From: christopher snow (cbsnow31@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Sep 17 2003 - 15:52:37 GMT-3
Although not an IE yet, I would argue that the 2500s
still have a huge value in a home lab. Now that one
can get them for $100 to $150 on Ebay, a decent home
lab can be built for $700 to $1000 (plus $1800 for a
3550, but that is needed regardless of the routers
chosen). A single 2621 would cost me $1200 alone
(w/no modules). And to be honest, a 2621 is not
sufficent either as one really needs a 2600XM chasis.
The core is the core and it is still the same. I have
spent the bulk of my study learning the ins and outs
of protocol functions, route redistribution, ISDN,
DLSW, NAT, VOIP, IP serivices blah, blah ... This is
where the bulk of the 100's of hours are spent
practicing. Once one knows the core cold, then move
onto the newer features of the 12.2T image. Since my
employer is a Gold partner, I am fortunate enough to
have access to Cisco racks with the latest and
greatest :-) None the less, I still rely on my home
lab the most. When I do use the newer routers, I have
found it the easiest to go to the software center on
CCO and compare the image features of say a 2651XM
12.2T image to a 4500-M /2500 12.2 image. Then I can
see the features that my home rack is incapable of
providing and simply study those topics individually.
But for the most part, the newer images mainly have a
few protocol enhancements and QOS bells and whistles
added (definatley not worth the 10k to 12k difference
in hardware needed to run it) Even if I had to pay
for online rack access, my study hours and out of
pocket cost would be much less after having a strong
core foundation that was built on a cheap rack of
2500s. However, with that said, if you are an online
rack provider as I know there are many here... paying
customers will expect a rack of the latest and
greatest. This is what will seperate the men from the
boys as it seems everyone with a terminal server and 6
routers now offers "CCIE rack access" Just my 2
cents....
Chris Snow
--- jadin_321@hotmail.com wrote:
> Not really my question.. I would like to here the
> opinion of other CCIE's as well. If one were to
> study on 7 2500 series routers, 2 2600 series
> routers with voip, 2 3550's and an isdn sim, (along
> with some time, for argument sake let's say a week,
> on an online lab for atm) is that equipment enough
> to pass the lab? If not then why? and how much is
> the cadidate missing by not having 2600 series
> routers exclusively.
>
> It just seems a bit much to have to buy seven 2600
> series routers along with everything else to pass
> the lab.
>
>
> >If you can pass the 12.2 Lab with that equipment,
> more power to you.
> >Everybody has their own way to prepare. How
> prepared do you want to be?
> >$1250.00 is a lot of money to throw away per
> attempt. Personally, I would
> >not be prepared with that list of equipmnent.
>
> >Tony Schaffran
> >Network Analyst
> >CCIE #11071
> >CCNP, CCNA, CCDA,
> >NNCDS, NNCSS, CNE, MCSE
> >
> >www.cconlinelabs.com
> >Your #1 choice for online Cisco rack rentals.
>
> ***Get your CCIE and a FREE vacation:
> Shop.GroupStudy.com***
>
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