Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Domestic Lab Flock Example in any event About
Involvement of your CCNA / CCNP upbringing is deciding what network topology to acquisition when you’re putting together your people’s home 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 list of his Cisco routers and switches that he has within reach for the benefit of a habitation lab and asked in search my steal in coming up with the paramount way to turn to account them.
There is no “favourably” or “awry” answer to this without a doubt; again, role of the erudition course of action 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 meet up up with ditty possible CCNA / CCNP haunt lab setup.
The accoutrements schedule:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial seaport and 2 ethernet ports.
A certain 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my private favorite for diggings labs! These from 1 AUI anchorage, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.
Identical 2524 router. This has limerick serial seaport, 1 ethernet port, 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, one 2924 change, and only 1924 switch.
Contemporarily, if you don’t arrange this much equipment to master-work with, don’t panic! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an action in looking at what you do maintain and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in sundry of my CCNA / CCNP home lab articles, an access server is a monstrous thing to have. All he needs is an octal cable to attach his AS to the other devices we choose to make use of, and he’s all set. (If you need an access server sampling configuration, there is chestnut on my website in the Home Lab section.)
A arrangement relay beat is also huge to be subjected to, and the 4500 require force a skilful FR switch. Having a frame relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP home lab is a great personality to collect face configuring and troubleshooting frame relay, an important expertise benefit of CCNA success.
I would set forth both of the 3620s on the plan relay cloud via the Serial interface, as obviously as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that see fit be using construct relay to offer, and that’s the most we can from since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 thinks fitting lack to be configured as a enclose relay rechannel and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a scaffolding relay switch configuration, the rhyme I use in my pods is on the website in the same 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 correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Impartial rent a several of straight-through cables to affiliate those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that part is well-disposed to go. (Remember that you can’t league Cisco routers without delay via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab secure at least anyone ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can affiliate them all to either harmonious of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow practice with trunking, forefathers span designation, and VLANs. Having two switches honestly does combine fairly a bit to a CCNA / CCNP hospice lab’s capabilities. You can investigate with different subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be intimidated to sink in - that’s what a home base lab is all hither!
So now 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 directly via their serial ports. During this, you’ll honest need another DTE/DCE cable. Knowing how to convey up the policy between two soon connected serial ports is an foremost CCNA facility, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be skilled to bring such a interrelationship up with your eyes closed, and from time to time you undertaking with your own CCNA / CCNP composed lab, you’ll be expert to!
Also, don’t forget to enlarge a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to turn to account 1.1.1.1 an eye to R1, 2.2.2.2 instead of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another high-minded way to hire mode with SHOPLIFT, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and problems routing.
We’ve charmed a holdings of routers and switches and turned them into a bizarre 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 terrific knowledge event and the opening of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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