While this is a good idea, keep a few things in mind when purchasing Cisco home lab kits.

Don’t buy anything you don’t need.  The problem is that when you’re first starting out with your Cisco home lab, you don’t know everything that you need.   (I sure didn’t!)  Keep in mind that you only need one transceiver per AUI port on a Cisco router, so if you’re getting routers with two AUI ports in all, you don’t need five transceivers in the kit.  It doesn’t hurt to have one spare, but three is a little too much.

More importantly, don’t buy kits with old CCNA or CCNP study guides included.  I’ve seen kits with books that were three years old and were of no use to the candidate.  If you see a kit that looks good but includes books or manuals you just don’t want, ask the vendor for a price that doesn’t include the books.  It never hurts to ask.

Watch the IOS version.  Unless you’ve got access to IOS upgrades, you’ll be working with the IOS version that’s on the routers and switches when you buy the kit for a while.  You don’t necessarily need the latest and greatest IOS version for CCNA study, but don’t buy routers with IOS versions beginning with “10″ unless you have an IOS to upgrade them with. (And make sure the routers have enough memory to handle the IOS you plan on putting on them.)

Purchasing a Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab is one of the best investments in your career that you will ever make.  Exercise just a bit of caution when purchasing your kit, and you’ll be on your way to true Cisco success, in the exam room and on your network!

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Of course, the internet being what it is, there are always going to be a few people looking to take your money while shipping you inferior merchandise, or worse, no merchandise at all.  While these “dealers” are in the minority, you still need to be careful when purchasing Cisco equipment on ebay.  In this article, I’ll give you several tips on browsing ebay ads for home lab ideas, and a few things to look out for when purchasing equipment on ebay.
For those of you just starting your Cisco certification pursuit, the idea of purchasing a home lab kit — a set of routers, switches, and perhaps some cables and study guides — seems like a good idea.  Instead of putting your lab together one piece at a time, these kits allow you to get a head start on your studies.

One thing to watch out for in these kits is outdated equipment, or the inclusion of outdated study guides.  Often, vendors will use these kits as a way to get rid of unwanted inventory.

The Cisco 1900 family of switches falls into this category.  A recent search on ebay for “ccna lab” showed seven different CCNA lab kits that contained 1900 switches.  The problem here is that the current CCNA exams do not test on the 1900 switches, which are menu-driven and do not have an IOS.  You’ll need to be well-versed with switches that do have an IOS, such as the 2950s.

The plus side here is that you will probably save money by using 1900 switches.  If you’re on a tight budget, having a 1900 switch is better than no switch at all.  If at all possible, though, get a Cisco switch with an IOS.
The cables and transceivers included with these kits are generally exactly what you need to set up that particular kit, and this can be very helpful to those CCNA candidates who are new to the various cables needed to physically configure a home lab.  Just make sure you’re not buying a kit with 10 transceivers (used on AUI ports) when you’ve only got two routers with Ethernet ports.

Watch out for kits that include outdated study guides.  I’ve seen four-year-old CCNA books included with some kits.  If you already have your study guides, feel free to ask the vendor how much the kit costs without the books.
That leads me to the most important point.  Get to know the vendor before buying anything.  Visit their website and check their ebay feedback.  If buying from an individual as opposed to a reseller, find out what conditions the router or switch has been kept in, and make sure to define the terms under which they will accept returns.

There’s nothing wrong with buying equipment from someone who’s selling their CCNA/CCNP/CCIE home lab, but just make sure you ask the right questions first.  Professional resellers generally have their return policy right in their ebay ad; if they don’t, ask for a copy.

Building your own CCNA and/or CCNP home lab is a little intimidating at first, but speaking as someone who has climbed the Cisco certification ladder from the CCNA to the CCIE, I can tell you that it is the best investment you can make in your career.  Use a little caution, ask the right question, and soon you’ll be leaving the world of “router simulators” behind – and you’ll be developing your skills as a true professional should:  On real Cisco routers and switches!

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I get hundreds of emails every month from CCNA and CCNP candidate who are putting together their first lab or adding to their existing one.  I’m always glad to help with suggestions, and I thought I’d list five common questions regarding home labs here.

Do I have to spend thousands of dollars?

No!   There are vendors all over the web, as well as on ebay, who sell used Cisco routers and switches to Cisco exam candidates like you every single day.  They sell kits that consist of multiple routers and switches, as well as single routers and switches.  You can add one piece at a time, or make a larger investment.  You can spend just a few hundred dollars and put together a very nice lab.

What’s an “access server”?

It’s not what it sounds like.  When I first heard the term, I thought of a typical server like we see in LANs every single day.  An access server is actually a Cisco router that allows you to connect to multiple other routers and switches without continually moving the rolled cable around.

You don’t have to have an access server right away, but once you add a few more routers and switches to your lab, you’ll get tired of moving the rollover cable from console port to console port.  (The console port is used to directly connect your PC to the router.)   You’ll find an access server is easy to set up and configure, and will save you quite a bit of time.

What’s a “frame relay switch”?

Again, it’s not quite what it sounds like.  A frame relay switch is not a switch; it’s a Cisco router that has been configured to serve as a frame relay provider in your home lab.

This is very close to being a “must” for your home lab.  You don’t need it right away if your budget allows for only one or two routers to get started.  To truly practice frame relay map statements and see the effect of different frame relay statements, you’ll need a Cisco router to serve as a frame switch.  Again, the configuration is easy, and having a frame relay switch in your home lab will give you practice that will be invaluable on exam day.

Do I need a switch?  What switch should I buy?

I recommend you get at least one switch in your lab; two if your budget allows.  Make sure that at least one of your switches has an IOS; 1900 switches do not have an IOS and while they’re better than not having a switch, they’re not going to give you the practice you need to pass the CCNA and CCNP.  Look to the 2500 family of switches.

I want to build my CCNP lab and then use it for the CCIE.  What should I buy?

It’s impossible to tell what technologies and devices will be on the CCIE lab, even if you zip through the CCNP and then take the IE within six months.  Cisco refreshing the CCIE lab blueprint every six months, and different technologies can be taken off the lab.  While Cisco gives plenty of notice that these changes are going to take effect, it can be a big pain in your wallet if Cisco takes something off of the exam after you spend a bundle to add it to your lab.

As an example, Cisco is in the process of removing ISDN and ATM from the CCIE Routing & Switching lab.  If you bought an ATM switch for your lab, you’ve got an expensive paperweight right now.  While you may be able to practice your core protocols on a CCIE home lab, it’s going to be difficult and expensive to keep your home lab totally current with the Cisco lab blueprint.

The decision to put together your own CCNA or CCNP home lab is the best decision you can ever make – and I speak from experience.  With home labs becoming less expensive every day, it’s becoming more affordable as well.  Start looking into used Cisco router vendors today (ebay is a great place to find some vendors, as is Google), and you can be practicing on REAL Cisco routers and switches soon – and be totally prepared for CCNA and CCNP exam success.

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There are some commands you can configure on your lab routers that won’t necessarily be on your CCNA or CCNP exams, but they will make life a lot easier for you.  Let’s take a look at just a few of these.

The command “no exec” is short, yet powerful.  Occasionally you’ll have what is referred to as a “rogue EXEC” process tie up a line, and you end up having to continually clear lines, which disrupts your practice.  If you have an access server, I highly recommend you configure this command on your lines, as shown here:

ACCESS_SERVER(con)#line 1 8

ACCESS_SERVER(con)#no exec

From your CCNA studies, you know that the command “no ip domain-lookup” prevents a Cisco router from sending a broadcast to find a DNS server anytime you enter something that is not an IOS command – and that includes mistyped commands, which happens to all of us sooner or later.  Make sure to run that command in global configuration mode on all your practice routers.

There are two commands I like to configure on the console line on all my practice routers and switches.  The first is “exec-timeout 0 0″, which prevents you from being kicked out of enable mode and back into user exec after a few minutes of inactivity.  (This doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll get pretty tired of typing “enable” after a while.)  The first zero refers to minutes, the second zero to seconds.  Setting them both to zero disables the exec-timeout function.

The second command prevents the router from interrupting the command you’re typing with a console message.  If you’ve ever been in the middle of typing a router command and suddenly you’re interrupted with a logging message, you know that can be pretty annoying.  We don’t want the router to not display the message, but we do want the router to wait until we’re done entering data.  The command to perform this is “logging synchronous”.

R1(config)#line console 0

R1(config-line)#exec-timeout 0 0

R1(config-line)#logging synchronous

You won’t see many of these commands on your exams, but after you configure them on your home lab devices, you’ll wonder how you did without them!

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There are some commands you can configure on your lab routers that won’t necessarily be on your CCNA or CCNP exams, but they will make life a lot easier for you.  Let’s take a look at just a few of these.

The command “no exec” is short, yet powerful.  Occasionally you’ll have what is referred to as a “rogue EXEC” process tie up a line, and you end up having to continually clear lines, which disrupts your practice.  If you have an access server, I highly recommend you configure this command on your lines, as shown here:

ACCESS_SERVER(con)#line 1 8

ACCESS_SERVER(con)#no exec

From your CCNA studies, you know that the command “no ip domain-lookup” prevents a Cisco router from sending a broadcast to find a DNS server anytime you enter something that is not an IOS command – and that includes mistyped commands, which happens to all of us sooner or later.  Make sure to run that command in global configuration mode on all your practice routers.

There are two commands I like to configure on the console line on all my practice routers and switches.  The first is “exec-timeout 0 0″, which prevents you from being kicked out of enable mode and back into user exec after a few minutes of inactivity.  (This doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll get pretty tired of typing “enable” after a while.)  The first zero refers to minutes, the second zero to seconds.  Setting them both to zero disables the exec-timeout function.

The second command prevents the router from interrupting the command you’re typing with a console message.  If you’ve ever been in the middle of typing a router command and suddenly you’re interrupted with a logging message, you know that can be pretty annoying.  We don’t want the router to not display the message, but we do want the router to wait until we’re done entering data.  The command to perform this is “logging synchronous”.

R1(config)#line console 0

R1(config-line)#exec-timeout 0 0

R1(config-line)#logging synchronous

You won’t see many of these commands on your exams, but after you configure them on your home lab devices, you’ll wonder how you did without them!

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