With so much technology shifting into online space it’s not just networking professionals that have to develop skills and knowledge beyond those honed on a standalone PC. IT workers learn incrementally on the job but to really build an effective CV you need vendor specific and vendor neutral certifications. This will often involve using technologies that are not in use in your workplace. So how do you actually gain the necessary experience and practice?
If you can attend a college or university you may have the chance to practice on a test network. For many, attending a college regularly is not convenient and of course every person on your course will be looking to use the same equipment and software. People fitting their studies around their work and family commitments or studying independently need other solutions. Many certifications offer some form of virtualisation, which provides an excellent solution. Since Windows 7 was released it has been possible to set up and manage virtual operating systems including Server 2008. This works for the common Microsoft technologies but what about other networking technologies such as Cisco?
A number of companies offer simulation solutions for Cisco technology. Getting hands-on experience is critical in the development of your networking skills, especially your troubleshooting skills. Although simulators are better than they used to be they’re still not Cisco routers or switches and they never will be. Although slightly more expensive the best solution by far is lab time on real remote Cisco equipment, such as those offered along with the Home Learning College CCNA course, where the racks are located in the US and remotely controlled by students. This is the most important part of getting your CCNA, succeeding on the job, and moving on to other certifications. You do your best learning when you’re configuring routers and switches and you make a mistake.
That’s so important, I want to repeat it. You do your best learning when you make a mistake. Why? Because then you have to fix it, that’s how you develop your troubleshooting skills. You can read about all the debug and show commands in the world, but you don’t really understand how they work until you’re figuring out why your Frame Relay connection is down, or your RIP configuration isn’t working. You can read the ip protocols output or what you get when you run debug ip rip, and you might remember it for a little while. But it’s only when you use it to troubleshoot a lab configuration, that you will really remember it.
If you would like to find out more about Home Learning College’s Cisco CCNA course please call 0800 917 5902 or visit the Cisco CCNA course page.