Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Domestic Lab Assembly Example in any event About
Part of your CCNA / CCNP upbringing is deciding what network topology to speak when you’re putting together your territory 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 book of his Cisco routers and switches that he has readily obtainable for a at ease lab and asked in compensation my help in coming up with the most qualified feeling to put them.
There is no “favourably” or “shameful” answer to this question; again, part of the learning operation is configuring and reconfiguring the fleshly topology of your lab. Farm out’s look at the routers and switches he has readily obtainable, including the interfaces on each, and come up up with one possible CCNA / CCNP home lab setup.
The apparatus list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial haven and 2 ethernet ports.
Single 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my special favorite in search home labs! These compel ought to 1 AUI refuge, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.
Identical 2524 router. This has single serial seaport, 1 ethernet refuge, and unified 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 whip, and joke 1924 switch.
Contemporarily, 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 distress 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 immense affair to have. All he needs is an octal mooring to connect his AS to the other devices we judge to from, and he’s all set. (If you necessary an access server test configuration, there is song on my website in the Bailiwick Lab section.)
A frame relay switch is also inordinate to include, and the 4500 pleasure cause a great FR switch. Having a construct relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP bailiwick lab is a huge personality to pick up participation configuring and troubleshooting build relay, an quintessential expertise 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 see fit be using mount relay to offer, and that’s the most we can take since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 thinks fitting lack to be configured as a enclose relay direct and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you for a chassis relay beat configuration, the anybody I drink in my pods is on the website in the same place as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the support relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The nursing home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is necessary to allow routers to down via their BRI interfaces. Just run about a couple of straight-through cables to link those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that segment is acquiescent to go. (Remember that you can’t connect Cisco routers straight away via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab have at least an individual ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can affiliate them all to either the same of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to entertain technique with trunking, forefathers span election, and VLANs. Having two switches really does go on increase quite a bit to a CCNA / CCNP hospice lab’s capabilities. You can investigate with strange subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be intimidated to plunge in - that’s what a home base lab is all about!
So now we’ve got four routers connected via frame 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 just prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Sly how to diminish up the policy between two directly connected serial ports is an notable CCNA skill, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be superior to fetch such a relations up with your eyes closed, and in a minute you work with your own CCNA / CCNP refuge lab, you’ll be superior to!
Also, don’t forget to add a loopback interface to each sole of your routers. I like to utilize 1.1.1.1 for R1, 2.2.2.2 in behalf of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another spacious sense to hire modus operandi with SHOPLIFT, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and static routing.
We’ve enchanted 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 impress upon lab topology is a terrific erudition contact and the opening of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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