Personal Technology Information |
|
Cisco Certification: Building Your Home Lab, Part II
In the first part of this home lab tutorial, CCNA and CCNP candidates can see that there are a LOT of choices when it comes to what to buy to build your own Cisco practice lab. Having been there myself, I know itâ??s confusing to decide how many routers or switches to buy, and what I need at the minimum to run labs and get some great hands-on practice. Letâ??s take a look at some lab configurations and some other lab equipment you may need. A starter practice lab will consist of two Cisco routers and one switch, hopefully a 2950. This is a good way to get started. You will need to make sure that the routers you purchase have Ethernet ports, and at least one serial port. If possible, get routers with BRI ports, so even if youâ??re not configuring ISDN now, youâ??ll be able to in the future. (You will need one additional device to make ISDN work in your lab, and weâ??ll talk about that later in this article.) You can practice setting IP addresses and testing IP connectivity over the Ethernet interfaces, and you can configure a point-to-point connection between the two serial interfaces. (You must know how to do that before you think of taking the CCNA exams!) Depending on the switch, you can also get some practice putting the Ethernet ports in different VLANs and working with the switch IOS. This setup does have some limitations. You canâ??t practice trunking or Etherchannels with one switch, and you canâ??t set up a Frame Relay cloud with this configuration. Itâ??s a good start, but you should consider getting a few more routers, including one to serve as your Frame Relay switch. Whatâ??s a Frame Relay switch? Good question. The Frame Relay Switch As you know from your studies, Cisco routers are DTEs by default. The Frame Relay cloud is made up of DCEs. In a lab environment, you need a device to serve as the Frame Relay cloud. This device will have DCE interfaces, and will actually be performing frame relay switching. But this isnâ??t a switch in our lab â?" itâ??s a Cisco router. There are plenty of Cisco routers that make great frame relay switches. Get one of those and a couple of DCE/DTE cables, and you can configure the router as a frame relay switch and have your own working frame relay cloud in your lab! The Cisco router you choose as your frame relay switch should have at least four serial ports, and if you can get more, great. Itâ??s always good to have spare ports. If you get four Cisco routers, with one as your frame relay switch, you can set up a frame relay cloud and practice your hub-and-spoke frame configurations. Even better, as my labs do in my CCNA Study Guide, you can set up a frame relay cloud and a point-to-point Serial connection. This will help you get real hands-on practice with such features as EIGRP variance. With that four-router configuration and one switch, you can get some great hands-on experience with many CCNA features that many candidates just read about. If you can add a second 2950 switch, you can practice different spanning-tree configurations, such as changing the root bridge of a given VLAN, working with VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP), and configuring your own Etherchannel! (You will need some crossover cables to connect your two switches.) Letâ??s take a look at one more important piece of lab equipment: the ISDN simulator.You canâ??t just take a straight-through cable and connect your BRI interfaces directly. You need a device called an ISDN simulator to act as the phone company in your home network. The newer simulators let you set your own phone numbers and SPIDs; most older ones have a preset phone number and SPID that you must use. Either way, you get truly valuable experience getting hands-on work with ISDN, especially watching PAP and CHAP debugs and understanding the authentication process. ISDN simulators can set you back a few bucks. I recommend you visit www.ebay.com and search for â??ISDN simulatorâ??. There are generally 20 â?" 30 used ones on there at any given time. Be careful to purchase one with at least a 30-day guarantee. They are robust devices for the most part, as there is one in my home lab that Iâ??ve had for three years (when they were really expensive!), and itâ??s never given me a bit of trouble. There are many online vendors that will sell you a new one, but obviously the price is going to be higher. One company Iâ??ve had good experiences with is www.vconsole.com . Make sure to shop around, as there are plenty of ISDN simulator manufacturers out there on the web. Vconsole is the only one Iâ??ve purchased a new unit from, and the 10-port simulator I use in my classes has worked beautifully. There is another piece of lab equipment that isnâ??t necessary for your lab, but youâ??ll find life is a lot easier with it. And just as the frame relay switch is really a router, so is this device: the access server. Access servers are devices with an asynchronous port that an octal cable can connect to. What you do is connect your blue console cable (officially referred to as a â??rollover cableâ??) to the console port of your access server. You then take an octal cable, and connect one end of the cable to your Async port. The other end of the cable, as youâ??d expect from the name, consists of eight smaller RJ-45 connectors. Each one of those goes into the console port of one of your other lab devices, and you configure the access server to allow one-key access to each of the other devices in your practice lab. The configuration of the access server is a simple one, and Iâ??ll have an example of configuring your access server and frame relay switch up later today. Not everyone can start with a lab this size, so be careful when you buy your first routers. Make sure that theyâ??re not just giving you good practice now, but that they allow for future growth of your lab. As you add a frame relay switch, an ISDN simulator, and an access server, youâ??ll get the hands-on experience you need to be successful on the job, acquire the self-confidence and troubleshooting skills needed in the testing room and on the job, and to solve any simulator question on your CCNA and CCNP exams with ease. Have fun! Chris Bryant, CCIE (TM) #12933, has been active in the Cisco certification community for years. He has written several books that have helped CCNA candidates around the world achieve the coveted CCNA certification, including several concentrating on binary math conversions and subnetting questions that the average CCNA candidate will need to answer on their CCNA exams. He is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com) where he teaches affordable world-class CCNA courses via the Internet, and sells his popular Cisco certification books. Heâ??s proud to have helped CCNA candidates around the world achieve their career goals. Mr. Bryantâ??s books and courses are sold on his site, on eBay, and on several other major Cisco certification sites.
MORE RESOURCES: What I Got Wrong in a Decade of Predicting the Future of Tech The Wall Street Journal ‘Data is the new oil’: Virginia Tech professor wants to protect the personal data of marginalized communities WRIC ABC 8News Smartphones Can Now Last 7 Years. Here's How to Keep Them Working. The New York Times iPad Pro vs. MacBook: The Great Apple Laptop Trade-Off The Wall Street Journal Opinion | Technology Hates Me The New York Times In the City, Personal Safety Starts With Your Smartphone The Wall Street Journal Jonathan Haidt’s ‘The Anxious Generation’: Tech, Smartphones Cause Teen Anxiety The Wall Street Journal Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2024, From AI to EV - WSJ The Wall Street Journal Want to Get More Done? That Podcast in the Background Is Holding You Back The Wall Street Journal Apple's New iPad Pro vs. New iPad Air vs. iPad: Why Are There So Many? The Wall Street Journal How TikTok Is Wiring Gen Z's Money Brain The Wall Street Journal OpenAI Made AI Videos for Us. These Clips Are Good Enough to Freak Us Out. - WSJ The Wall Street Journal The Invisible $1.52 Trillion Problem: Clunky Old Software The Wall Street Journal After a Sugar High of Free Money, These Billion-Dollar Technologies Need a Nap The Wall Street Journal Huawei's latest smartphone mostly made in China The Register We Aren't Posting on Social Media as Much Anymore. Will We Ever? The Wall Street Journal The Tech to Help You Beat Your Tech Addictions The Wall Street Journal Tech Hubs Are Losing the Talent War to Everywhere Else The Wall Street Journal What Kind of Driver Will Your Kid Be? This Test Can Tell. The Wall Street Journal iPhone Fixes to Make if You're the Family IT Department This Year The Wall Street Journal AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile US fined $200M for selling off people's location info - The Register I Bought the World's Hottest High-Tech E-Bike. Then Its Maker Went Bankrupt. The Wall Street Journal Hands Off! With $3500 Headsets in the Wild, New Social Norms Apply The Wall Street Journal Apple's New Face Computer Is for Work The Wall Street Journal Schools Want to Ban Phones. Parents Say No. The Wall Street Journal Niklaus Wirth, Who Inspired a Generation of Computer Programmers, Dies at 89 The Wall Street Journal Vision Pro Review: Apple's First Headset Lacks Polish and Purpose The New York Times He Stole Hundreds of iPhones and Looted People's Life Savings. He Told Us How. The Wall Street Journal The Accounting Technology Lab Podcast: Personal Tech at CES 2024 CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Boys Are Struggling. It Can Take Coaches, Tutors and Thousands a Month to Fix That. The Wall Street Journal 12 Apps We Can't Stop Using, for Better or Worse The Wall Street Journal 100 Cool Tech Gadgets in 2024, According to a Tech Expert BestProducts.com Best Tech Gifts of 2023 to Buy This Holiday Season, an Updated List - WSJ The Wall Street Journal Yun-Hee Kim promoted to Tech Editor, Corporate and Personal Technology The Washington Post The Four Steps to Better Password Security The Wall Street Journal Testing Apple’s Vision Pro The New York Times Turn On Your iPhone's Stolen Device Protection Now to Secure Your Money and Photos in iOS 17.3 Update - WSJ The Wall Street Journal Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Use AI to See, Hear and Speak. What Are They Like? The New York Times Snapchat's Friend-Ranking Feature Adds to Teen Anxiety The Wall Street Journal A Pain-Free Way to Secure All Your Online Accounts The Wall Street Journal Is the $139 Amazon Prime Subscription Still Worth It? The Wall Street Journal The Apple Video Feature Awkwardly Crashing Your Meetings - WSJ The Wall Street Journal What if You Never Had to Charge Your Gadgets Again? The Wall Street Journal The most personal technology | Jul 22nd 2023 The Economist Quick Tips to Save Time on the Telephone The New York Times Apple’s iOS 17.3 Stolen Device Protection Update Aims to Stop iPhone Thieves The Wall Street Journal Don't rent out that container ship yet: CIOs and biz buyers view AI PCs with some caution The Register Do You Have Painful 'Tech Neck?' This Expert-Approved Gadget Might Help The Wall Street Journal The Most Important Tech Company You've Never Heard of Is a Major Reason Computers Keep Getting Faster The Wall Street Journal Faster, Beefier, Cheaper: The Next-Generation Electric Skateboards Have Arrived The Wall Street Journal Sluggish Wi-Fi? Weird Party Smells? 8 High-Tech Helpers for Harried Holiday Hosts The Wall Street Journal Meta Welcomes Headset War With Apple - WSJ The Wall Street Journal Meta and Google Are Betting on AI Voice Assistants. Will They Take Off? The New York Times Distracted, Forgetful and Hooked on Smartphones: Why More Women Are Being Diagnosed With ADHD The Wall Street Journal Yes, It's Rude to Use Your Laptop During Meetings—and More Tech Etiquette Rules You Might Be Breaking The Wall Street Journal Ten years ago Microsoft bought Nokia's phone unit – then killed it as a tax write-off The Register You're Brewing It Wrong: The Coffee-Making Myths That Might Be Holding You Back The Wall Street Journal How to Cut Down Your Screen Time but Still Get Stuff Done The New York Times Why Tech Companies Are Not Your Friends: Lessons From Roku The New York Times EU duties might not hold off flood of China EVs The Register BASICally still alive: Classic language celebrates 60 years with new code and old quirks The Register New Tech That Asks 'Are You Sure About Sending a Nude Photo?' The Wall Street Journal How to Make Your Phone Last Forever: 6 Simple Tips The Wall Street Journal |
RELATED ARTICLES
Buying a Personal Computer (PC) For many people the computer industry is a seeming unsolvable jungle filled with mysterious words. Here is a guide to help you understand the personal computer and to give you the information needed to make a shopping decision you can live with so you can enjoy your PC for years to come. Digital Cameras Ratings Abolish Camera Comparison Guesswork Digital cameras ratings are great tools for deciding which camera best fits your needs and budget. Digital camera reviews are often just the reviewer's opinion. A Beginners Guide to Avoiding Viruses "Aaaaaahhhhhh! I've been invaded by a virus!" Getting a virus means getting sick and no one in their right mind wants to be ill. Well, now that computers have become our close friends, it's a shock to learn that foreign bodies too can invade them with malicious intent. HTML Explained: Part 2 Get started creating web pages using text files and HTML code! This article is a continuation of HTML Explained: Part 1, which gives a general overview of HTML. Here, we're going to get into the nitty gritty of the code itself. Anti-Skip Protection on Mp3 Players There have been some questions on anti-skip protection on mp3 players due to the fact that some of them publish on the box in its feature list.You got to see what the storage of each player is to determine if it needs it or not:- Flash mp3 players have no moving parts at all, does not need nor have anti-skip protection. 7 Reasons NOT to Take Your Laptop on Holiday! Heading off on vacation soon?Then perhaps you're tempted to take your trusty laptop along for the trip.After all, you bought it for its mobility, and it's nice to stay in touch via email with your family and friends back home. Maintain Your Computer - Keep Your Business Running Maintaining your computer is extremely important -especially if you are an Internet Marketer. As youknow, without your computer, your business cancome to a screeching halt. Smart Apple iPod Tips and Techniques Are you thinking of buying an Apple iPod? Or have you bought one?Almost everyone and anyone that I know seems to have bought an iPod or at least is thinking of getting an ipod for themselves or their loved ones. The iPod is just so alluring! However, do you know what you should do after buying the iPod?Most people don't. Cisco Certification: What To Expect On Exam Day Cisco Certification: Taking Your First Certification ExamYou've studied hard; you've practiced your configurations; you've used your flash cards over and over again; and finally, the big day is here. Your first certification exam!For many Cisco certification candidates, their first exam is the CCNA Composite exam or one of the two exams that make up the CCNA, the Introduction To Networking exam or the ICND (Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices) exam. Home Video? Bring it On So you got yourself a digital camcorder. If you want to be able to edit and produce awesome home videos, you'll need some tools. Getting Started with HTML The basic language of the internet is html. If you can do crossword puzzles, if you can write a report for your teacher or boss, you can be creating web pages in a matter of minutes. Mail-merging: The Principles About mail-mergingMail-merging is the process of merging variable data and fixedtext.Using mail-merging, you can create individualised letters,envelopes, labels and other documents without having tolaboriously create each individual one. Keeping the Windows Registry Operational The registry is where the computer stores information about the configuration of the system and the programs installed so that the operating system can use them.Regularly maintaining the registry is a basic requirement. 15 Good Programming Habits 1. Before sitting down for coding, you must have formal or a paper-napkin design of the solution to be coded. JVCs First Three-Layer Combo-Disc Blu-Ray / DVD JVC developed and used a high-performance reflective film to produce this revolutionary three layer structure. The outer Blu-ray layer can be read by the blue light laser but it is transparent for the red light laser which therefore has access to the inner dual DVD layer. Three Things You Can Do to Keep Your Computer Running at Maximum Performance Although there are many things that can affect the performance of your computer, there are a few simply things you can do each month to help keep your computer running at maximum performance. This article will focus on two problems that impact the performance of your computer and will then explain what you can do about it. Digital Cameras + Photo Printers = Quality Instant Photographs In the 1950's and 1960's Polaroid's instant cameras were all the rage. You could shoot a picture and have the finished print in a minute or so. Your Computer Cant Keep Time A computer needs a certain amount of information to operate; for example, the date and time, the amount of memory installed, the number of drives and their configuration, and so on. In the early days of computers, either the user typed in this information each time the computer started, or it was set using DIP switches and jumpers. Basic Computer Thermodynamics That desk in front of you and everything else around you is made up of atoms. An atom consists of electrons orbiting around a nucleus. Ergonomics and Healthy Computing - Positioning Your Body For Maximum Comfort At Your Computer Do you remember the old saw about how computers would change our lives for the better? We'd have more time to ourselves and lead healthier, happier lives. The truth is computers do make processing information lightening fast. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |