Labs?

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Well, I did a little search on the forums for labs, and All this Cisco labs stuff comes up for the switches etc (Dont really need that yet)

But, To study for the A+ and Network+ do you think I would need say, one or two cheap pc's to play around with? I could probably E-Bay/Ask around for some PII's or something like that to network up and play around, I sorta know how to do it already, but do you think its best to have them, to be re-assured with the work?

 

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A couple of cheap PCs would be good for your lab but as far as networking goes, you'd still want to use a hub or switch so you can study for the Network+. You make it sound as if you are studying for the A+ and Network+ at the same time. Is this true?

 

No no, Just the Networking+ first as i said in my Hello post.

How much do you think a cheap hub would come at? Not a great deal I'd Imagine, Ill go have a quick look-see, Any Sites you reccomend for cheap lab equipment. And any ingenious Solutions to keep it all tidy?!

Edit: Wouldnt mind giving me a list of what would be in the Ideal Lab For such studys, in your opinion that is.

 

Well...I'd imagine eBay would be good for a cheap hub or switch. My first switch was an old 10 MB IBM. Everyone had long switched to 100 MB switches so a 10 MB only came cheap.

 

Well, I'de only really need a 10mb switch really, and only about 4-6 Ports anyway, Wouldnt be a mighty big lab (Oh but the appeal of all those wires and ports is so great)

As Christmas is coming soon, And I have the benifit of a Mother who gives me money for chirstmas, (And my Godfather for that matter) I should be able to have a Nice little lab running in Jan 06, Pending on what some sites/e-bay have

I do have a Zyxel 4 Port Router here, But I dont want to play around with that in a lab really, Tis the life line to my 2 Computers in this room. And my mother would throw a wobbler if she couldnt get on E-bay and check her e-mails.

 

Id go for a cisco switch from ebay for 2 reasons.

One, its what the world uses, so your skills will be immediately useful.
two, while being more complex (possibly) than a cheap switch, you'll learn so much more and it'll likely do much more than a generic simple switch..

just my 2 cents.

 

So, your suggesting to Go right for a Cisco switch. Blimey.

I suppose it would be a step in the right direction mind, I could get some slight practice on Cisco Qualifs Right out hehe

 

40 quid or so on ebay... job done! cisco is just a brand... don't be scared by brands!

 

OTOH a 4/5 port 100MB switch costs about £14 *new*.

IIRC N+ isn't interested in managed switches in the sense of how to configure them.

But of course a good switch could be used later on as your studies advance.

Harry.

 

A brand with a slight reputation?

What model Cisco would you recommend? Or just any Switch in perticular, (So far, the list is A Switch, and two old computers, Plenty of ethernet Cables lying around here somewhere too)

 

hbroomhall, yes any switch will do for the exam. I'm thinking real world though, and later if he wants to do a cisco cert, the switch helps.

10 quid versus 40... which is the better investment ?

Samuel, a Cisco Catalyst model would be excellent!

 

After a quick Visit to my IT Dept at school

I left with a Hewlett Parkard Advance Stack HP J2602A Switch, And a PII Tower unit (3Gb Hdd, Low spec all round, no problems running Win98 etc)

I must say, I dont know what im going to do with the 48 Ports I have now =) (Well Nothing until I can get a Serial cable to configure the thing, As its managed, No idea how to use it at the moment)

 

I take it security was a bit slack tonight then, Samuel ?

 

LMAO!

 

The switch may be managed but it will still perform like a basic switch. Plug it in and plug a couple of computers into it. Make sure the two computers are on the same subnet. They'll communicate.

 

So just plug some computers into a block of ports, set them all to the same subnet, and they sould communicate? Sweet.

So, No need to plug the Router into the Switch then? Would i just plug that in as i would a computer, Ide Imagine not.

By the way, My Network+ Book arrived today, Im on page 23 so far, Interesting stuff, Its getting hard to put down =)

The PII Computers also Hooked up to my Router now, Installed Debian from Floppy/Net, And set up sshd, Can connect to it now from my main workstation =) All fine and dandy, apart from the apparent lack of desk space

 

Sam I am impressed.

In case you hadn't noticed, our mate Clyde is an IT Trainer. He is wiser than he looks

The HP switch you purloined is good enough IMHO but your photographic technique sucks mate. The washing basket is in good focus though, were you going for an arty soft focus type shot

 

Heh, My Middle name is Clyde. Named after the Clint Eastwood monkey unfortunatly

I still hope to get a Cheap CISCO Router from Ebay to play around with anyho.

Oh yes I go for all the artzy fartzy Photography, Its a cheap digital camera anyway, it does the job

 

Well...you wouldn't need to use a router unless you wanted your lab network to communicate to another network such as the Internet. In the real world, you usually connect the switch to a router through a dedicated link however, in a home set up, you could get away with hooking your switch to your DSL or cable modem using a patch cable. That's how I'm networked at home.

 

After a Nice talk with Bluerinse, We sussed it. Its working brilliantly now.

Both PC's are plugged in Ports 1 and 2, Routers in Port 12, Connects to the internet just fine and both computers can communicate.

By Dedicated Line you mean Fibre etc?