With CCNP SWITCH passed now I can focus on networking in general again now, instead of pure layer 2 stuff. I decided this would be a good moment to reconfigure my server.
When I was gathering materials for my home lab, I had to chance to pick up an IBM xSeries 335 server very cheap. Since it comes with two gigabit NICs and I had never worked with a rack server before, I decided to go for it. I originally installed ESX 3.5, allowing me to research virtual switching and basics of iSCSI, as well as run Windows Server and Red Hat on top of it.
Since I’m familiar with these topics now and not need them directly for my further studies, I decided to install a Linux on it now, and run Dynagen to emulate Cisco routers. Hard decision for me, as I have to admit that I’ve tried a lot with Linux in the past but never could find myself comfortable with it. I downloaded Ubuntu since this would be a relatively user-friendly choice.
Strangely enough for me, things worked out quite well so far: I installed Ubuntu, configured some network settings, installed OpenSSH server and Dynagen, and after about an hour I could log in remotely using SSH and get into Dynagen. I couldn’t do anything in it yet as I need IOS images on the Ubuntu, which I will transfer in the next days, and I’m going to have to read through the Dynagen tutorial, as well as figuring out how to easily create and edit the .net files it uses.
But all in all again a small step towards more labbing options.
Reggle 