There's a lot of wisdom here. I ended up building a hybrid rack using just Dynagen/Dynamips (not GNS3) along with 3560 switches and even a couple of 1841's for a bit of real kit, but I still spent several days over the course of two years messing with it. I found the 37XX serial drivers to be wonky, so had to rework all my topos for 7200s. Found OSPF to be glitchy on the BBs when using a 2691 image for them, had to back them down to 3640s and rework the configs. Would often (esp in TS scenarios) be unsure if an issue I was seeing was definitely Dynamips, or if it was an injected fault. I upgraded my Ubuntu server one time and that flipped the VLAN offload default and my lab was broken for like 3 days until I figured that one out. And there were still artifacts from the hybrid setup in my labs (notably Port Security would always catch me because the break-out switch's MAC would be seen on ports as well as the conneted device).
I just happened to be looking on eBay last night, and with 3560s in the US$200 range and 2611XMs (capable of the 12.4(15)T14 load used in the lab exam [as of 6 months ago]) going for about US$60-80, and even 1841's attainable for US$80-100 if you're patient, the cost of building a physical lab is not all that much. At least for those in the US making a decent wage. I realize the picture can be much different elsewhere in the world. I'm a big fan for a quality virtual lab, and I still use GNS3 for some functions day-to-day, and I'm also *really* looking forward to Cisco VIRL, but for intense, focused study like for the CCIE lab consider making the investment in yourself. I still use my lab pretty regularly for switching experiments. I can't bring myself to sell it off. Instead, I've beefed it up with an ASA, a small wireless controller, a few access points, and I'm even looking at how to open it up for semi-public access. Best, Bob On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 8:20 AM, Joe Schulte <[email protected]> wrote: > I have to say that what I have found is Cisco Packet Tracer is good > through your CCNA and GNS3 will get you through your CCNP. Once you're > past that, rent a rack (I personally don't like it) or just buy yourself a > rack with the intention of eating the cost or selling it off when you are > done. > > I can't even begin to calculate the amount of time I've pissed away trying > to get a fidgety little thing working for the sake of saving a few hundred > dollars here and there - and all the way through, when something didn't > work the way I had expected, I could never be certain if it was a mistake > in the material, a mistake on my part, or another quirk of GNS3 that I had > just discovered. > > And on a similar area, don't try to cheap out by buying switches for L2 > and using GNS3 for L3 while convincing yourself that you can work on each > separately. Terrible idea. > > Think of it this way - fail once by studying with a cheap method and you > could have bought a physical rack with that money you just threw away on > the exam. > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ 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
