Four Important Commands For Your CCNA / CCNP Home Lab
March 8, 2010
Four Important Commands For Your CCNA / CCNP Home Lab
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
More CCNA and CCNP candidates than ever before are putting together their own home practice labs. It’s more affordable than it ever has been, and I receive emails daily from new CCNAs and CCNPs who say it’s the best thing they could have done to improve their studies.
There are some commands you can configure on your lab routers that won’t necessarily be on your CCNA or CCNP exams, but they will make life a lot easier for you. Let’s take a look at just a few of these.
The command “no exec” is short, yet powerful. Occasionally you’ll have what is referred to as a “rogue EXEC” process tie up a line, and you end up having to continually clear lines, which disrupts your practice. If you have an access server, I highly recommend you configure this command on your lines, as shown here:
ACCESS_SERVER(con)#line 1 8
ACCESS_SERVER(con)#no exec
How to Podcast? An Introduction to Podcasting
March 5, 2010
How to Podcast? An Introduction to Podcasting
by: Patrick Curran
Podcasting is the newest craze on the internet and it continues to expand on a daily basis. Former MTV host Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer are credited with developing podcasting. Curry wrote a program called iPodder which allowed him to automatically download internet radio broadcasts to his iPod and Winer was instrumental in promoting RSS. (Really Simple Syndication).
What is RSS? RSS allows people the ability to subscribe to their favorite blog or podcast and the information can be automatically downloaded to their computer. Subsequently, Curry and Winer devised a way to send audio files through RSS feeds.
The term Podcasting comes from “iPod” and “Broadcasting”. However, you don’t need an iPod in order to record or listen to a podcast. Anyone with a computer or mp3 player can listen to a podcast.
From radio talk show hosts Al Franken to Rush Limbaugh, traditional radio is embracing podcasting. In addition, talk show host Sean Hannity and NPR (National Public Radio) are offering their shows in the form of a podcast.
Television is also welcoming podcasting. ABC News, CBS “60 Minutes”, TV Guide and Ebert/Roeper Movie Reviews are all available through podcasts.
Three Ways To Jumpstart Your IT Career
February 28, 2010
Three Ways To Jumpstart Your IT Career
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
We all get stuck in ruts from time to time, and that happens on the job as well. You’ve thought about doing something different with your information technology career, but just haven’t quite gotten around to it yet. Sound familiar?
You can make 2006 the best year yet for your IT career. There are several simple steps you can take to accelerate your career - but you have to take the step, not just think about it!
Learn something new. One of the biggest reasons you get tired of a job is that you’re doing the same thing every day. If you happen to love what you do, that’s great, but if not it’s time to break out of the box. Besides, learning a new skill adds value to your career. If you’ve been doing server work for a long time, take the time to learn some Cisco skills. If you’re an Exchange specialist, learn some Linux skills.
Cisco CCNP Certification FAQ
February 24, 2010
Cisco CCNP Certification FAQ
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
To earn your CCNP, you’ve got to pass some very rigorous Cisco exams, and you also need to know the rules regarding this important certification. In this article, I’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the CCNP.
Q: What exams do I need to pass to get my CCNP?
A: You have two options, a three-exam path and a four-exam path. Currently, the four-exam path consists of rigorous exams on advanced routing techniques (BSCI), advanced switching (BCMSN), remote access methods (BCRAN), and advanced troubleshooting techniques (CIT). The three-exam path combines the BCMSN and BSCI exams into a single exam, the Composite exam.
Q: Do I have to take them in any order?
A: No, the order is up to the candidate. Most CCNP candidates take the BSCI exam first and the CIT exam last, but again this is up to the candidate.
Q: What else do I have to do to get the CCNP?
A: You must earn your CCNA before you can be CCNP certified (as well as passing the exams, of course).
Q: Is there a recertification requirement?
The Wave of the Future
February 23, 2010
The Wave of the Future
by: Scott Bianchi
With gas prices higher than a year ago and most likely not going down, and people’s schedules being busier than ever it is easy to see why on-line shopping is growing in popularity. Virtual Malls, or on-line shopping malls, offer you the same products as you get in the store, and in some cases even more than that same local store would carry. If they are out of stock you can place your order and they will ship it when it comes in or you can go to the next store and see if they have it. You aren’t wasting time and gas on driving from store to store or making a second trip back only to find out they didn’t come in or sold out again.
How To Earn Cisco’s CCNP Certification
February 18, 2010
How To Earn Cisco’s CCNP Certification
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
Congratulations on your decision to earn your CCNP certification! As a CCIE, I can tell you that Cisco certifications are both financially and personally rewarding.
To earn your CCNP, you first have to earn your CCNA certification. Then you’re faced with a decision - take the three-exam CCNP path, or the four-exam path? They’re both quite demanding, so let’s take a look at each path.
The four-exam CCNP path includes the Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks exam (BSCI), Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks exam (BCMSN), Building Cisco Remote Access Networks (BCRAN), and Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting (CIT) exam.
The three-exam path combines the BSCI and BCMSN exams into a single exam, called the Composite exam.
I’m often asked what order I recommend taking the exams in. After earning your CCNA, I recommend you begin studying for the BSCI exam immediately. You will find the fundamentals you learned in your CCNA studies will help you a great deal with this exam. You’re going to add to your CCNA knowledgebase quite a bit when it comes to OSPF and EIGRP, as well as being introduced to BGP.
On Ebay Aida Is More Than An Opera By Verdi
February 15, 2010
On Ebay Aida Is More Than An Opera By Verdi
by: Dave Bromley
Ask most people what Aida is and they will tell you it is an opera set in Egypt. Ask a marketing person and they will tell you that it is the sales formula that all advertising must incorporate if it is to succeed.The letters stand for:
A Attention
I Interest
D Desire
A Action
It is a formula that can also help you write better ebay auction listings.
It does not matter how well your description is written, how good your product is or what terrific value it represents if no one knows about it. So how do you grab people’s attention and get them to read your listing?
We know that the majority of potential bidders will start by going to eBay’s search engine. So the important thing is to get as many key words or phrases that they might use into your title. If I am looking for a Rolex Oyster wristwatch I might type in Rolex, Oyster or wristwatch into the search engine. If you have a Rolex Oyster Wrist Watch for sale at £25 I will not even find it if your listing title is something like “Amazing Value Top of the Range Quality Watch”
Neopets: The Power Of Children And Their Imagination
February 9, 2010
Neopets: The Power Of Children And Their Imagination
by: Jesse S. Somer
If you haven’t heard of Neopets than I have to seriously wonder what planet you come from, you definitely don’t hail from Neopia. www.neopets.com is one of the most popular sites on the whole Internet, and what does this mean to you and me? It’s a kid’s site. Our next generation is finding a home in virtual reality, and they love it. Neopets has over 70 million members from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo, and has had a total of over 300 billion website page views. According to Wired magazine’s Dec. 2005 edition, Neopets is the second most ‘sticky’ website on the whole of our planet’s World Wide Web. Average users are on the site around 6 hours a monthwith so many members the mind boggles as to how much time our future generations are spending time with their virtual pets. What is a virtual pet anyway? Why does every kid on the Earth want one? What do you do with them once they’re in your custody?
RPG Games For Beginners
February 4, 2010
RPG Games For Beginners
by: Taitelul Verde
Part I - characters, attributes and experience explained
For the ones of you that don’t know RPG stands for Role Playing Game, and is one of the most played type of game nowadays.
You are the main hero, and you interact with other characters also called NPC-s ( or Non Playable Characters if you’re playing single player). They will give you quests to do, and you have to do them, in order to get experience and advance to higher levels.
The story has the main quest, that will end the game when finished, and usually a lot of side quests, that will help you develop your character. The side quests are not necessary, but will get you deeper into the story and sometimes that is really worth it!
Most RPG games allow you to choose your type of character at the beginning. Usually there are several types of characters, all with different attributes, but there are three main categories to choose from: wizard, fighter and archer. These will take different names and attributes and will be further more differentiated into subcategories, depending on the game. For example, the wizard can become specialized on different categories of spells, like earth, water, dark magic, white magic, fire, lightning, nature.
How Does Web Hosting Provider Support You
February 1, 2010
How Does Web Hosting Provider Support You
by: Victoria Nikolayeva
When you are ready to purchase a web hosting package and start your own Internet activity then all you have to do is to choose a web hosting provider. There are a lot of criteria to figure out what is best for you. And one the most important (if not the most important) aspect is Support that you can get from the web hosting provider. Before joining any of web hosting providers try to check the Support team on that how qualified and fast the answer to your request will be submitted. Also check if there are many different ways you can get the required information.
Support can be organized in several ways. The most popular and routine support solution among web hosting providers is Database that may contain FAQs (Frequently asked questions), Database and Tutorials. All these Support options contain theoretical information considering web hosting options. All web hosting providers try to make this “Library” as full and reach as possible. Tutorials contain manuals, in case you have any questions you can access any of it and find all necessary information. If you didn’t find an answer to your question you can apply to the “advanced” support options. Those are the following:






