Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: To the quick Lab Flock Example in any event About
Region of your CCNA / CCNP cultivation is deciding what network topology to use when you’re putting together your territory lab. Some of you are starting with one or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A guy recently sent me a list of his Cisco routers and switches that he has available by reason of a retreat lab and asked after my steal in coming up with the best way to put them.
There is no “true” or “err” rebuttal to this without a doubt; again, fragment of the lore process is configuring and reconfiguring the specialist topology of your lab. Farm out’s look at the routers and switches he has within reach, including the interfaces on each, and meet up up with united credible CCNA / CCNP home lab setup.
The equipment list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial refuge and 2 ethernet ports.
One 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my personal favorite since stamping-ground labs! These from 1 AUI port, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.
Identical 2524 router. This has one serial mooring, 1 ethernet anchorage, and the same 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 alteration, and joke 1924 switch.
Contemporarily, if you don’t accept this much equipment to master-work with, don’t dismay! 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 to the heart lab articles, an access server is a skilful affair to have. All he needs is an octal cable to connect his AS to the other devices we choose to object, and he’s all set. (If you necessary an access server test configuration, there is harmonious on my website in the To the quick Lab section.)
A frame relay beat is also great to from, and the 4500 will make a skilful FR switch. Having a frame relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP home lab is a great character to pick up experience configuring and troubleshooting put together relay, an quintessential knack for CCNA success.
I would set forth both of the 3620s on the support relay cloud via the Serial interface, as obviously as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that resolve be using construct relay to transmit, and that’s the most we can take since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 on desideratum to be configured as a enclose relay direct and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a scaffolding relay birch configuration, the one I using in my pods is on the website in the same setting as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the attitude relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is inevitable to cede to routers to correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Impartial get a several of straight-through cables to link those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that segment is ready to go. (About that you can’t fasten Cisco routers straight away via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab arrange at least an individual ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can affiliate them all to either one of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow practice with trunking, destroy span referendum, and VLANs. Having two switches indeed does combine somewhat a jot to a CCNA / CCNP conversant with lab’s capabilities. You can policy test with contrastive subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be intimidated to nosedive in - that’s what a rest-home lab is all almost!
So right away 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. For the benefit of this, you’ll by a hair’s breadth dearth another DTE/DCE cable. Astute how to carry up the line of work between two directly connected serial ports is an important CCNA finesse, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be qualified to bring such a connection up with your eyes closed, and from time to time you undertaking with your own CCNA / CCNP cosy lab, you’ll be talented to!
Also, don’t forget to combine a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to utilize 1.1.1.1 in place of R1, 2.2.2.2 instead of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another spacious trail to receive modus operandi with DECEIVE, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and problems routing.
We’ve enchanted a heap of routers and switches and turned them into a illusive CCNA / CCNP accommodations lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own hospice lab topology is a great knowledge event and the start 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