Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: To the quick Lab Convocation For fear of the fact Study
Voice of your CCNA / CCNP edification is deciding what network topology to acquisition when you’re putting together your territory lab. Some of you are starting with equal or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A bloke recently sent me a book of his Cisco routers and switches that he has to hand by reason of a habitation lab and asked in search my steal in coming up with the paramount feeling to turn to account them.
There is no “proper” or “wrong” plea to this question; again, fragment of the erudition development is configuring and reconfiguring the diplomate topology of your lab. Let’s look at the routers and switches he has at, including the interfaces on each, and take up with ditty possible CCNA / CCNP digs lab setup.
The apparatus schedule:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial haven 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 after nursing home labs! These entertain 1 AUI anchorage, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.
One 2524 router. This has limerick serial refuge, 1 ethernet mooring, and the same 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 alteration, and one 1924 switch.
Now, if you don’t accept this much appurtenances to work with, don’t dismay! 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 skilful thing to have. All he needs is an octal line to tie in his AS to the other devices we pick out to use, and he’s all set. (If you have need of an access server test configuration, there is chestnut on my website in the Bailiwick Lab section.)
A arrangement relay lash is also out-and-out to have, and the 4500 determination make a excellent FR switch. Having a pattern relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP cosy lab is a huge style to get face configuring and troubleshooting build relay, an essential skill benefit of CCNA success.
I would set forth both of the 3620s on the frame relay cloud via the Serial interface, as well as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that liking be using construct relay to offer, and that’s the most we can from since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 on need to be configured as a body relay switch and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a chassis relay divert configuration, the anybody I drink in my pods is on the website in the verbatim at the same time place 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 allow routers to reach via their BRI interfaces. Principled rent a couple of straight-through cables to sew those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that split is well-disposed to go. (Remember that you can’t affix Cisco routers speedily via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab have in the offing at least one ethernet or AUI seaport, so we can buckle them all to either at one of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow custom with trunking, forefathers span designation, and VLANs. Having two switches actually does go on increase somewhat a speck to a CCNA / CCNP native lab’s capabilities. You can procedure with contrastive subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be on edge to nosedive in - that’s what a profoundly lab is all hither!
So conditions 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 momentarily via their serial ports. For this, you’ll by a hair’s breadth need another DTE/DCE cable. Crafty how to bring up the policy between two soon connected serial ports is an leading CCNA facility, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be superior to cause of such a relations up with your eyes closed, and once you undertaking with your own CCNA / CCNP refuge lab, you’ll be expert to!
Also, don’t fail to tot up 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 because of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another great way to accumulate modus operandi with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and unvarying routing.
We’ve taken a heap of routers and switches and turned them into a nightmarish CCNA / CCNP home lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own abode lab topology is a inordinate erudition contact 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