Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: To the quick Lab Convocation Case About
Involvement of your CCNA / CCNP edification is deciding what network topology to speak when you’re putting together your territory lab. Some of you are starting with unified or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A bloke recently sent me a list of his Cisco routers and switches that he has readily obtainable in search a habitation lab and asked after my help in coming up with the best feeling to put them.
There is no “favourably” or “wrong” answer to this theme; again, part of the erudition course of action is configuring and reconfiguring the fleshly topology of your lab. Let’s look at the routers and switches he has at, including the interfaces on each, and come up with united possible CCNA / CCNP haunt lab setup.
The materiel shopping list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial refuge and 2 ethernet ports.
Single 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my private favorite in search nursing home labs! These from 1 AUI anchorage, 2 serial interfaces, and single BRI interface apiece.
Identical 2524 router. This has one serial refuge, 1 ethernet refuge, and the same BRI interface.
Limerick 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, one 2924 switch, and joke 1924 switch.
Second, if you don’t accept this much appurtenances to master-work with, don’t panic! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an distress in looking at what you do have and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in many of my CCNA / CCNP home lab articles, an access server is a great id‚e fixe to have. All he needs is an octal cable to tie in his AS to the other devices we decide to use, and he’s all set. (If you need an access server sample configuration, there is one on my website in the To the quick Lab section.)
A system relay switch is also huge to from, and the 4500 determination force a great FR switch. Having a pattern relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP bailiwick lab is a eximious style to get common sense configuring and troubleshooting fabric relay, an essential artistry benefit of CCNA success.
I would set forth both of the 3620s on the support relay cloud via the Serial interface, as ok as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that liking be using construct relay to offer, and that’s the most we can obtain since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 devise desideratum to be configured as a frame relay rechannel and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a edging relay divert configuration, the one I using 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 tellingly lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is necessary to cede to routers to down via their BRI interfaces. Impartial pick up a several of straight-through cables to sew those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that component is ready to go. (Remember that you can’t affix Cisco routers directly via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab arrange at least unified ethernet or AUI seaport, so we can connect them all to either the same of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to authorize custom with trunking, root bridge referendum, and VLANs. Having two switches really does go on increase somewhat a speck to a CCNA / CCNP native lab’s capabilities. You can procedure with strange subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be intimidated to sink in - that’s what a profoundly lab is all about!
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. During this, you’ll by a hair’s breadth prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Knowing how to convey up the activity between two unswervingly connected serial ports is an notable CCNA skill, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be skilled to fetch such a relations up with your eyes closed, and in a minute you work with your own CCNA / CCNP home lab, you’ll be expert to!
Also, don’t lose to enlarge a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to turn to account 1.1.1.1 for R1, 2.2.2.2 because of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another great way to get career with DECEIVE, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and immovable routing.
We’ve entranced a pile of routers and switches and turned them into a nightmarish CCNA / CCNP conversant with lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own abode lab topology is a great lore experience and the origin of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
Tags: access, bri, ccna, ccnp, crossover, dte/dce, ethernet, exam, frame, free, home, icnd, interface, intro, isdn, lab, loopback, network, pass, relay, router, serial, server, setup, simulator, switch, topology, tutorial