CCNA Advice
 

I was looking for some help purchacing a cheap Cisco router that would be good for training purposes for obtaining my CCNA. Does anyone know of any model numbers so I can narrow down my e-bay search?

someone mentioned a 675 or 678 in one of the other threads, I found a couple of those on ebay uk

well most books want you to use a 2500 series router, like a 2501 but for most it would be of no use other than for training.. but most any 2500 series would get you the IOS which is what you need anyways... just depends on what other stuff you would want to connect to...

what the school I was going to was doing was letting us use 2 2501 routers, and then routerSim software for more advanced connections.....

There are router simulators that can create the look & feel of being on a router, checking command structure and such. They're not too bad...

I know Boson (www.boson.com) does one, and I think there are some shareware types for trial at TuCows (www.tucows.com).

You might want to look at these as alternatives, if they're cheaper.

To be honest, I passed my CCNA without ever laying hands on a Cisco router - I just used the sample tests and my already considerable networking knowledge. Since then, however, I've laid my grubby paws on more than a few routers and played with them until I knew them inside and out.

I'd second the recommendation for the 2500 series routers. If you get a switch or two in addition to the routers, you should be able to simulation everything imaginable.

25xx's are cheap (remember to get the cables in the deal). 2501's are pretty limited in that respect, but get as many as you can (at least 3 if you're doing any routing).