Test Lab


Lab_Physical_Connections.jpg (37203 bytes)

Well there it is.  I have gone off the deep end a created a lab at home.  This thing is great I can get to the routers any time of the day and do not have to worry about having some one else needing the lab.  If you are serious about security and networking (I am its my job and hobby) then you need a home lab.  I am starting to remember the "you need a thneed" line from the Lorax but hey we all have to be passionate about something.

A few questions:

What is the thing good for?  Well if you are in computers you probably didn't ask that question so you can move on to the picture of the rack layout below.   But if you are not into computers this answer is for you.  A lab lets you test new features and bugs of the platforms before you put them on a live network so that when I make a change you can still get to your data. 

How much does a lab like this really cost?  That is a good question.  I have tried not to keep track or I might not be as happy with this thing.  So I don't know and don't want to know.

What does the lab really look like?  Here is a picture of how the equipment is located in the racks.

Carl Lab Rack.jpg (28355 bytes)

What equipment is located in the lab?  Here is a list by equipment type.

routers: 2 Cisco 2502s, 2 Cisco 2503s, 1 Cisco 2511, 1 Cisco 2513 and 1 Cisco 4000m

Hubs: 1 16 port Ethernet hub, 1 Cisco 2900 switch and 2 IBM 8228 Token Ring MAUs

Power: 1 650 UPS, 2 6 port power strips one on a UPS the other not and 1 APC Master Switch.

Servers: 1 UNIX server running RedHat Linux

 

See you in the lab!


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This page and all its contents Copyright 2000 Carl H. Almond Jr. All rights reserved. Please make links to the index page. Last modified 01/26/00.