Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

MTboatguy

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Decided to study and get my certifications in CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, Etc. So I picked up 5 Cisco 2950 switches, 2 Cisco 1841 Routers, and 2 cisco 2503 routers, several module cards for the 1841 routers, a kit for making my own network cables.

With my wife owning an internet company, I figured it would not be a bad thing to have these certifications. Anybody else get crazy like this and decide they are going to walk down a new road? I have been working with networks for pretty much my whole adult life as a hobby, now I figured I would get serious.

Any other certified network engineers out there? Let me know if my equipment will get me to my goal!
 

tpenfield

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

So, you plan on helping out with the Internet business or perhaps doing some network administration of your own? Coming out of retirement?

The Cisco certifications are probably the better ones to get if you want to be in the thick of network design and administration. What goal are you trying to achieve with the Cisco gear, just to get the certifications?

Back in the day . . . Novell was the certification(s) to have (CNA, CNE), but once Microsoft nuked Novell, then those certifications became fairly useless. Cisco has stood the test of time better than many of the others. It seems (to me) that the demand in the professional I.T. certifications arena come and go. . .

CompTIA

ITIL

MSCA, MSCE, MCP

CNA, CNE
.
.
.
 

MTboatguy

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Well, my wife has been making moves of wanting to move the office out of the house and set up a data center in town, she currently hosts over 400 websites and decided she wants to grow the business, so I figured helping out would be a good thing, and besides I have been fascinated with computers and networks since I was a little kid and got my first calculator!

Besides my house looks like a data center now, I need to move all of this stuff, so I can have some room!

I wouldn't mind being able to eat breakfast at the breakfast bar again!

:laugh:
 

Gyrene

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

I'm an old bugger, I was in IT before there were networks, and I stayed, and managed network engineers up to a couple years ago. Certifications are like college degrees, they are necessary, but not sufficient. When you get the certifications, and employer can verify you attained them and it does matter.
In the process of learning, it will build your self confidence.
The equipment will continue to evolve, but the concepts of configuring will remain, so I think you have what you need to get going.

Good luck...
 

rbh

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Way back I learned to design and installed networks IBM type#1 IBM#2 Token ring, you get the picture.
So one day after running the last 4-5 runs to this floor I needed to get 3 runs to the center of this desk complex using a pack pole and the only way in was to crawl under the desks, secretaries freaked out when I got stuck between two of the desks and they needed to call security to lift the desks up so I could slide out.
No more inside wiring for me, it was less stressful learning to climb a pole and lash up cable.

Mindya do miss the secretaries at lunch on a warm spring/summer day.
 

Gyrene

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Way back I learned to design and installed networks IBM type#1 IBM#2 Token ring, you get the picture.
So one day after running the last 4-5 runs to this floor I needed to get 3 runs to the center of this desk complex using a pack pole and the only way in was to crawl under the desks, secretaries freaked out when I got stuck between two of the desks and they needed to call security to lift the desks up so I could slide out.
No more inside wiring for me, it was less stressful learning to climb a pole and lash up cable.

Mindya do miss the secretaries at lunch on a warm spring/summer day.

Wasn't that twinax?

I have a story - I was in a 3' raised floor area "in the hole" feeding cable to another guy across the room also "in the hole".
I was warm from the work, and just had teeshirt on. Guy on the floor feeding me slack lost his balance and stepped on my back right between my shoulders... After brief cursing, I thought nothing of it, until that night, while undressing, my wife goes WTF? I pull off the Teeshirt and look - a perfect footprint right in the middle.
The wife goes - "What do you do at work?" :lol:
 

rbh

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Twinax, was that the coax style cable with the stranded core you had to put B+C connectors on. (Crimp the tip, bayonet style?)


OH YA there was Wang as well.
 

Gyrene

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Twinax, was that the coax style cable with the stranded core you had to put B+C connectors on. (Crimp the tip, bayonet style?)


OH YA there was Wang as well.

Twinax was two coax (w/BNC connector) siamesed together. Only IBM....
 

rbh

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

The cable I am thinking of was for 10baseT or when the putters where daisy chained together, the center core was stranded not solid and you needed to crimp the end point over the core.

I think this was sometime around 1984-85+-

And I sure remember putting on those IBM type 1+2 bulkhead connectors PITA.

(I still use BIX blocks, must have 300+ 1A blocks in stock)
 

Gyrene

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

The cable I am thinking of was for 10baseT or when the putters where daisy chained together, the center core was stranded not solid and you needed to crimp the end point over the core.

I think this was sometime around 1984-85+-

And I sure remember putting on those IBM type 1+2 bulkhead connectors PITA.

(I still use BIX blocks, must have 300+ 1A blocks in stock)

That sounds like IBM mainframe terminals - they were coax-connected.
 

greenbush future

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

Decided to study and get my certifications in CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, Etc. So I picked up 5 Cisco 2950 switches, 2 Cisco 1841 Routers, and 2 cisco 2503 routers, several module cards for the 1841 routers, a kit for making my own network cables.

With my wife owning an internet company, I figured it would not be a bad thing to have these certifications. Anybody else get crazy like this and decide they are going to walk down a new road? I have been working with networks for pretty much my whole adult life as a hobby, now I figured I would get serious.

Any other certified network engineers out there? Let me know if my equipment will get me to my goal!

I'm not a techie, but I sell and recruit for the industry. I got fed up with my company, ethics, and profits, deceit, decided to make a go of it on my own. I don't think you need to lie cheat or steal to make a good living, something my current employer does routinely. I cant stand any of it and am miserable. But I'm also doing what you are, SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I'll sink or swim, but it will be done the way I see it, not ruining my reputation for anyone. Good luck, sounds like your future is bright. Good lord there's a bunch of jobs out there, I hope you do well in your venture and the certs you secured, will sure help. All my clients like to see them, along with paid experience. All the best!!
 

MTboatguy

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Re: Well I was bored, so got a wild hair up.....

I'm not a techie, but I sell and recruit for the industry. I got fed up with my company, ethics, and profits, deceit, decided to make a go of it on my own. I don't think you need to lie cheat or steal to make a good living, something my current employer does routinely. I cant stand any of it and am miserable. But I'm also doing what you are, SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I'll sink or swim, but it will be done the way I see it, not ruining my reputation for anyone. Good luck, sounds like your future is bright. Good lord there's a bunch of jobs out there, I hope you do well in your venture and the certs you secured, will sure help. All my clients like to see them, along with paid experience. All the best!!

Good luck to you, I have found a wealth of information on this subject on the internet, so if you require some information, just drop me a PM and I will be happy to pass on some resources that I have found quite helpful.
 
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