R&S CCIE Home Lab: Cisco 3550 vs 3560

04 Apr 2011 - Lab-Rat

In my previous post on CCIE Lab Equipment, I talked a bit about alternatives for your hands on rack time. I listed the pros and cons on why I decided to go with rack rentals versus buying. I certainly can’t find fault with buying your own equipment if you have the funds, power, and space- so for those rats who are thinking about furnishing their own lab, I thought I’d do some digging on the 3550 versus the 3560. As I write this 3550s are going for about $200 on eBay.

Since the 3560s are triple and sometimes quadruple the price, many (smart) folks are wondering if you can get by with the 3550s. In that previous post I have the live R&S lab specification, which states Cisco is using 3560s. Of course it’s always best to use what’s in the lab- however, after a few hours of digging around in the forums, on Cisco, and in the blogs, the short version of the most commonly mentioned differences between the 3550 and 3560 that are relevant to the CCIE lab are:

The cheapest 3560 for sale is about $600, with many heading up toward $1000.

INE has a good comparison that covers the differences as well. I took the Cisco features list for the latest version of the IOS that is mentioned in the CCIE lab specification, and ran a text compare against the feature set. Below is the comprehensive list on what’s different:

3550 12.2(55)SE IP Services VS 3560 12.2(44)SE6 Advanced IP Services
8-Way CEF Load Balancing <> AAA Server Group
    Access Switch Device Manager (SDM) Template
ACL - Improved Merging Algorithm = ACL - Improved Merging Algorithm
ACL - TCP Flags Filtering   ACL - TCP Flags Filtering
ACL Sequence Numbering   ACL Sequence Numbering
Additional Vendor-Proprietary RADIUS Attributes   Additional Vendor-Proprietary RADIUS Attributes
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)   Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
  -+ ANSI TIA-1057 LLDP - MED Support
    ANSI TIA-1057 LLDP - MED Location Extension
ARP Optimization = ARP Optimization
AutoInstall Using DHCP for LAN Interfaces +-  
AutoQoS - VoIP = AutoQoS - VoIP
AutoRP Enhancement +-  
BGP = BGP
BGP 4   BGP 4
BGP 4 Multipath Support   BGP 4 Multipath Support
BGP 4 Prefix Filter and In-bound Route Maps   BGP 4 Prefix Filter and In-bound Route Maps
BGP 4 Soft Config   BGP 4 Soft Config
BGP Convergence Optimization   BGP Convergence Optimization
BGP Hide Local-Autonomous System   BGP Hide Local-Autonomous System
BGP Named Community Lists   BGP Named Community Lists
  -+ BGP Neighbor Policy
BGP Prefix-Based Outbound Route Filtering = BGP Prefix-Based Outbound Route Filtering
BGP Reduction in Transient Memory Usage +-  
BGP Restart Neighbor Session After max-prefix Limit Reached = BGP Restart Neighbor Session After max-prefix Limit Reached
BGP Route-Map Continue   BGP Route-Map Continue
  -+ BGP Route-Map Continue Support for Outbound Policy
BGP Soft Reset = BGP Soft Reset
Broadcast/Multicast Suppression   Broadcast/Multicast Suppression
CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) Version 2   CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) Version 2
CEF/dCEF - Cisco Express Forwarding   CEF/dCEF - Cisco Express Forwarding
  -+ CEFv6/dCEFv6 - Cisco Express Forwarding
CGMP - Cisco Group Management Protocol = CGMP - Cisco Group Management Protocol
  -+ Cisco IGMP MIB and Filter MIB Support
Cisco IP Phone Support = Cisco IP Phone Support
Class Based Ethernet CoS Matching & Marking (802.1p & ISL CoS)   Class Based Ethernet CoS Matching & Marking (802.1p & ISL CoS)
Class-Based Marking   Class-Based Marking
Clear Counters Per Port   Clear Counters Per Port
CLI String Search   CLI String Search
CNS +-  
CNS - Image Agent    
Commented IP Access List Entries = Commented IP Access List Entries
Configurable IGMP Leave Timer   Configurable IGMP Leave Timer
Configuration Change Notification and Logging   Configuration Change Notification and Logging
Custom Queueing (CQ) <> Configuration Replace and Configuration Rollback
    Contextual Configuration Diff Utility
Default Passive Interface   DHCP - Server Port Based Address Allocation
    DHCP - DHCPv6 Relay Agent notification for Prefix Delegation
    DHCP - DHCPv6 Individual Address Assignment
    DHCP - DHCPv6 Server SNTP, NIS, NIS+, Refresh Timer options
DHCP - Configurable DHCP Client   DHCP - DHCPv6 Server Stateless Auto Configuration
    DHCP Auto Image upgrade
    DHCP Auto Install with Saved Configuration
DHCP Client = DHCP Client
DHCP Server   DHCP Server
DHCP Server Options - Import and Autoconfiguration   DHCP Server Options - Import and Autoconfiguration
  -+ DHCP Snooping
    DHCP Snooping Counters
    DHCPv6 - Relay - Reload persistent Interface ID option
    DHCPv6 Client Information Refresh Option
    DHCPv6 Ethernet Remote ID option
    Diagnotics Options on bootup
Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) = Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)
Easy IP (Phase 1) <>  
EIGRP Support for Route Map Filtering    
Embedded Event Manager (EEM) 2.0   Embedded Event Manager (EEM) 2.3
Embedded Syslog Manager (ESM)    
Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP) = Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP)
Enhanced Password Security   Enhanced Password Security
Enhanced Tracking Support / Enhanced Object Tracking / EOT   Enhanced Tracking Support / Enhanced Object Tracking / EOT
ErrDisable Reactivation Per Port   ErrDisable Reactivation Per Port
ErrDisable timeout   ErrDisable timeout
EtherChannel   EtherChannel
EtherChannel - Flexible PAgP   EtherChannel - Flexible PAgP
Etherchannel Guard   Etherchannel Guard
Fallback Bridging   Fallback Bridging
Fast EtherChannel (FEC)   Fast EtherChannel (FEC)
Fast-Switched Policy Routing   Fast-Switched Policy Routing
Filter-ID Based ACL Application <> FHRP - HSRP - Hot Standby Router Protocol V2
Flex Link Bi-directional Fast Convergence = Flex Link Bi-directional Fast Convergence
  -+ Flex Link VLAN Load-Balancing
Flex Links = Flex Links
Flex Links Interface Preemption   Flex Links Interface Preemption
FTP Support for Downloading Software Images   FTP Support for Downloading Software Images
  -+ GOLD - Generic Online Diagnostics
HSRP - Hot Standby Router Protocol = HSRP - Hot Standby Router Protocol
  -+ HSRP for IPv6
HTTP Security = HTTP Security
  -+ IEEE 802.1ab LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol)
IEEE 802.1p Support = IEEE 802.1p Support
IEEE 802.1Q VLAN Trunking   IEEE 802.1Q VLAN Trunking
IEEE 802.1s - Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) Standard Compliance   IEEE 802.1s - Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) Standard Compliance
IEEE 802.1s VLAN Multiple Spanning Trees   IEEE 802.1s VLAN Multiple Spanning Trees
IEEE 802.1t   IEEE 802.1t
IEEE 802.1W Spanning Tree Rapid Reconfiguration   IEEE 802.1W Spanning Tree Rapid Reconfiguration
IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail Open   IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail Open
IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail VLAN   IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail VLAN
IEEE 802.1x - VLAN Assignment   IEEE 802.1x - VLAN Assignment
  -+ IEEE 802.1x - Wake on LAN Support
IEEE 802.1x Authenticator = IEEE 802.1x Authenticator
IEEE 802.1x Fallback support   IEEE 802.1x Fallback support
  -+ IEEE 802.1x Multi-Domain Auth with Voice VLAN Assignment
    IEEE 802.1X Multi-Domain Authentication
IEEE 802.1x RADIUS Accounting = IEEE 802.1x RADIUS Accounting
  -+ IEEE 802.1x Readiness Check
    IEEE 802.1X Voice Aware Security Violations
IEEE 802.1x with Port Security = IEEE 802.1x with Port Security
IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP)   IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP)
IEEE 802.3af PoE (Power over Ethernet)   IEEE 802.3af PoE (Power over Ethernet)
IEEE 802.3x Flow Control   IEEE 802.3x Flow Control
IGMP Fast Leave   IGMP Fast Leave
IGMP Proxy   IGMP Proxy
IGMP Querier   IGMP Querier
IGMP Snooping   IGMP Snooping
IGMP State Limit   IGMP State Limit
IGMP Version 1   IGMP Version 1
IGMP Version 2   IGMP Version 2
  -+ IGMP Version 3
Image Verification = Image Verification
Interface Index Persistence   Interface Index Persistence
Interface Range Specification   Interface Range Specification
IP Enhanced IGRP Route Authentication   IP Enhanced IGRP Route Authentication
IP Event Dampening +-  
IP Multicast Load Splitting across Equal-Cost Paths = IP Multicast Load Splitting across Equal-Cost Paths
IP Named Access Control List   IP Named Access Control List
  -+ IP Phone Detection Enhancements
IP Phone Enhancement - PHY Loop Detection = IP Phone Enhancement - PHY Loop Detection
IP Precedence Accounting +-  
IP Routing = IP Routing
IP SLAs - DHCP Operation   IP SLAs - DHCP Operation
IP SLAs - Distribution of Statistics   IP SLAs - Distribution of Statistics
IP SLAs - DNS Operation   IP SLAs - DNS Operation
IP SLAs - FTP Operation   IP SLAs - FTP Operation
IP SLAs - HTTP Operation   IP SLAs - HTTP Operation
  -+ IP SLAs - ICMP Echo Operation
    IP SLAs - ICMP Path Echo Operation
    IP SLAs - MPLS VPN Awareness
IP SLAs - Multi Operation Scheduler = IP SLAs - Multi Operation Scheduler
IP SLAs - One Way Measurement   IP SLAs - One Way Measurement
  -+ IP SLAs - Path Jitter Operation
IP SLAs - Reaction Threshold = IP SLAs - Reaction Threshold
IP SLAs - Scheduler   IP SLAs - Scheduler
IP SLAs - SNMP Support   IP SLAs - SNMP Support
IP SLAs - TCP Connect Operation   IP SLAs - TCP Connect Operation
  -+ IP SLAs - UDP Based VoIP Operation
IP SLAs - UDP Echo Operation = IP SLAs - UDP Echo Operation
IP SLAs - UDP Jitter Operation   IP SLAs - UDP Jitter Operation
  -+ IP SLAs Additional Threshold Traps
    IP SLAs Random Scheduler
    IP SLAs Responder
    IP Source Guard
IP Summary Address for RIPv2 = IP Summary Address for RIPv2
  -+ IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6)
    IPv6 - HTTP(S)
    IPv6 Access Services: DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation
    IPv6 Access Services: DHCPv6 Relay Agent
    IPv6 Data Link: VLANs using Cisco Inter-Switch Link (ISL)
    IPv6 Data Link: VLANs using IEEE 802.1Q Encapsulation
    IPv6 Default Router Preference
IPv6 Dual Stack = IPv6 Dual Stack
  -+ IPv6 MTU Path Discovery
    IPv6 Neighbor Discovery
    IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Throttling
    IPv6 Routing - EIGRP Support
    IPv6 Routing: OSPF for IPv6 (OSPFv3)
    IPv6 Routing: RIP for IPv6 (RIPng)
    IPv6 Routing: Route Redistribution
    IPv6 Routing: Static Routing
    IPv6 Routing: Unicast Routing
    IPv6 Security: Secure Shell SSH support over IPv6
    IPv6 Services: AAAA DNS Lookups over an IPv4 Transport
    IPv6 Services: Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) - IPv6 Address Family Support for Neighbor Information
    IPv6 Services: DNS Lookups over an IPv6 Transport
    IPv6 Services: Extended Access Control Lists
    IPv6 Services: Standard Access Control Lists
    IPv6 Stateless Auto-configuration
    IPv6 Switching: CEF/dCEF Support
    IPv6: ICMPv6
    IPv6: ICMPv6 Redirect
    IPv6: Neighbor Discovery Duplicate Address Detection
    ISL VLAN
Jumbo Frames = Jumbo Frames
L2PT - Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling   L2PT - Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling
Loadsharing IP packets over more than six parallel paths +-  
Local Proxy ARP = Local Proxy ARP
Low Latency Queueing (LLQ) +-  
MAC Authentication Bypass = MAC Authentication Bypass
Manual Certificate Enrollment via TFTP +-  
Memory Threshold Notifications    
Message Banners for AAA Authentication = Message Banners for AAA Authentication
MPLS VPN - Multi-Path support for Inter-AS VPNs <> MLD Snooping
MSDP compliance with IETF RFC 3618   Multi-VRF Support (VRF lite)
Multicast BGP (MBGP) = Multicast BGP (MBGP)
Multicast Etherchannel Load Balancing   Multicast Etherchannel Load Balancing
Multicast Routing Monitor (MRM) <> Multicast Fast Convergence with Flexlink Failover
Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP) = Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP)
Multicast Subsecond Convergence   Multicast Subsecond Convergence
NAC - L2 IEEE 802.1x   NAC - L2 IEEE 802.1x
NAC - L2 IP   NAC - L2 IP
NAC - L2 IP with Auth Fail Open   NAC - L2 IP with Auth Fail Open
Network Time Protocol (NTP)   Network Time Protocol (NTP)
NSF Awareness - BGP <>  
NSF Awareness - EIGRP    
NSF Awareness - OSPF   NSF - OSPF
OSPF = OSPF
OSPF Forwarding Address Suppression in Translated Type-5 LSAs   OSPF Forwarding Address Suppression in Translated Type-5 LSAs
OSPF Inbound Filtering using Route Maps with a Distribute List   OSPF Inbound Filtering using Route Maps with a Distribute List
OSPF Not-So-Stubby Areas (NSSA)   OSPF Not-So-Stubby Areas (NSSA)
OSPF Support for Multi-VRF on CE Routers   OSPF Support for Multi-VRF on CE Routers
Packet-Based Storm Control   Packet-Based Storm Control
Parse Bookmarks   Parse Bookmarks
Parser Cache   Parser Cache
Per-User ACL Support for 802.1X/MAB/Webauth users. <> Per Port Per VLAN Policing
PIM Dense Mode State Refresh = PIM Dense Mode State Refresh
PIM MIB Extension for IP Multicast   PIM MIB Extension for IP Multicast
PIM Multicast Scalability   PIM Multicast Scalability
PIM Version 1   PIM Version 1
PIM Version 2   PIM Version 2
Policy-Based Routing (PBR)   Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
Port Security   Port Security
  -+ Port Security on Private VLAN Ports
Priority Queueing (PQ) = Priority Queueing (PQ)
Private VLANs   Private VLANs
QoS Packet Marking   QoS Packet Marking
RADIUS   RADIUS
RADIUS Attribute 44 (Accounting Session ID) in Access Requests   RADIUS Attribute 44 (Accounting Session ID) in Access Requests
RADIUS for Multiple User Datagram Protocol Ports   RADIUS for Multiple User Datagram Protocol Ports
RADIUS Tunnel Attribute Extensions   RADIUS Tunnel Attribute Extensions
Rapid-Per-VLAN-Spanning Tree (Rapid-PVST)   Rapid-Per-VLAN-Spanning Tree (Rapid-PVST)
Reduced MAC Address Usage   Reduced MAC Address Usage
Remote SPAN (RSPAN)   Remote SPAN (RSPAN)
Response Time Reporter (RTR) +-  
Response Time Reporter (RTR) enhancements    
RIP = RIP
RMON events and alarms   RMON events and alarms
RTP Header Compression   RTP Header Compression
Secure Copy (SCP)   Secure Copy (SCP)
Secure Shell SSH Version 1 Integrated Client   Secure Shell SSH Version 1 Integrated Client
Secure Shell SSH Version 1 Server Support   Secure Shell SSH Version 1 Server Support
Secure Shell SSH Version 2 Client Support   Secure Shell SSH Version 2 Client Support
Secure Shell SSH Version 2 Server Support   Secure Shell SSH Version 2 Server Support
Selective Virtual-Access Interface Creation +-  
Silent Operation Mode    
Smart Port = Smart Port
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)   SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
SNMP Inform Request   SNMP Inform Request
SNMP Manager   SNMP Manager
SNMP Support over VPNs - Context Based Access Control <> SNMP over IPv6
SNMPv2C = SNMPv2C
SNMPv3 (SNMP Version 3)   SNMPv3 (SNMP Version 3)
  -+ Source Specific Multicast (SSM)
    Source Specific Multicast (SSM) Mapping
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) = Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Backbone Fast Convergence   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Backbone Fast Convergence
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Loop Guard   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Loop Guard
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - PortFast BPDU Filtering   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - PortFast BPDU Filtering
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast BPDU Guard   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast BPDU Guard
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast Support for Trunks   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast Support for Trunks
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Root Guard   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Root Guard
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Uplink Fast Convergence   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Uplink Fast Convergence
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Uplink Load Balancing   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Uplink Load Balancing
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Extension   Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Extension
SRR (Shaped Round Robin)   SRR (Shaped Round Robin)
Standard IP Access List Logging   Standard IP Access List Logging
Standby Supervisor Port Usage   Standby Supervisor Port Usage
STP Syslog Messages   STP Syslog Messages
Support for 4096 VLAN IDs   Support for 4096 VLAN IDs
Suppress BGP Advertisement for Inactive Routes +-  
Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN) = Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN)
Switching Database Manager (SDM) <> Syslog over IPV6
Tacacs Single Connection = Tacacs Single Connection
TACACS+   TACACS+
Time-Based Access Lists Using Time Ranges(ACL)   Time-Based Access Lists Using Time Ranges(ACL)
Triggered RIP <> Transparent Bridging
    Trunk Failover
Trusted boundary (extended trust for CDP devices) = Trusted boundary (extended trust for CDP devices)
Tunnel Type of Service (TOS) +-  
UDI - Unique Device Identifier = UDI - Unique Device Identifier
UDLR Tunnel ARP and IGMP Proxy +-  
Unicast Mac Filtering = Unicast Mac Filtering
User Maximum Links <> UniDirectional Link Detection (UDLD)
Vendor-Specific RADIUS Attributes = Vendor-Specific RADIUS Attributes
Virtual Profile CEF Switched   Virtual Profile CEF Switched
VTP (Virtual Trunking Protocol) Version 2 <> VLAN Access Control List (VACL)
Warm Reload   VLAN Aware Port Security
WCCP Redirection on Inbound Interfaces = WCCP Redirection on Inbound Interfaces
WCCP Version 1   WCCP Version 1
  <> WCCP Version 2
Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ)   Weighted Tail Drop (WTD)

So here are your options:

1. Rent your rack time. Varies depending on vendor and how much time you need, and how much you buy at once.
Cost: $500 - $1500

2. Save some cash and go with the Cisco 3550s. You see what you’re missing out on above. If you need to practice on the missing areas, you can rent rack time as necessary.
Cost: 4 x $200 = $800, plus your rack rentals. Varies depending on how many sessions you rent.

3. Go with two Cisco 3560s and two Cisco 3550s. Many of the rack rental companies do this- it is a good balance of cost and functionality, and if you do this you eliminate the need to go outside your lab to practice.
Cost: 2 x $200 + 2 x $600 =$1600

4. Go with 4 3560s, just like the live lab. There’s something to be said for having the exact equipment that the lab does- but it comes at the highest price.
Cost: 4 x $600 = $2400.