Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Routing On A Frame Relay Switch by Chris Bryant
When you're preparing for CCNA and CCNP exam success, the best investment you can make is to put together your own home lab. There is no better way to learn Cisco technologies and prepare for the CCNA, BSCI, BCMSN, CIT, and other exams than by working with the many protocols and services you'll... You could connect to up to four routers to the 2520's serial ports in order to serve as the frame relay switch for those other routers, and still assign an IP address to the ethernet port and run a routing protocol on the 2520.

Cisco CCNA Certification: How And Why Switches Trunk by Chris Bryant
Your CCNA studies are going to include quite a bit of information about switches, and for good reason. if you don't understand basic switching theory, you can't configure and troubleshoot Cisco switches, either on the CCNA exam or in the real world. That goes double for trunking! ... And even though ISL is Cisco's own trunking protocol, some Cisco switches run only dot1q. ... (Those of you new to Cisco testing should get used to the phrases "Cisco-proprietary" and "industry standard".) If you're working in a multivendor environment, ISL may not be a good choice.

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The 2520 Router by Chris Bryant
I know from experience that part of the excitement and anxiety of putting together your own CCNA / CCNP home lab is deciding what to buy! While you can make a workable home lab out of almost any combination of Cisco routers and switches, some routers are better suited for home lab work than... (ISDN simulators are physical devices and are plentiful on ebay – they’re no relation to “router simulators”.) Again, I want to reiterate that you can work any Cisco router into a CCNA / CCNP home lab - there's no "right" or "wrong" combination of equipment.

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Home Lab Assembly Case Study by Chris Bryant
Part of your CCNA / CCNP education is deciding what network topology to use when you're putting together your home lab. Some of you are starting with one or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A customer recently sent me a list of his Cisco routers and switches that he... He also has a 5200 access server, an ISDN simulator, one 2924 switch, and one 1924 switch. ... (If you need an access server sample configuration, there is one on my website in the Home Lab section.) A frame relay switch is also great to have, and the 4500 will make a great FR switch.

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The 2501 Router by Chris Bryant
To be truly prepared for your CCNA and CCNP exams, you need real hands-on experience with real Cisco routers and switches. However, a production network is a really bad place to practice your configurations, but an excellent way to get fired and/or sued. ... You also have an AUI port, which requires a transceiver to operate as your Ethernet interface. ... Transceivers are pretty cheap and readily available from Cisco resellers and ebay vendors, so pick one up for each 2503 you decide to buy. ... They come with two serial interfaces, allowing you to connect one interface directly to another...

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The 2503 Router by Chris Bryant
I know from experience that part of the excitement and anxiety of putting together your own CCNA / CCNP home lab is deciding what to buy! While you can make a workable home lab out of almost any combination of Cisco routers and switches, some routers are better suited for home lab work than... If you don't have a frame relay switch, you can connect a 2503 directly to two other routers via the serial interfaces. ... Transceivers are pretty cheap and readily available from Cisco resellers and ebay vendors, so pick one up for each 2503 you decide to buy.

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Loopback Interfaces by Chris Bryant
As a CCNA candidate, you most likely have some background in PC hardware and workstation support. If so, you're already familiar with loopback interfaces, particularly 127.0.0.1, the loopback address assigned to a PC. When you're learning all about the different physical interfaces for your CCNA... As I mentioned, you'll learn different Cisco router and switch features that utilize loopback interfaces as you climb the Cisco certification ladder. ... A router's ethernet port can go down, but the other physical interfaces on that router are still operational.

Cisco Certification: A Survival Guide To The Cisco Cable Jungle by Chris Bryant
One of the most confusing parts of beginning your Cisco studies is keeping all the cable types separate in your mind, and then remembering what they’re used for. This often occurs when a CCNA or CCNP candidate starts putting together their own home practice lab, and they suddenly realize that... In a home lab, a straight-through cable is often used to connect a switch port to an Ethernet port on a router, with a transceiver attached to the Ethernet port. ... To create a frame relay cloud in your home lab (using one of your Cisco routers as a DCE), or to directly connect two Cisco routers...

Passing The CCNA and CCNP: Home Lab Shopping On Ebay by Chris Bryant
Whether you're just getting ideas for your Cisco home lab or adding to your existing lab, ebay is a great place to get ideas for your lab as well as pick up some great bargains. Of course, the internet being what it is, there are always going to be a few people looking to take your money while... If at all possible, though, get a Cisco switch with an IOS. ... If you're on a tight budget, having a 1900 switch is better than no switch at all. ... While these "dealers" are in the minority, you still need to be careful when purchasing Cisco equipment on ebay.

CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Assembling Your Cisco Home Lab by Chris Bryant
A CCNA or CCNP candidate who wants to be totally prepared for their exams is going to put together a home lab to practice on. With used Cisco routers and switches more affordable and plentiful then ever before, there's really no excuse to not have one! ... (There is no problem with using a lab router as both your frame relay switch and a practice router; for a frame relay switch sample configuration, visit my website!) My pods consist of five routers and two switches, and three of the five routers are 2520s, due to their versatility.