Dilbert As gently caress posted:

I was about to go to bed but my sperg kicked in, OP here you go

SO YOU WANT TO BY A DELL POWEREDGE: EASY GUIDE TO SAVING A BUTT-TONE OF MONEY

So you want to buy a poweredge for your lab? Cool here are some points to think about prior to buying that waste of money. First of let me say when I was first getting into VMware and such I thought getting a Dell Poweredge/HP Proliant/etc would be the poo poo and be MUCH more valuable learning than a server, then I ran the facts and figures.

PROTIP: No one gives a poo poo you can install an OS/Hypervisor onto a hardware platform
Seriously;
installing ESXi is like, Enter, F11, Enter, F11, Enter, and Enter.
Hyper-V 2012 is similar even less clicks.
Citrix is similar to ESXi but feels a bit more linuxy but is incredibly straight forward.

Congratulations, you are not able to install ESXi/hyper-V/Citrix on HP/Dell/IBM/UCS/other.

The important part of a lab is not how to install an OS on a HW platform unless you are shooting for your A+ and A+ job, that is probably the only time an employer will care. The important part of setting up a HyperVisor/Server OS is not the "can you install it" but "can you make it usable and understand what you did". Hardware platform familiarity is becoming less and less of a requirement as we move more and more into the virtualization realm. Today most of my installs are scripted, to the point where I boot off USB and let the .KS/unattend.xml finish it, comeback in 5 minutes and configure anything else. While you may need to understand the importance of auto-deployments of windows/linux/Vmware, realize you can do this all in ESXi running on a Cheap rear end 600 dollar build which will curb stomp your Dell server you are getting that shipped with no HDD's, hope you have some good network storage!

Common misconceptions of LAB environments

• Installing on Vendor Hardware will work better!
  Mostly not true, most of your server hardware is probably 3-4 years old and won't really compare to what you can get on the desktop market in the way of parts.
  
  
• I can just upgrade the Ram in my Dell Server which was 200 bucks and came with 16GB of Ram with some off newegg!
  Probably not true, most ram for servers isn't your run of the mill desktop ram, most will require ECC and may be vendor specific. Long story short it will cost you much more than you estimate
  
  
• I need to know how to install it onto the Vendor hardware
  No you really need to watch like a few YT videos and blammo done, focus on configuring the Software and Services
  
  
• I can just throw in my Western Digital or Seagate Drives into make up for the fact it shipped with no drives!
  Not always true, most won't accept a drive unless it has a signature from dell/hp/etc and those drives are costly(hence why your server didn't come with any)!
  
  
• There are some Hardware pieces I can't mimic like iDrac, iLO, or Cisco's CMC!
  If you are going to a job where they let you deal with things like multiple VM servers and clusters, and yet you can't be bothered to watch a 5 minute video or understand what it means when it is asking for an IP address and password you have bigger issues. Furthermore, Supermicro offers some similar features on their boards which allow for similar configuration
  
  
• I can't get enough ram/CPU in the Whitebox Servers I NEED a Dell/HP
  True some things just won't fit your needs for ram/cpu in the box, but you shouldn't be building a 1:1 production unless you are going for something like a VCDX, even then 32GB and a 8 Core CPU will take you farther than you think. If you still need more, look at supermicro, most take desktop ram fairly well and run stuff without a hitch.
  

Remember your lab environment is to teach you the concepts and to familiarize yourself with the Software and Services you are configuring. It does not have to be better than your production environment.

TIPS OF A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
Only assign what the VM needs, this is also true in a production environment. If it only is running AD/DNS/DHCP, it could probably run happy on 512MB and 1 vCPU, You'll probably run out of RAM/DISK IOPS BEFORE you congest your CPU. Unless you are doing some really crazy poo poo or have a 2-3 year old server/pc.
Invest in SSD's, SATA disks are SLOOOW for VM's that require shared resources, invest in some SSD's
Don't overbuy, this is a really common mistake, buy what you need for what you are doing and upgrade as needed.
Look into things like VirtualBox or VMwareWorkstation, and updating your Gaming rig, PRIOR to spending 800 on some dell HW. I have built many PoC labs for my VCP/VCP-DT in workstation, it's a bit slower than ESXi white boxing but 100% DOABLE
ESXi can run ESXi on top of ESXi, it can also run Hyper-V and Citrix. Often building 1 beefy box can outweigh multiple lower end boxes.

Erkenntnis posted:

Getting into the CCNA world essentially from scratch can be challenging, and learning about the different cisco models / features is almost part of the experience itself.


Questions like these are exactly why a central resource should be made, because anyone building physical labs is going to be looking at these routers on ebay with a random assortment of modules and model numbers.

So to append powercrazy's post - here has the been my experience for the past month (No CCENT/CCNA yet, so feel free to correct my errors).


Switch Models:

2950/2960


3550/3560 (Layer 3)


They most likely be sent to you without any IOS loaded, so you'll be coming to a "Switch:" prompt. Fortunately, Cisco switches generally have publicly available IOS images (behind registration, of course). Unfortunately, there is no way to manage a switch without IOS loaded "in-band" (through telnet or ssh), so you'll need a standard Cisco Console Cable.

What's even more challenging to the prospective student is that you'll have to figure out how to get an IOS image onto the switch without using a tftp server - but there's a nifty thing called XMODEM, which allows you to transfer a file over the console cable.

Here's a decent guide that I followed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxTO5qxti-I

The 2950s don't have Auto-MDIX, so you'll have to use crossover cables to connect switch-to-switch. Not sure about the 3550s.

Router Models:

26xx xm (2610/11 xm, 2620/21 xm, 2650/51 xm)

18xx,28xx

Your best bet is going to the 2600xm series. Usually much cheaper than the rest. The 1800 and 2800 are both newer, have higher memory (and use memory cards!). and are more likely to have 12.4/T if you're buying off ebay. For routers, the image you get with it is the one you'll be using. (Outside of )

The standard 2600xm series router has one FastEthernet port, one console port, and one auxiliary port. The "xm" stands for expandable - so you'll be getting two WAN module ports, and one NM module port (Good for a Frame Relay router). Getting a 2611xm, 2621xm, or 2651xm will give you a second FE port. Here's what a 2600 series looks like:



Some common modules you'll run into:

NM-4T


WIC-1T


WIC-2T


WIC-1DSU-T1-V2


WIC-2AM*


*Not really useful for home labs, as far as I can tell.

Cables

DCE/DTE DB60 Crossover Cable - works with the NM-4T and WIC-1T


Smart Serial Male DTE to Male DCE Crossover Cable - works the WIC-2T


T1 crossover Cable - works with the WIC-1DSU-T1, and can be made from any standard Cat5e, I believe


e:Another cable that might be of use is a Smart Serial to DB/60 crossover. This will allow you to connect a NM-4T or WIC-1T to a WIC-2T

evol262 posted: