Switch Simulator

Preparing for a Cisco CCNA or Juniper JNCIA certification exam can be troublesome if you do not have hands-on experience with the devices in question. Since the actual equipment is expensive and designed for complex networks that are not available for public access, simulators are required to offer you a bit of practice with the supported commands.

Switch Simulator is an educational software utility that simulates a switch network and allows you to send console commands or configure the parameters of Cisco and Juniper devices. Using the terminal, you can get a glimpse at how a real network behaves in various circumstances and troubleshoot a wide array of connectivity issues.

The simulator is completed by the included lab exercises, which explain in detail the specifics of various topics regarding spanning tree protocols, power over ethernet or per VLAN spanning tree protocols. These exercises aim to provide you with a basic understanding of the underlining mechanisms of network switches.

To offer you a better oversight on the arrangement of hubs and router devices, Switch Simulator provides you with a graphical representation of all the devices that are part of the network. The switches are labeled appropriately and connected with lines to better illustrate the route of the signals between them.

You can also view the connection speed of each link and the afferent IP addresse and subnet mask. To configure one of the devices, you can select it using the dropdown menu and jump into the console environment, where you can view additional information and use the supported commands.

Although the list of parameters and commands is limited and does not fully emulate a real network, Switch Simulator offers a viable alternative you can practice on, with enough features and configuration options to properly prepare you for the hands-on experience. The included lab exercises and user manual greatly improve your chances at passing the certification exams.