When it comes to learning and getting started with Cisco there are some tools that will help out a lot like Packet Tracer, GNS3 and other emulators. These are great tools for that “simulation” of hands on learning, but you can’t always stay in that area. I find it best to get hands on with “real” Cisco Gear and so with this post I’ll go through my current setup of what I have and ask that question when it is a good time to get a lab? Just because you may want to get a lab that does not guarantee you’ll actually learn and or pass. Continue reading
Tag Archives: software
What is the Nexus 1000v?
I have worked with the Nexus 1000v product and wanted to share my thoughts on it. I want to explain in this blog what this product is and what it does. The Nexus 1000v can be virtual or a hardware appliance and is considered to be a virtual switch that runs in VMware. The major benefit to this product is the visibly you get when running in a virtual environment. Remember in the virtual environment the network engineer has a cloudy vision of what’s going, because the built-in switch within VMware does not get that technical it just works. This is fine for most people but not all, especially the network technicians we want that visibly and the Nexus 1000v does that and more! Continue reading
Color Code Your Routers
I came across an interesting idea, what if you could color code your devices in command line? So such as if you were operating routers at a core level you could color code the CLI to the color red, and the branch routers green and etc. I wasn’t sure if this would possible but doing some searching through the internet I found a guy Ivan Pepelnjak who wrote how to do this a couple years ago and wrote a couple books as well, check out his blog/website at http://www.ipspace.net there is tons of helpful information along with his original guide here. Continue reading
Network Troubleshooting
The thing that makes networks awesome is the fact that once you setup a network you’re not done. That may sound like a drawback but it is excellent job security! Engineers or administrators must watch the performance of an organization’s network to make sure that productivity is not affected. Network outages can have a huge effect on an organization, lost revenue and the cost of unproductive employees can severely damage the organization, Earlier this year I also talked about the troubleshooting process which goes hand in hand with network troubleshooting. Continue reading
The “Ending” of Layer Two Redundancy
Although layer two redundancy should never end, this is the final chapter of understanding layer two redundancy in the network. Last week I talked about how and why STP (IEEE 802.1D) is important in the network and the problems and causes of not having it which can turn your network against you and everybody on it. Today’s post will talk about how a switch decides which one is in charge on the network and which ones aren’t Continue reading
