![]() Serversīesides networking equipment, you will have to run some software. You’ll need at least two routers to route packets between your routers, but some scenarios require at least three routers. If you get real hardware, I would suggest getting three routers. Most protocols that you can configure on routers don’t require ASICs as we do on switches. Routers are easier to virtualize than switches. This allows you to test protocols like spanning-tree without any issues. If you buy real switches, I would get at least three. The 8-port models usually make less noise than the models with more ports. Many switch models are available with 8, 16, 24, or 48 ports. ![]() Switches are also useful when you need Power over Ethernet (PoE) for your IP phones or wireless access points. You’ll also need real hardware if you want to test features like VSS or Stackwise. But if you want to see real traffic patterns, you should use real hardware. If you want to practice Quality of Service (QoS) you could use an emulator and see “hits” on your access-lists. You can configure this on emulated switches, but you’ll get some strange results. This is why some things work better on real switches than emulated ones. Switches use ASICs to perform some tasks in hardware instead of software. The only official method to get licenses is the Cisco website. We are unable to supply any Cisco images. If you buy used hardware, check what licenses the device has. Your employer might have a support contract with Cisco you might be able to obtain licenses through them. Newer devices come with all features, but you need licenses to unlock or activate them. On older Cisco equipment, it was easy to download an image that included all required features. ![]() Even if it’s a home lab, you should have legitimate licenses. Licensing can be complex, as explained in the IOS licensing lesson. You can look up any feature, model, and IOS version to see whether it is supported or not. For example, I can see whether MACsec is supported on specific IOS (XE) versions of the 3560CX and 3850: You can find what features are supported by the different router and switch models.
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