If you have any intention to go beyond CCNA, the 2500 series routers we looked at

last week may be a bad choice. oday I!ll com"are a cou"le of other o"tions, one
that!s chea"er but gives you some investment "rotection, and one that!s more
e#"ensive but "ositions you well for having a viable lab for other more advanced
Cisco certs.
$irst, let me start with a gross characteri%ation of some alternatives verses the 2500
series I blogged about last week. he 2&00 series, "articularly 2&'0, 2&'', 2&'2,
and 2&'( became very "o"ular as access routers following the 2500 series era.
)ater, Cisco enhanced the hardware, giving later similar models the *+,*
designation, for e#am"le the 2&'0 +, router. -f note, the non.+, routers had '0
,b"s /thernet interfaces and no su""ort for )AN trunking, while the +,s have '00
,b"s $ast/thernet interfaces and do su""ort )AN trunking.
he 2&00 series, including the +,s, are no longer marketed by Cisco, and like
2500!s, Cisco no longer su""orts the latest I-0 versions on the 2&00 series routers.
)ike 2500!s, 2&00!s 1both ty"es2 can run u" through '2.( mainline I-0, but that!s it.
Again, for CCNA and CC/N "re" today, that!s not a big deal.
Ne#t, consider one of the lower.end but still.marketed routers, the '34'. $rom the
'300 series, I "icked the '34' for the blog because the '34' is the least e#"ensive
'300 series router that su""orts 5IC slots, which allows you to "ut a 5IC.2 card
into the router. 5ith a 5IC.2 in each '34', you have 2 serial interfaces to su""ort
the serial interfaces need for ICN6' e#am, ICN62, and 70CI e#am "re". Also,
'300!s su""ort more features, and all the latest I-0 versions. $or e#am"le, 2500!s
and 2&00!s do not su""ort ,8)0, but '34'!s do . and ,8)0 is now on the 70CI
e#am 1one of the 4 CCN8 e#ams2.
It!s clear that buying '34'!s makes much more sense than buying 2&00!s if you "lan
to continue on from CCNA to CCN8. 9owever, the cost difference in the used router
market makes the decision difficult. Again using *buy it now* on /bay as a gauge,
there are "lenty of 2&00!s 1non.+,2 available for under :0 ;50. 9owever, I only
found a few 2&'0+,!s under :0 ;400. he lowest."riced o"tions on /bay for '34'!s
run around :0 ;&00, at least with my s"ot check.
I summari%ed a few of these "oints for easy reference here<
Feature or Issue 2500 2600 (non-XM) 2600 XM 1841
Old, no support X X X
Newest IOS s
12!" #anlne X X
No support $or F%
and trun&n' X X
(oes not use sa#e
Seral )I* as
+urrent routers X
(oes not support M,-S X X X
0o, you!ve got some o"tions. =ou could buy 2&00 1non.+,2 and 5IC.2!s, going the
chea" route. hat gets you similar su""ort for CC/N and CCNA as you did with
2500!s . most commands su""orted, but no ability to configure trunking on the router.
9owever, you!d get a little investment "rotection if you did later buy 2&00 +,s,
'34'!s, or other more recent routers, because the 5IC.2!s you bought would still
have value . >ust move them to the new routers.
=ou could go the more e#"ensive route as well. If you!re going that way, getting a
"air of '34'!s, each with a 5IC.2, might be e#"ensive, but if you "lan to move on to
the 70CI e#am right after "assing CCNA, then you!d have a good start without
wasting money. 9owever, building a lab with 2500!s or 1non.+,2 2&00!s for >ust a few
hundred bucks is "retty com"elling.
All of this ignores the issues related to I-0, feature sets, and the flash?@A, reAuired
to su""ort the reAuired I-0 and feature set. I!ll look at what!s a""ro"riate for CCNA
ne#t "ost.
17efore closing, a standard disclaimer . I make no claims as to whether the
suggestions made here have been tested, or do I guarantee any results you might
see if following these suggestions. Also, I make no claims as to the legality of using
any Cisco hardware or software that you might buy.2