any cisco accosiates/pro here?

[aBattleBorn]

hello guys,first of all let me apologize for my English.

so i have a question for all of you guys with networking home lab,i want to build my self my own home lab,if any of you guys have any tips how can i get some networking equipment for cheap i will be happy to hear it, i already got my self a cisco 1841 router for nothing(literally) but i still want to get a few switches and another router.

thanks in advance and have a good one.

[Oshino Shinobu]

eBay is your friend here. There's always a bunch of Cisco bundles using old 10/100 equipment. You can get a couple of routers, a firewall and some switches with the required cables for £100 quite often. 

 

That said, you could also use Packet Tracer to virtualise pretty much everything you can do with the physical equipment. 

[Lurick]

11 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

eBay is your friend here. There's always a bunch of Cisco bundles using old 10/100 equipment. You can get a couple of routers, a firewall and some switches with the required cables for £100 quite often. 

 

That said, you could also use Packet Tracer to virtualise pretty much everything you can do with the physical equipment. 

Agreed. Anything for most CCNA/CCNP studies can be gotten for pretty cheap from ebay or similar.

Packet Tracer isn't bad, GNS3 is pretty good, and VIRL is another option as well for virtualization to reduce equipment footprints.

[mynameisjuan]

Here is my post from another thread:

Quote

Honestly the best way to get into network and grasp it quickly is Packet Tracer. People here will fight against it but it's a solid beginner tool.

It's an simulation that allows you to lab multiple types of devices, routers, switches, PC, servers....without having to purchase equipment you really won't use outside a lab. There is a point where a physical lab needs multiple devices/host to test certain protocols.

 

Also compared to real hardware, PT is pretty limited in the scope of things, which for new comers is great and is less intimidating than the first time you ? And see 100+ submenus. It leads you down a focused foundation path.

 

The best and most important feature however is simulation mode where it will show you a packet traveling through the network with the decision process at every hop. It tells you why it's doing what it's doing.

 

After you get comfortable you can move on to EVE-NG and virl images where you can emulate real hardware. I just don't recommend it as a start because there is a ton of information in networking and the key is to not get overwhelmed or side tracked.

 

Hardware for lab purposes are indeed a waste of money at this point unless you can find a use for it at home afterwards. Mine and others CCIE studies are all virtual for a reason.

 

1. Go Packet Tracer - honestly you can use even for the current CCNP

2. Get VIRL images and use EVE-NG for more real world labbing

[aBattleBorn]

On 11/14/2019 at 10:36 PM, Oshino Shinobu said:

eBay is your friend here. There's always a bunch of Cisco bundles using old 10/100 equipment. You can get a couple of routers, a firewall and some switches with the required cables for £100 quite often. 

 

That said, you could also use Packet Tracer to virtualise pretty much everything you can do with the physical equipment. 

 

On 11/14/2019 at 10:49 PM, Lurick said:

Agreed. Anything for most CCNA/CCNP studies can be gotten for pretty cheap from ebay or similar.

Packet Tracer isn't bad, GNS3 is pretty good, and VIRL is another option as well for virtualization to reduce equipment footprints.

ill keep searching because for now i found a lot of things from the us which is like 100$ for the switch and another 100 for shipping,which is a little too much imo.

On 11/15/2019 at 1:22 AM, mynameisjuan said:

Here is my post from another thread:

 

1. Go Packet Tracer - honestly you can use even for the current CCNP

2. Get VIRL images and use EVE-NG for more real world labbing

so you reccomend against bulding home lab?

 

 

thanks for all of your response

[sphbecker]

I have some old Cisco gear in a closet that I rescued from a trash pile a few years ago. I had been meaning to sell it on eBay but never took the time to listed it. I will PM you what I have tonight and see if you are interested. Its mostly 891 routers, so not as powerful as a 1841, but probably just as good for a lab.