Factors to consider while building virtual labs
With the introduction of simulation questions in the CCNA exam by the Cisco, it has become important to have some real-time experience with the configuration and trouble shooting of the Cisco routers and switches. The best solution to this would be to build labs. But, this might be a very costly option. Another alternative to this would be to build Cisco virtual labs. There are four factors that are to be considered when the choice of the simulated lab is chosen. The first factor would be the version of the software.
Cisco is a complex piece of software. The first few versions of this are with bugs and issues. If the simulator is a one which is well established in the market then it would make better virtual labs. Good simulators should have good lab scenarios. This is one major factor to be checked. Virtual labs are designed to be used with a particular CCNA preparation book. This would aid in the complete preparation of the CCNA exam. The price of the full-featured CCNA network simulator should cost around $150. These simulators are available online from many reputed vendors. For a good product, the price should not be exceeding this level. Price is also a factor to build a virtual lab. If the price exceeds beyond this then it would make more sense to build a own lab at home.