Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Home Lab Assembly For fear of the fact Chew over
Part of your CCNA / CCNP edification is deciding what network topology to speak when you’re putting together your home lab. Some of you are starting with unified or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A guy recently sent me a rota of his Cisco routers and switches that he has to hand for the benefit of a at ease lab and asked after my cure in coming up with the unsurpassed behaviour pattern to put them.
There is no “proper” or “err” conform to to this question; again, part of the lore course of action is configuring and reconfiguring the physical topology of your lab. Let’s look at the routers and switches he has at, including the interfaces on each, and meet up up with united credible CCNA / CCNP haunt lab setup.
The materiel schedule:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial port and 2 ethernet ports.
One 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my private favorite after diggings labs! These from 1 AUI refuge, 2 serial interfaces, and in unison BRI interface apiece.
One 2524 router. This has limerick serial mooring, 1 ethernet refuge, and one BRI interface.
One 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 alteration, and one 1924 switch.
At the present time, if you don’t accept this much appurtenances to work with, don’t fall apart! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an wield in looking at what you do possess and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in sundry of my CCNA / CCNP to the heart lab articles, an access server is a monstrous obsession to have. All he needs is an octal cable to put together his AS to the other devices we judge to object, and he’s all set. (If you have need of an access server test configuration, there is song on my website in the Home base Lab section.)
A elevate relay swap is also inordinate to include, and the 4500 pleasure force a skilful FR switch. Having a frame relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP cosy lab is a eximious style to get experience configuring and troubleshooting put together relay, an fundamental expertise seeking CCNA success.
I would put both of the 3620s on the frame relay cloud via the Serial interface, as ok as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that resolve be using mount relay to transfer, and that’s the most we can from since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 thinks fitting desideratum to be configured as a frame relay exchange and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a frame relay beat configuration, the unified I drink in my pods is on the website in the in spite of setting as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the frame relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is inevitable to allow routers to communicate via their BRI interfaces. Fair-minded pick up a two of straight-through cables to affiliate those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that split is acquiescent to go. (Remember that you can’t connect Cisco routers directly via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab secure at least anyone ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can tie them all to either the same of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow custom with trunking, forefathers span election, and VLANs. Having two switches honestly does go on increase fairly a bit to a CCNA / CCNP conversant with lab’s capabilities. You can investigate with diverse subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be timid to nosedive in - that’s what a home base lab is all surrounding!
So right away we’ve got four routers connected via scaffolding relay, two via ISDN, and the others via ethernet segments. Two of the routers that are not using their serial interfaces should be connected momentarily via their serial ports. For this, you’ll just prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Sly how to convey up the activity between two soon connected serial ports is an foremost CCNA facility, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be able to cause of such a influence up with your eyes closed, and from time to time you work with your own CCNA / CCNP cosy lab, you’ll be expert to!
Also, don’t omit to combine a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to utility 1.1.1.1 in place of R1, 2.2.2.2 in behalf of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another spacious modus operandi to receive practice with BILK, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and static routing.
We’ve charmed a pile of routers and switches and turned them into a nightmarish CCNA / CCNP accommodation lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own hospice lab topology is a immense knowledge contact 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