Help building a home network lab

[trunolimit]

Hi I am trying to break into the networking field. I took my CCNA and passed it about 3 months ago but I haven't been able to find a job. I figure with my free time I am going to go for a CCNP so I am trying to set up a home lab.

Any advice on how to go about doing this or even recommendations on what router models to look for would be appreciated.

My budget is about 500 bucks.

I am not above obtaining Cisco IOS through certain frowned upon channels if it helps reduce my cost. This is strictly for educational use.

 

[tipstir]

Yeah you need to have experience in the field for 3 to 5 years with that cert you got now. Best thing to do it get some contracts under your belt for Network Jr Tech or Network Jr Engineer. I've see guys in IT from Help Desktop just ace it through without the certs. You got to know the right people to get away with that.

If you go to some trade shows you can pick-up some old cisco managed switches to learn how to setup the network or domain in the place. I've done not that hard. Or you can get some off brand routers to test too. If your budget is $500 bucks you might want to invest in enterprise router, but you might not want to go that far.

Netgear has some small business routers, manage switches and such if you want to go that route. SNB has some reviewed you can see what you need.