Hi all, long time reader (lurker!?) , first time contributor. My perspective on acquiring a great set of lab gear has changed in the past year. I was once set on building my lab, picked up a few routers and 3550's, which was all I could afford. It felt like a losing battle and a big money sink. My advice would be save your money and go for the training. Combine low cost resources such as Cisco Press books, and cbt's such as cbtnug or Bryant with some high quality training like ipexperts, especially an in-person boot camp with someone like Marco.
I would have to say my view on lab gear changed when I landed my first bona fide network engineer job last year and finally have the opportunity to work on a huge variety of equipment. I deal with new and old equipment, technology, and everything in between. So, although it's a production environment (no breaky!) real world experience is a great supplements to learning, especially if you have great senior level mentors. I am in the midst of studying for the CCNP switch exam, then tshoot. Once done I'll be exploring the next stage of expert training. Even without the real world exp, i would still avoid dumping cash into your own cisco inventory. If you must have the hands-on feel, i would say pick up a lower end switch to get familiarized. Bevshre to exhaust every other resource out there before deciding to spend over $2000. Hope this helps, Paul On Jun 9, 2012 1:53 PM, "Abel ..." <[email protected]> wrote: > LoL! > > On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 11:12 AM, marc abel <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Well judging by the way the other tracks are going you will probably need > > Nexus 7K's and ASR9000's for version 5. > > > > On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 9:36 AM, Tony Singh <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Marc / Jay / all > > > > > > Thanks just feel this whole thing is tricky i.e choosing the right > gear, > > > depending on how my studies go, fitting it in around my young family & > > the > > > multitude of work for a telco that I do, hence me thinking should I > throw > > > the kitchen sink at it and future proof it..... > > > > > > yes I remember Brian Dennis pfr class highlighting differences in > oer/pfr > > > | IOS 15 is pfr right.... > > > > > > Ok another good question would be differences between IOS 15.1 G1's & > IOS > > > 15.2 on G2's > > > > > > thanks all. > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 3:28 PM, marc abel <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > >> Tony, > > >> > > >> There are differences in behavior even between minor versions. > > Especially > > >> OER performs very differently on 12.4.(15)T than even the next version > > up. > > >> I would recommend you get routers that can run the code in the lab > > >> currently. > > >> > > >> -Marc > > >> > > >> On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 7:41 AM, Tony Singh <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > >> > > >>> Hi > > >>> > > >>> Prior to making the big decision to purchase a whole heap of routers > to > > >>> follow ipx r&s topology and in light of one day Cisco announcing v5, > I > > >>> need > > >>> your advice on purchasing ISR G2 2911's > > >>> > > >>> First of all is this a good choice in replacement of 2811's ? > > >>> > > >>> If I was to purchase these the minimum IOS supported is 15M, my > > question > > >>> is > > >>> therefore how different would the syntax be from ipx workbooks which > > use > > >>> 12.4(15)T12 on the 2811's ? > > >>> > > >>> Would it be a big problem? > > >>> > > >>> Also on G2 ISR's the IOS train is different i.e you have licenses for > > >>> security,unified comms,data and below these is ip base > > >>> > > >>> My understanding if above was acceptable would be to choose the data > > >>> license? > > >>> > > >>> Thanks in advance for any helpful advice. > > >>> > > >>> -- > > >>> BR > > >>> > > >>> Tony > > >>> _______________________________________________ > > >>> For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, > > >>> please visit www.ipexpert.com > > >>> > > >>> Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out > > >>> www.PlatinumPlacement.com > > >>> > > >>> http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs > > >>> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> -- > > >> Marc Abel > > >> CCIE #35470 > > >> (Routing and Switching) > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > > > -- > > Marc Abel > > CCIE #35470 > > (Routing and Switching) > > _______________________________________________ > > For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please > > visit www.ipexpert.com > > > > Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out > > www.PlatinumPlacement.com > > > > http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please > visit www.ipexpert.com > > Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out > www.PlatinumPlacement.com > > http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs > _______________________________________________ For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please visit www.ipexpert.com Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out www.PlatinumPlacement.com http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs
