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📋 CCNA MASTER LAB — COMPLETE DEVICE INVENTORY (SINGLE TABLE)
| # | Device Name | Model | Device Type | Location | Count | Current Role (Now) | Future Role (Later Labs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HO-R1 | Cisco 2911 | Router | Head Office | 1 | Core / WAN edge router, OSPF, ROAS, DHCP, ACLs | WAN edge only, NAT, default route to ISP |
| 2 | BR-R2 | Cisco 2911 | Router | Branch | 1 | Branch gateway, OSPF, WAN routing | DHCP relay (ip helper-address), ACLs |
| 3 | R0 | Cisco 2911 | Router | ISP | 1 | ISP edge router (simulation) | Internet / NAT testing |
| 4 | DIST-SW1 | Cisco 2960 | Switch | HQ | 1 | Distribution switch (Layer 2, trunks) | Layer 3 switch (SVIs, inter-VLAN routing) |
| 5 | HQ-SW2 | Cisco 2960 | Switch | HQ | 1 | Access switch – VLAN 10 (Users) | Access layer (unchanged) |
| 6 | HQ-SW3 | Cisco 2960 | Switch | HQ | 1 | Access switch – VLAN 20 (Servers), VLAN 30 (Wi-Fi) | Access layer (unchanged) |
| 7 | BR-SW4 | Cisco 2960 | Switch | Branch | 1 | Branch access switch | Access layer (unchanged) |
| 8 | PC-PT | Generic | End Device | HQ | 4 | User PCs (VLANs, DHCP, ACL tests) | Troubleshooting & security tests |
| 9 | PC-PT | Generic | End Device | Branch | 2 | Branch user PCs | DHCP relay & WAN tests |
| 10 | Server-PT | Generic | Server | HQ | 1 | Not active yet | DHCP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP |
| 11 | Laptop-PT | Generic | End Device | HQ | 1 | Wireless client | Wireless security testing |
| 12 | WRT300N | Cisco | Wireless Router / AP | HQ | 1 | Wi-Fi access | WPA2, VLAN-aware Wi-Fi |
| 13 | Cloud-PT | Packet Tracer | WAN / ISP | ISP | 1 | ISP core / Internet simulation | NAT & Internet reachability |
✅ FINAL DEVICE LIST — CCNA MASTER LAB (Packet Tracer)
This list is authoritative for the project going forward.
🔵 ROUTERS (3 TOTAL)
1️⃣ HO-R1 — Cisco 2911
Role: Head Office Core / WAN Edge Router
Why this model:
- Supports serial modules
- Supports OSPF
- Supports NAT
- Supports ACLs
- Supports DHCP
- Perfect CCNA router
What it does (NOW):
- Core routing
- OSPF
- Inter-VLAN routing (ROAS – temporary)
- DHCP server
- ACLs
What it will do (LATER):
- WAN edge only
- NAT (inside ↔ outside)
- Default route to ISP
- No VLAN routing (after L3 switch upgrade)
2️⃣ BR-R2 — Cisco 2911
Role: Branch Router
Why this model:
- Same IOS features as HO-R1
- Consistency for learning
What it does (NOW):
- Branch LAN gateway
- OSPF with HQ
- WAN routing
What it will do (LATER):
- DHCP relay (
ip helper-address) - ACL enforcement
- Backup routing scenarios
3️⃣ R0 — Cisco 2911
Role: ISP Edge Router (Simulation)
Why included:
- Simulate Internet / ISP
- Practice NAT
- Practice default routes
What it does:
- Represents the first ISP router
- Connects to Cloud (optional)
⚠️ This router is NOT part of your enterprise network.
🟢 SWITCHES (4 TOTAL)
4️⃣ DIST-SW1 — Cisco 2960
Role: Distribution Switch
What it does (NOW):
- Layer 2 aggregation
- Trunking between access switches and router
What it will do (LATER):
- Become Layer 3 switch
- Host SVIs
- Perform inter-VLAN routing
- Enforce ACLs
👉 This upgrade converts the design to true three-tier
5️⃣ HQ-SW2 — Cisco 2960
Role: Access Switch (HQ Users)
What it does:
- VLAN 10 (Users)
- Access ports only
- End-device connectivity
6️⃣ HQ-SW3 — Cisco 2960
Role: Access Switch (Servers + Wi-Fi)
What it does:
- VLAN 20 (Servers)
- VLAN 30 (Wi-Fi)
- Access ports only
7️⃣ BR-SW4 — Cisco 2960
Role: Branch Access Switch
What it does:
- Branch user connectivity
- Simple access-layer design
🟣 END DEVICES
8️⃣ PC-PT (Multiple)
Role: End-user devices
Used for:
- VLAN testing
- DHCP testing
- ACL testing
- Troubleshooting
9️⃣ Server-PT
Role: Server (Future Labs)
Used for:
- DHCP (later)
- DNS
- HTTP / HTTPS
- FTP
- CCNA server-based services
🔟 Laptop-PT
Role: Wireless client
Used for:
- Wi-Fi testing
- Wireless security basics
📡 WIRELESS
1️⃣1️⃣ WRT300N
Role: Wireless Router / AP (CCNA level)
Used for:
- Basic wireless concepts
- SSID
- WPA2
- VLAN integration (basic)
⚠️ CCNA does NOT use WLCs — this is correct.
☁️ WAN / ISP SIMULATION
1️⃣2️⃣ Cloud-PT
Role: ISP Core / Internet Simulation
Used for:
- WAN abstraction
- NAT testing
- Internet reachability
Optional but recommended.
🧠 ARCHITECTURE STATUS (IMPORTANT)
CURRENT STATE
- Physical design: Collapsed core
- Logical roles: Access / Distribution / Core present
- Inter-VLAN routing: Router-on-a-Stick
FUTURE STATE
- True three-tier
- Layer-3 Distribution switch
- Router = WAN only
- Enterprise-style campus
🧩 CCNA TOPICS THIS LAB WILL COVER (100%)
✔ IP addressing
✔ VLANs & Trunks
✔ ROAS
✔ DHCP & DHCP relay
✔ OSPF (single + multi-area)
✔ Standard & Extended ACLs
✔ NAT
✔ WAN concepts
✔ Wireless basics
✔ IPv6
✔ Troubleshooting
✅ One sentence to lock this in
This single lab uses 3 routers, 4 switches, and standard CCNA devices to cover every CCNA concept now and evolve cleanly into CCNP-style design later.
📘 What We Are Creating (Simple Overview)
We are building one complete enterprise network lab that starts simple and gradually grows to cover every CCNA 200-301 topic, using realistic devices and roles.
Instead of many small labs, this is one evolving network that students understand deeply and improve step by step.
🏢 The Network We Are Building
We are simulating a company with two locations:
- Head Office (HQ)
- Branch Office
Both locations are connected using a WAN (wide area network), just like real companies.
🔧 Devices and How They Are Linked
1️⃣ End Devices (PCs, Laptop, Server)
- PCs represent users
- Laptop represents Wi-Fi users
- Server represents company services (DNS, DHCP, web later)
These devices connect to access switches.
2️⃣ Access Switches (HQ-SW2, HQ-SW3, BR-SW4)
- Access switches connect end devices
- Each device is placed into a VLAN (Users, Servers, Wi-Fi)
- This separates traffic for security and performance
Why:
End devices should not all be in one big network.
3️⃣ Distribution Switch (DIST-SW1)
- Connects all access switches together
- Uses trunk links to carry multiple VLANs
- Acts as the central point inside HQ
Why:
It keeps the network organised and scalable instead of messy switch-to-switch connections.
4️⃣ Head Office Router (HO-R1)
- Connects the HQ network to the WAN
- Routes traffic between VLANs (initially using Router-on-a-Stick)
- Runs OSPF for routing
- Provides DHCP (automatic IP addresses)
- Later handles NAT for Internet access
Why:
Routers connect different networks and different locations.
5️⃣ Branch Router (BR-R2)
- Connects the branch network to HQ
- Acts as the gateway for branch users
- Runs OSPF
- Later uses DHCP relay
Why:
Each site needs its own router to access the wider network.
6️⃣ ISP Router (R0) and Cloud
- R0 represents the ISP edge router
- Cloud represents the rest of the Internet / ISP core
- Used to practice Internet access and NAT
Why:
Companies do not control the Internet — they only connect to it.
🌐 How Traffic Flows (Big Picture)
User PC
↓
Access Switch (VLAN)
↓
Distribution Switch (Trunk)
↓
HQ Router (Routing / WAN)
↓
Branch Router or ISP
Traffic always moves:
- Layer 2 (switching) inside VLANs
- Layer 3 (routing) between VLANs and locations
🏗️ Why This Design Is Used
This setup allows us to:
- Separate users, servers, and Wi-Fi using VLANs
- Control traffic using ACLs
- Automatically assign IPs using DHCP
- Connect locations using OSPF
- Access the Internet using NAT
- Start with a collapsed core (simple)
- Later upgrade to a true three-tier design
Why this matters:
This is how real enterprise networks are built and upgraded over time.
🎯 Learning Benefit (Why This Is Powerful)
With this one lab, students will learn:
- How small networks grow into enterprise networks
- Why each device exists
- How traffic moves and is controlled
- How CCNA concepts fit together logically
No memorising.
No random labs.
Just real understanding.
