Flower

For the past 5 years I've been that lone hero in the back room. Monitoring servers, measuring performance, and fixing errors all to keep a few computers running with high availability. It has been an interesting road and I've become an expert at the Windows Server enviroment and I'm not to shabby with the Linux enviroment either.

However, there's one major frustration I have with working in the systems environment and that is the scope of the job. I'm constantly asked if I can write a program, create a new object oriented database, create web page graphics, configure several different brands of switches and routers, etc. Well I'm sure you get my point; the Network Administrator position in most company's eyes is that an around everything IT related job.

Although it's fun to have something different everyday it doesn't allow me to develop a very unique skill set that's worth a lot (I want to start a side IT consulting company for a supplemental income). Because of this I decided that my general Bachelors degree in computer science isn't enough. I needed a certification but I wanted one that'd change my roll from that all to general network administrator. I had a few choices, but I decided the best would be networking. I'm not talking about getting two computers to play well together. I'm referring to the links that you see going from businesses to ISP's or B2B, etc. This is a very technical field and requires a very specialized skill set. It was exactly what I wanted, something that I could learn and then update once a year rather than once every 3 months. This field also put me in a great place to have alternate career paths later on when I'm ready for a change. I could easily add a few things and become a network design professional, a security professional, or a specialized project manager.

So what's the plan now? Well first things first, I need to get my certifications. I'll start off with my CCNA and probably late this year or early next year move toward my CCNP. I'll probably stay in that general Network Administrator's job for another 2-3 years while I gain actual experience taking side projects at night or weekends.

Article From CCNA Blog

Hot Certification Exams: 70-290 70-270 sy0-101 VCP-310 642-446 350-018 350-030 642-436 642-552 640-801

With the development of network technology, ccna certification has become a global standard for many renowned IT companies. Pass your ccna certification easily with ccna practice test & ccna boot camp that Certizone recommended.

So you want to get your CCNA and you need to buy a router for your CCNA home lab? Now the question is which router should you get? I have been in your shoes and know when you are just starting out, it is tough to make sense of all the different models of Cisco Routers available. The good news is there are a lot of good options available to get a good CCNA router for a fair price.

I recommend getting a Cisco 2611 Router or a Cisco 2621 Router because they have to two Copper ports instead of one and offer the most training flexibility. If the cost isn’t much different, go for the 2621 because it offers 2 10/100 Ethernet ports and has 128MB of memory versus the 2611 that has 2 10Mb ports with 64MB of memory. Don’t forget to buy 2 routers as most of the CCNA Labs require two routers. You could also get 3 routers, but from my experience, you will rarely actually need 3 routers to practice for your CCNA.

Another issue that comes into play is the IOS. If you can get a router with 12.4 already installed, you are way ahead of the game. Remember, the only legal way you can get a copy of the IOS is to buy a Cisco Smartnet contract for your router. If worse comes to worse, look for 12.3, but do your best to avoid 12.2. While it is a solid IOS for production, the new CCNA really focuses on the newer 12.4 version and some commands may be different from what you are learning.

This recommendation is for building a CCNA Home Lab. If you plan on building a CCNP Home Lab, then you should check back later for a post about which router you should buy for CCNP. The great part is even though the routers for CCNP are more expensive, if you buy them while working on your CCNA, you can use them for both certifications.

Also, if you have the money, you may be better off buying a complete CCNA Home Lab. You can usually find a complete CCNA Lab Kit including 2 or more routers and 1 or more Cisco Switches. Just keep in mind what I said about the routers.

Source: CCNA Blog

Hot Certification Exams: 70-290 70-270 sy0-101 VCP-310 642-446 350-018 350-030 642-436 642-552 640-801

With the development of network technology, ccna certification has become a global standard for many renowned IT companies. Pass your ccna certification easily with ccna practice test & ccna boot camp that Certizone recommended.