However, not all routers and switches can do everything needed. A lot of people say you just need 2 switches, but I really think 3 is helpful for messing around with STP. You need 3 for properly practicing NAT and Routing Protocols, though GNS3 is arguably better since you can setup more complicated networks. Regarding lab kits, if you want to go all physical devices, then you'll need 3 routers. One note, however, having Cisco Equipment at work is helpful for learning basic commands, but isn't helpful for studying unless you have equipment that you can reconfigure however you want. Personally I got switches and routers.then I got a job where 99% of our equipment is Juniper, so there you go.

You can add switch modules to routers which is enough to get the CCNA job done for practice.īeyond that you should at least get switches, since GNS3 doesn't emulate Cisco Switches well. I got the CCNA just using GNS3, so I can confirm this is sufficient. Note: When you do take the CCNA, take the combined test, not the CCENT and separate second test. If you're just getting your CCNA and not going further into certification you could probably get by with simulators. Of course, the above advice is considering that you're intending to go beyond the CCNA and/or get specialized certs. There's no end to the weird issues and problems that I ran into with even nice simulators. If you don't, you really need a physical lab. If you have access to Cisco gear at work, it's a luxury.

It really depends on your work environment. You have direct console access to the hardware, and the stuff gets reset every 24 hours incase someone breaks something. It has linux clients, Cisco & Juniper routers and swtiches, Alteon load balancer, and some VMware stuff thrown in, etc. Something that doesn't cost you money is This site links to a live, real hardware network. The older versions were free, not sure what Cisco has done with it recently. If you don't plan to get into networking then packet tracer is good up to the CCNA level, it simply doesn't support advanced functionality that you would need to go beyond the CCNA. Boson has some cheap exam sims that start at the basic level and upgrade three levels to where you really have to have an expert understanding of what's going on to answer. The amount of content to learn is rather large so I found it to be helpful, and you get to use it as a reference for a year. Testout has a really good course for learning the CCNA, includes some basic sims, tests, and a lot of CBT nugget style videos.

Cisco packet tracer vs gns3