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Swat85
join:2002-11-16
Villa Park, IL

Swat85

Member

Cisco Switches

What is the best cisco switch that isnt expensive to dive into to understand how they work and vlans?

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan

Premium Member

What's your desired end result? Knowledge? Certification?

Most switches run the same software, so let your budget be your guide... Catalyst 3550/3650 are end of life, but run modern iOS... Could be a real decent starting point?

Swat85
join:2002-11-16
Villa Park, IL

Swat85

Member

I'm looking for both to widen my knowledge of networking.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

1 recommendation

Nightfall to Swat85

MVM

to Swat85
Take a look at this...

»www.gns3.net/dynamips/

I have used another simulator before and I found it better than buying hardware I wasn't going to use.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

HELLFIRE to Swat85

MVM

to Swat85
For CCNA, 2950s are dirt cheap at $100USD or less, but you're limited to 10/100 speeds only.

For CCNP, you'll want to look into a multi-layer switch -- 3550 series at least.

Be prepared to do a bunch of reading at Cisco.com to make sure you're ordering the right model as there's
multiple sub-models for each main series.

@Nightfall
GNS3 / Dynamips is good for routers, but because (Cisco) switches uses proprietary ASICs that can't be
emulated by a computer CPU, that's not really an option here.

Regards
annoyingrob
join:2007-03-27
Calgary, AB

annoyingrob to Swat85

Member

to Swat85
My 2900s were about 15 bucks a piece

Those are waaaaaaaaay EOL though.

boognish
Premium Member
join:2001-09-26
Baton Rouge, LA

boognish to Swat85

Premium Member

to Swat85
You can get packet tracer or gns3. They are enough to get you to the CCNA level.