CCNA Practical Studies book

[Clay Plaga]

I'd like to purchase the CCNA Practical sudies book so I can practice the different excersises.

This is the book:

http://www.ciscopress.com/store/ccna-practical-studies-9781587200465?w_ptgrevartcl=CCNA+Practical+Studies%3a+Gaining+Access+to+Routers+and+Switches_27650

This is one of the excersises I'd to work on:

http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=27650

My question is, can I practice these excersises from Packet Tracer, because I don't have any of the real hardware the book refers to?

Thank You.

[Marvin Rhoads]

Rudia,

Folks without access to any lab devices typically use the free router simulator GNS3 to practice with.

http://www.gns3.net/

Hope this helps.

[Clay Plaga]

Thank you very much for the information. Where can I obtain a copy of  the Cisco operating system?

[Marvin Rhoads]

Although GNS3 is open source, Cisco IOS is not. You need to have a copy obtained by legitimate means to use. Please refer to this atricle on Cisco Learning Network which suggests your local Cisco SE (Systems Engineer).

Cisco themselves are soon releasing VIRL (Virtual Internet Router Lab) for free public use. See this atricle. It was demo'd at Cisco Live! in Orlando last month but looks like it's not quite out yet. (January 2014 according to this blog post.) It will include the necessary IOS built into the simulated routers.

[Clay Plaga]

Thanks again for your help. I think what your saying is this:

1. Download & install GNS3

2.Download & install the IOS unpack utillity

3.Obtain a copy of cisco IOS for the specific hardware unit I want to use(for example, Catalyst 2800-S).

If this is correct, I found a page with some ISO's, and I'm going to try the ISO 26xx, and see if I can get it to work.

http://startccna.blogspot.com/2012/11/download-cisco-ios-124.html

Is there ant other information I need to get started?

I'm attending Cisco networking academy here in NYC, so I have packet tracer which I use for practice. Should I just wait until Cisco releases the VIRL?

Thank You

[Richard Primm]

Rudia,

I would highly recommend Packet Tracer. Its a great piece of software that has come along way in the past few years.  You can download pre-built topologies all over the Internet and also custom build your own.  GNS3 is also a great supplement, but the "switching" side can be a little tricky, so I would recommend using both applications in tandem. 

GNS3

http://www.gns3.net

You might see this thread for PT labs and info

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/thread/4933