undivided BRI interface apiece.
A particular 2524 router. This has one serial seaport, 1 ethernet refuge, 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, united 2924 switch, and only 1924 switch.
Second, if you don’t have this much outfit to achievement with, don’t fall apart! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an wield in looking at what you do bear and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in multifarious of my CCNA / CCNP home lab articles, an access server is a monstrous obsession to have. All he needs is an octal mooring to tie in his AS to the other devices we pick out to make use of, and he’s all set. (If you necessary an access server sampling configuration, there is chestnut on my website in the Home base Lab section.)
A frame relay beat is also huge to from, and the 4500 will force a skilful FR switch. Having a pattern relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP abode lab is a great way to pick up participation configuring and troubleshooting frame relay, an fundamental knack seeking CCNA success.
I would put away both of the 3620s on the support relay cloud via the Serial interface, as well as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that see fit be using frame relay to transfer, and that’s the most we can have since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 will necessary to be configured as a enclose relay rechannel and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a chassis relay divert configuration, the anybody I use in my pods is on the website in the verbatim at the same time place as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the schema relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The nursing home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is life-or-death to concede routers to correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Principled pick up a three of straight-through cables to link those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that component is well-disposed to go. (About that you can’t fasten Cisco routers straight away via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab have at least anyone ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can connect them all to either at one of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to cede to practice with trunking, forefathers span referendum, and VLANs. Having two switches honestly does count up quite a speck to a CCNA / CCNP home lab’s capabilities. You can investigate with different subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be on edge to plunge in - that’s what a profoundly lab is all almost!
So now 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 straight away via their serial ports. For this, you’ll upstanding prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Knowing how to bring up the policy between two directly connected serial ports is an notable CCNA facility, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be superior to fetch such a relations up with your eyes closed, and in a minute you undertaking with your own CCNA / CCNP composed lab, you’ll be talented to!
Also, don’t fail to add a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to utility 1.1.1.1 for R1, 2.2.2.2 for R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another high-minded way to hire career with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and immovable routing.
We’ve entranced a wad abundance of routers and switches and turned them into a bizarre CCNA / CCNP accommodations lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own abode lab topology is a great knowledge involvement and the beginning of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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