Part of your CCNA / CCNP training is deciding what network topology to use once you’re placing collectively your private home lab.  Some of you might be beginning with one or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more.  A buyer lately sent me an inventory of his Cisco routers and switches that he has available for a home lab and requested for my help in coming up with one of the simplest ways to make use of them.

There isn’t any “proper” or “incorrect” reply to this question; again, a part of the learning process is configuring and reconfiguring the physical topology of your lab.  Let’s look at the routers and switches he has obtainable, including the interfaces on each, and come up with one attainable CCNA / CCNP home lab setup.

The tools checklist:

Two 3620 routers.  Each has 1 serial port 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 for dwelling labs!  These have 1 AUI port, 2 serial interfaces, and one BRI interface apiece.

One 2524 router.  This has one serial port, 1 ethernet port, and one BRI interface.

One 4500 router.  This has eight BRI ports, 2 ethernet ports, and more importantly, 4 serial ports.

He additionally has a 5200 entry server, an ISDN simulator, one 2924 swap, and one 1924 switch.

Now, if you don’t have this a lot equipment to work with, do not panic!  Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is extra of an train in taking a look at what you do have and utilizing it to the utmost.

As I’ve mentioned in lots of my CCNA / CCNP residence lab articles, an entry server is a great factor to have.  All he needs is an octal cable to connect his AS to the opposite units we select to make use of, and he’s all set.  (When you want an entry server sample configuration, there is one on my web site in the Dwelling Lab section.)

A frame relay change is also nice to have, and the 4500 will make a fantastic FR switch.  Having a frame relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP home lab is an effective way to get experience configuring and troubleshooting body relay, a necessary talent for CCNA success.
Health Care (Places affected by Germs)
I would put both of the 3620s on the body relay cloud by way of the Serial interface, as well as of the 2503s.  That provides you 4 routers that will be using frame relay to communicate, and that’s essentially the most we will have because the 4500 has four serial ports.   The 4500 will must be configured as a body relay swap and related to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable.  (Once more, in the event you need a body relay swap configuration, the one I exploit in my pods is on the website in the identical place as the entry server configuration.)

The 2 2503s which are on the body relay cloud should also be connected through their BRI interfaces.  The house lab also consists of an ISDN simulator, which is important to allow routers to communicate via their BRI interfaces.  Just get a couple of straight-through cables to connect those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that section is able to go.  (Bear in mind that you would be able to’t connect Cisco routers immediately via their BRI interfaces.)

All of the routers on this lab have at the least one ethernet or AUI port, so we will connect them all to either one of the switches.  The switches must be connected through at the least crossover cables to permit apply with trunking, root bridge election, and VLANs.  Having two switches really does add quite a bit to a CCNA / CCNP home lab’s capabilities.  You can experiment with different subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be afraid to dive in – that’s what a house lab is all about!

So now we have four routers linked through frame relay, two by way of ISDN, and the others via ethernet segments.  Two of the routers that are not using their serial interfaces should be connected immediately via their serial ports.  For this, you will simply need another DTE/DCE cable.  Realizing the way to bring up the line between immediately connected serial ports is a vital CCNA ability, and so is troubleshooting it.  You should be capable of carry such a connection up along with your eyes closed, and once you work with your own CCNA / CCNP house lab, you’ll!

Additionally, do not forget to add a loopback interface to each one in all your routers.  I like to use 1.1.1.1 for R1, 2.2.2.2 for R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another great option to get follow with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and static routing.

We’ve taken a pile of routers and switches and turned them into a incredible CCNA / CCNP house lab.  Whether you’re working with two Cisco gadgets or ten, arising with your individual residence lab topology is a great learning experience and the beginning of creating your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
You can to  free translate  this page with free translation software