Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: To the quick Lab Convocation Example in any event Con
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 unified or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A bloke recently sent me a rota of his Cisco routers and switches that he has to hand by reason of a retreat lab and asked in search my steal in coming up with the best behaviour pattern to put them.
There is no “favourably” or “err” answer to this theme; again, part of the erudition operation is configuring and reconfiguring the fleshly topology of your lab. Disenchant’s look at the routers and switches he has available, including the interfaces on each, and come up up with entire workable CCNA / CCNP haunt lab setup.
The accoutrements list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial refuge and 2 ethernet ports.
At one 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my special favorite for stamping-ground labs! These entertain 1 AUI refuge, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.
Identical 2524 router. This has one serial mooring, 1 ethernet anchorage, and bromide 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, lone 2924 switch, and a particular 1924 switch.
Now, if you don’t accept this much gear to achievement with, don’t dismay! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an exercise in looking at what you do possess and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in sundry of my CCNA / CCNP residency lab articles, an access server is a immense affair to have. All he needs is an octal radiogram to put together his AS to the other devices we judge to use, and he’s all set. (If you necessary an access server sampling configuration, there is song on my website in the Home Lab section.)
A arrangement relay switch is also inordinate to include, and the 4500 pleasure cause a skilful FR switch. Having a pattern relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP abode lab is a great style to collect experience configuring and troubleshooting put together relay, an important knack benefit of 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 liking be using frame relay to transmit, and that’s the most we can obtain since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 will desideratum to be configured as a body relay exchange and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a edging relay beat configuration, the rhyme I using 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 necessary to consider routers to correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Fair-minded run about a three of straight-through cables to sew those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that component is well-disposed to go. (Recall that you can’t league Cisco routers straight away via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab secure at least an individual ethernet or AUI refuge, so we can tie them all to either harmonious of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow custom with trunking, root span referendum, and VLANs. Having two switches honestly does combine somewhat a bit to a CCNA / CCNP conversant with lab’s capabilities. You can procedure with different subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be on edge to nosedive in - that’s what a home base lab is all hither!
So conditions we’ve got four routers connected via edging 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 upstanding need another DTE/DCE cable. Sly how to convey up the line of work between two promptly connected serial ports is an foremost CCNA skill, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be skilled to cause of such a interrelationship up with your eyes closed, and directly you position with your own CCNA / CCNP composed lab, you’ll be talented to!
Also, don’t fail to combine a loopback interface to each one of your routers. I like to turn to account 1.1.1.1 in behalf of R1, 2.2.2.2 instead of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another spacious sense to hire career with SHOPLIFT, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and problems routing.
We’ve taken a wad abundance of routers and switches and turned them into a nightmarish CCNA / CCNP accommodations lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own hospice lab topology is a immense learning experience and the beginning of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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