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Hi There,

I am currently in need of some advice. I will try to make this quick.

I am on my final semester with my universitys IT program. One of my final classes is a hands on networking class that consist of various Cisco devices that we have been doing different tasks with. This has raised my interest in Cisco devices as well as made me gear towards the networking job field in general.

Since I started this class, I have been wanting to make a home network that involves Cisco devices and a Windows 2012 server to get more familiar with the CLI and other networking tasks that we are not doing in my class.

Keep in mind, im on a college student budget.

Currently I have a Windows 2012 server set up running Active Domain with a couple domain users connected. I also have a Cisco 2960 si switch that has the server and a few client devices connected.

I got bored with the switch pretty quick because without a router, there's only so much I can do. - I set up a user vlan, and SSH access.

My goal is to get a Cisco router to run my network and utilize inter vlan communications.

I currently have AT&T Uverse with a Motorola router and plan to set it to pass through mode allowing it to only manage the AT&T TV devices. I would like add a DHCP roll to my server and allow a secondary(Cisco) router to handle all other needed protocols with the rest of my network while maintaining internet access.

My main question is - would a Cisco 2811 be a sufficient for my needs and possibly future needs to get some experience with the Cisco CLI? Is there anything else that I would require, or should look into while keeping a low budget. What are some of the things I can set up on the router that would be useful to managing my home network?

Oh yeah, I also was looking into Cisco Access Points for WiFi, as that will be disabled as well on the AT&T provided device.

There are more Concerns I have but I don't want to clump too much information into one post.

thanks for your time!

At this point, I guess what I would really like to know is what do I need to set up, or how do I set it up without telling me commands because I would like to learn.

My topology is as follows: UVerse Modem/Router ---> cisco 2811 ----> cisco 2960--- > WIndows 2012 server with AD --> Cisco LAP1142.

The uverse router DHCP cannot be disable but can be set to pass through to pass the public ip to the cisco router. I will disable wireless on the Uverse router and have the tv boxes connected to it via Ethernet so all AT&T stay together. The rest of my devices will be after the cisco router. I will also have DHCP on the server. What do I need to do on the router to get everything going. Does a standard straight through cable go from AT&T equipment to the fa0/0 on the router and then a crossover from fa0/1 to the switch as a trunk? What form of NAT do I need on the router? Do I point DNS on the router to the server since I have AD set up?

Thanks for the thread.