5. CCNP Route with GNS3

After successfully passing CCNP 300-101 Route exam I gave word to myself to spend some time to share studying experience and some of GNS3 lab topologies I created using  Lab Manual from Cisco.

First  - couple of words about studying for Route Exam.

Start from Cisco learning Network web site and read course description and exam topics list.
Do not rely on single source of information.
There is no way to pass the exam limiting yourself to Routing and Switching ROUTE 300-101 Official Cert Guide. It is a great book, don't get me wrong. But it misses many topics from the list found there -  Cisco Learning Network.

Go through Cisco official documentations to study missed subjects. It takes time but worth it as it broadens your knowledge and increases confidence.

I spent 5 month in total studying for the exam - reading books, doing Labs and watching CCNP ROUTE 2015 Video Boot Camp With Chris Bryant available from GNS3 Academy web site. 
Other people found CBT Nuggets to be very useful.

Doing exercises from Lab manual requires some amount of time spent on topology preparation for GNS3. To eliminate this kind of inefficiency I provide lab topologies already created. 

To use these topologies you'll need  Ubuntu or Windows 64 bit box with at least 8GB RAM and i3 equivalent CPU. In my case I use i5 based computer with 32GB RAM which is a bit of overkill but helps if it is necessary to use VirtualBox based nodes in GNS3.  Please try to use GNS3 software ver 1.4.1 and above.  I found some issues while trying to open files with preceding versions.

For the routers I use IOS image c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.152-4.S4. It is stable and I never had any problems with hanged nodes. 

When lab is downloaded open it with GNS3. The lab as it opens is at it's final stage. To go to the beginning use "Manage snap shots" feature and restore the "youngest" snap shot usually called IP_Set.

 Please note that topologies created might not be error free. Some missing or wrong IP addresses are possible after restoring it to initial stage.

Here is a link you can download Labs from - Lab Files Vault

Good Luck with studies.