Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Setup: How To Configure Reverse Telnet

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Occasionally, during your CCNA and CCNP studies, you’ll run into a term that just doesn’t quite make sense to you. (Okay, more than occasionally!) One such term is “reverse telnet”. As a Cisco certification candidate, you know that telnet is simply a protocol that allows you to remotely connect to a networking [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Planning Ahead For IE Study

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Candidates preparing to pass the CCNP exams are putting together Cisco home labs like never before. With CCNA and CCNP home lab equipment more affordable than ever, candidates have realized the importance of working on real Cisco routers and switches on the way to earning their certifications.
One question I get often from CCNP candidates [...]

Passing The CCNA And CCNP: Cisco Home Lab FAQ

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

There is a real revolution today among CCNA and CCNP candidates. More and more of you are turning your back on “router simulators” and putting your own CCNA and/or CCNP Home Lab together, which is the best way to totally prepare to pass these tough Cisco exams.
I get hundreds of emails every month from [...]

CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Assembling Your Cisco Home Lab

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

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!
With the many different models available, there is some [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Using 2520 Routers

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

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 [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: Routing On A Frame Relay Switch

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

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 need [...]

Passing The CCNA and CCNP: Home Lab Shopping On Ebay

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

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 [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Labs: Developing Troubleshooting Skills

Friday, August 1st, 2008

CCNA / CCNP candidates are going to be drilled by Cisco when it comes to troubleshooting questions. You’re going to have to be able to analyze configurations to see what the problem is (and if there is a problem in the first place), determine the meaning of different debug outputs, and show the ability [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Home Lab Assembly Case Study

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

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 [...]

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The 2501 Router

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

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. The key to becoming a true CCNA and CCNP [...]