Advice on purchasing a small office Cisco ASA, Switch and Router

[RocknRollTim]

Hi all,

Not sure whether this is the right place to post this but I am wanting some advice on purchasing a small office Cisco ASA, Switch and Router in order to practice some CCNA labs, I preferably would like each device to be portable with the least number of ports and to be able to program most of the common commands using a terminal. Your help and suggestions would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

RocknRollTim

[Reza Sharifi]

Hi,

For CCNA you don't need a firewall unless you want to go for CCNA security.  As for routers and switches for lab, here is CCNA kit that comes with multiple switches and routers. You can also use the same kit for CCNP, CCDP and other certifications.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Cisco-CCNA-CCNP-Lab-Kit-/260830459465

HTH

[RocknRollTim]

Hi Reza Sharifi,

I was trying to refer to CCNA Security in order to incorporate a firewall in my labs, sorry for not being clear. I have had a look at the link you provided to me in your post regarding routers and switches and I feel the items would be too costly to import over to the UK plus I feel I wouldn't be able to store them due to the size, are there any routers and switches that are the size of the unified ones with the programmable aspects of the enterprise routers and switches using a terminal?

Kind regards,

RocknRollTim

[johnlloyd_13]

hi,

what CCNA are we talking about?

personally, i would go for an ASA 5505, 871w and either a 2960 8-port or a 3560 8-port.

[RocknRollTim]

Hi johnlloyd_13,

Sorry for not being clear, the CCNA I was trying to refer to was CCNA Security and thank you for your suggestions regarding ASA devices, I will have a look them and to consider which one to buy for my CCNA labs.

Regards,

RocknRollTim

[MitchellAxtell]

I am not sure what your budget is, but another option would be VIRL:  http://virl.cisco.com/

The benefit is that you would only need a server and a yearly subscription.  For instance, with 16GB RAM and 4 cores, you can run 3 CSRs, 2 virtual ASAs and 3 switches.  Firmware's free, you can simulate network traffic/packet loss, and you don't have to worry about the devices becoming out-of-date (ASA5505 is end-of-sale, and limited on feature set as an example).

[RocknRollTim]

Hi MitchellAxtell,

I have been reading your suggestion too and feel could be a possibility, my only quandary is will a host with 16GB be enough or would you say looking for a system towards 32GB to act as a host will be enough?

Kind regards,

RocknRollTim  

[MitchellAxtell]

It depends on how many devices you would like to run (and what type).  They have a resource calculator here: http://virl.cisco.com/resource/

More RAM is definitely better, I just picked 16GB as a reference point as that is quite inexpensive nowadays.

[RocknRollTim]

Thanks for getting back to me MitchellAxtell, I'll use the resource calculator to calculate the required hardware needed, thank you for your help.

Regards,

RocknRollTim

[Georg Pauwen]

Hello,

the usual route is to go to Ebay and search for 'CCNA lab kit'. Prices are usually reasonable.

Do you already have the Cisco Packet Tracer ? It is a free tool that allows you to simulate various setups, and lets you configure router, switches,and also the ASA5505. Here is the download link:

https://www.netacad.com/about-networking-academy/packet-tracer/

You need to sign up first, but it is free.

[RocknRollTim]

Hi gpauwen,

I'll have a search for CCNA lab kit on eBay and I do I have Cisco Packet Tracer, the only problem is that some of the commands I am wanting to use aren't available hence I was initially looking for a CCNA lab kit to purchase and to do my labs with.

Regards,

RocknRollTim