Building My Own CCIE-V Lab

From the beginning I am been pretty sure that I was going to build my own lab so I can work at my leisure and not have to worry about getting everything done in an 8 hour period. In doing some research, I found that this was not going to be an inexpensive venture. Luckily, I am going to be able to leverage some equipment in our lab at work. This is going to save me around $1500 – $2000.

Here is the equipment I plan on using:

Routers	Switches	Modules	DSPs	Phones
(2) 2811	(1) 3650	(5) WVIC-2MFT-T1	(3) PVDM2-16	(4) 7961
(1) 2801	(1) 3550	(2) WVIC-2MFT-E1	(1) PVDM2-32	(4) 7940
(1) 3725		(1) AIM-CUE		(1) 7965
		(1) HWIC-4ESW

Thankfully, the lab at work already had the two 2811 routers and the 3550 switch. I was able to pick up the 2801 and 3560 switch off Craigslist. The rest of the equipment I will be picking up off eBay and Craigslist.

I will be using a2811, 3725 and 2801 as HQ/Branch routers with the other 2811 acting as my Frame Relay switch and PSTN router. The HQ and Branch1 will be configured in the US, while Branch2 will be configured as if it were in Europe. I will be closely following the design for Proctor Labs’ environment since that is what the IP Experts study guides are geared for.

For the software portion of this equation, I will be utilizing a server that I overbuilt last year. I have installed VMWare ESXi 4 on this server and will be hosting CUCM Pub/Sub, Unity, CUCCX and Presence. I have installed an AMD Phenom II and 8 GB of RAM, so everything will be able to run simultaneously.

I will keep the running total up-to-date on how much this adventure is costing me. I will also possibly be posting some of the configurations for routers and switches, but of course figuring those out are all part of the experience.