whats a good router to learn CISCO IOS and general routing on?

[plastick]

So I'm looking to get a router or two to learn more about networking and possibly get CCNA certified some day... I am a networking major at my university but my actual networking classes were rather skimpy.... so i have a lot of the basics down but want to get more advanced in my understanding of routing n stuff..

I know a lot of cisco routers can be quite expensive ($1,000+) but I'm just looking to get something cheap (around $100 or less) that I can learn on and that has as much functionality as possible...

I did do some searching and saw that someone recommended the 2500 router, but it looks a little old... not sure if I should get that or not.

I'll keep looking on google too, I just wanted to ask AT as well.

any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[jlazzaro]

2500 is definitely ancient...look at the 2600's if you want hardware to touch and test out. if you just want to play around with IOS and have access to any IOS images, check out GNS3 at http://www.gns3.net.

 

[mooseracing]

You could get the lab software instead of a router. Basically a virtualized router, the good ones aren't cheap, but cheaper than a router.

 

[plastick]

thanks guys.. i just found the gns3 website and got some images to play with... that should be good enough i guess.

 

[her209]

Did the reload bug for GNS3 ever get fixed?

 

[jlazzaro]

Did the reload bug for GNS3 ever get fixed?

IOS reload isn't supported in Dynamips (silly aint it?). You have to right click the device in GNS3 and select reload instead.

 

[MarkXIX]

Find a copy of Packet Tracer and play with that to get your feet wet.

 

[plastick]

guys, another quick question.... I'm thinking of getting a Cisco Catalyst 3500 switch.... what could I do with that? Would i need a router to put behind it? or could I simply use it to have network functionality? (I just want to make sure I wouldnt need anything else)

 

[Emulex]

yes you want to separate switch layer from route layer - it makes your life alot easier to figure out whats going on - compared to debugging a router with integrated switch.

 

[drebo]

guys, another quick question.... I'm thinking of getting a Cisco Catalyst 3500 switch.... what could I do with that? Would i need a router to put behind it? or could I simply use it to have network functionality? (I just want to make sure I wouldnt need anything else)

If you're getting a 3500 switch, make sure it's a 3550 or a 3560. Don't bother with the 3500XL switches (3524/3512). They're not worth the money. If you don't need/want a multilayer switch, a 2950 is a reasonably priced layer 2 managed switch which is far superior to the 3500XL switches.

 

[Emulex]

2960S is a nice switch to learn on. has some newer features for smb

 

[jlazzaro]

2960S is a nice switch to learn on. has some newer features for smb

for education/certification, its a waste of money. 2960 doesn't add much to the 2950 in that arena (qos features, auto-mdix, etc) and the ability to administratively stack them adds even less

speaking of which, why are the 2960 stacking modules and cables so damn expensive...like more than normal Cisco?

 

[spidey07]

So they push you to the 3560/3750