Packet Tracer is a routing and switching emulator distributed by Cisco for free. It is capable of emulating reasonably complex switching and routing scenarios and is perfect for students studying for their CCNA. Although it does not provide all of the BGP commands for CCNP provided by GNS3 and Dynamips, it does have an extremely valuable feature over these applications, it supports layer 2 and 3 switching simulation, with devices such as the 2950 and 3560, as well as a device generic that allows the user to create devices with other interfaces such as NM-1FFE and NM-1FGE. It supports a fairly wide range of commands that allow the user to create very advanced switching scenarios. I have completed several switching labs with EtherChannel, VTP, MLS, and more. While it can’t implement some features like HSRP, Packet Tracer is by far the best switch emulator available outside of buying actual hardware, and unlike GNS3 and Dynamips, you don’t need to get Cisco IOS to use it.
Packet Tracer can also be used for CCNA Voice and Wireless Practice Labs as it also includes the Cisco 7960 IP Phone and wireless routing devices.
The current version of Packet Tracer is 5.3.1 and can be found on various websites for the Windows and Linux GNU platforms. It requires the following system requirements:
- Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 or Ubuntu 7.10, Fedora 7.
- Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher.
- 96Mb. mutton or better.
- 250 MB of storage or better.
- 800X600 monitor or higher.
These are the minimum system requirements and will work much better on current computer setups.
Bottom line, if you’re studying for your CCNA, CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless, Packet Tracer is all you need and the price is right. If you are studying for the CCNP, the Dynamips or GNS3 application will be the best choice, although Packet Tracer can provide a draft interface for most switching labs. And finally, if you’re working on CCIE emulators can’t do much, I suggest you get some real hardware similar to what was used in the exam, because it will be cheap in contrast to a replay of that exam.