Expert's answer

There are many paths you can follow for certification. The first area I would suggest looking at is what you are doing in your current position. See what certifications there are for what you are doing at this time. See how those would either help you advance, earn more money or hopefully both. Talk to your supervisor or manager to see what suggestions he/she might have and what support/expense reimbursement your company might offer in your certification pursuit.

The two most popular certifications I can think of are Cisco and Microsoft. Both have entry points and different paths that can be pursued based on your interest and ability to grow to more challenging or better paying jobs. Another source of information are headhunters or recruiters in the IT area. Use them as a resource for identifying certifications that can help solidify or advance your career.

Once you have decided what certification to pursue, how to control what it will cost is next. For software based certifications like Microsoft, you should be able to find demo versions of the software to train with while you are studying for each certification. If you are not able to use a dedicated machine to run the software, look at something like Sun VirtualBox which is a freely available virtualization software package that should be able to let you run the software on your existing computer. You might need to add additional memory for it to run smoothly.

For hardware certifications such as Cisco's, you can try to use software simulators such as GSN3 or Boson. While that is an option, if you havent worked with the physical hardware much or at all, I think you will learn more by getting the actual hardware to work with. You can buy this used on Ebay or through other online websites such as Ciscoland at a fair price. In the two years I have been working on the Cisco Certifications that I have (CCNA, CCNA Security, and CCSP) I have accumulated a full rack of gear that I can try all sorts of different configurations in and have the option of trying out something that I want to do at work without having to worry about causing a potential problem on the network for something I didnt forsee when I started making the change.

Expert's answer

I have used a number of different web site and web application testing tools over time and my new favorite is Selenium from www.openqa.org. Selenium offers multiple levels of testing capabilities starting with a record and playback add on for Firefox called Selenium IDE which is quite easy to get started with. Aiming Firefox at this link http://release.openqa.org/selenium-ide/1.0.2/selenium-ide-1.0.2.xpi will install the add on and ask you to restart Firefox. After restarting you will have a Selenium IDE option in the Tools menu that will open a dialog which defaults to recording the actions in your Firefox browser window. After stepping through the pages you want to include in the testing you click the stop button in the Selenium dialog and then you can replay the sequence by clicking the play button. You can save the test run for re-use later by choosing the save option.

Selenium offers a second component called Selenium RC (remote control) that allows for more sophisticated cross-browser testing and test scripting. In addition there is a tool called Bromine currently in beta that provides higher level overall test suite management functionality to help manage large numbers of test cases.

I really like that we can start with simple testing that can be run by almost anyone and follow that with more detailed programmatic testing later as needed.

Expert's answer

I looked through the message links that you sent me plus a few that I found on my own. Google does have a block of SMS numbers reserved for them. The problem appears to be if a message isnt responded to in a timely manner, the pairing they are doing between the sender and recipient of the sms message appears to be deleted. Once this has happened there doesnt appear to be any way of resolving the problem.

This is a problem with Google and the beta/free services that they offer. I wouldnt mind paying a small charge to use the service so that I could get in touch with someone to help with problems that cant be resolved any other way. I was surprised that there was no way of registering a problem with Google or at least being able to send an email for someone to look at the problem.

I have reached out to a contact I have a Google and will let you know if I hear anything back that can help.

Expert's answer

A low end solution will be to use AP's such as the Linksys WRT54GL that support the use of the open source DD-WRT distribution replacement firmware. In the DD-WRT distribution there is a WDS mode that will allow you to bridge the AP's together to where everyone appears to be on the same network. To get optimal signal between the three locations, I would suggest an external omni antenna on the outside of each building. You can use patch antennas but these are directional enough that you might have some challenges in getting and keeping them aimed. Due to the close proximity, I think you will find the omni's less of a hassle. You will need some type of hub/switch at each end to give you additional ports to plug pc's into. I would prefer to use Mode A for linking the AP's together due to the increasing congestion I am seeing all over the country in the 2.4ghz range used by mode B/G. This connection will be a little slow but it will be usable.

Using the DD-WRT distribution, you can have the AP do double duty - serving both the WDS function I just outlined and the local pc's within each building. I would suggest that you use a secondary AP at each location on a different frequency/channel instead of putting the first AP into double duty. Another option is to put a high gain omni at your main building with a strong commercial grade AP such as Cisco that has a transmit power between 100mw and the max of 1 watt. This may be a little more expensive because of the cost of this more powerful hardware but it may be less expensive than having hardware at each building.

The high end solution that I believe will have the best growth potential is to run fiber between each of the buildings (i.e. building a to b, building b to c and building c to a). Since each building probably has its own electrical panel, electrically isolating the network connections in one building from another will also help avoid other problems that could be introduced by ground potential differences since all three electrical panels will be grounded at different locations. By having all three buildings connected in a ring, you could lose one segment of fiber between two of the buildings and you will still be up and running. Due to the close distance between the buildings, you can do this with multi-mode fiber. The labor to run and bury the fiber will be most of the expense on this so think about pulling at least one extra pair of fiber between each of the buildings for growth use and possible replacement if you have one of the pairs fail for some reason.

The network speed would also be faster than what the wireless is able to offer using current technology. For those individuals still needing a wireless connection, you could use a lower powered AP that would service just the building it is in instead of you running the risk of becoming an ISP to the neighborhood. By using a wired connection, you could also think about implementing a voip type phone system and eliminating the need to run yet more wiring or having to use multiple cell phones to get everyone talking to each other. Current fiber speeds for what you are looking to do is 1 Gig. 10 Gig is being deployed but that is mostly for in datacenter use. If you get an ethernet switch that has multiple sfp ports that can be used for either fiber or copper connections based on the module that can be installed, you possibly could "bind" multiple ports together so that you can get a 2 gig connection between buildings instead of just a 1 gig connection.

Expert's answer

Getting CCNA requires you either take the composite exam 640-802 for $250 or the two individual exams 640-816 (ICND 1) and 640-822 (ICND 2) for $125 each for a total of $250. You will be covering the same material. It is a matter if you want to take one exam or two. By taking the ICND 1 exam, I believe that you will obtain CCENT which only something that a Cisco reseller/partner will recognize.

When I got my CCNA, there was only one exam to take. The two exam option is something new to the latest version of the CCNA exams. It wont be a cheap option regardless of which approach you take. The amount of studying and prep will be the same. I would rather take one exam and be done.

Expert's answer

The first thing to do is to make sure that the wireless adapter in the Vostro laptop is activated. The key combination Fn-F2 toggles the wireless adapter between on and off. You can also check in the Network Connections section of Control Panel to see whether the adapter is enabled or disabled. Once you have made sure that the wireless adapter is enabled you can go to the Network Connections section of Control Panel, highlight the wireless adapter, right-click and choose the Repair option. This should reset your wireless adapter and initiate the connection to the wireless network. These steps should ensure that your laptop can at least find the wireless network so that you can get connected.

Expert's answer

Congrats on getting your CCNA, that is one of the harder certification exams that you can take. As to what to pursue next, take some time to identify what really interests you and see what is in demand in the job market where you are. Since you have your CCNA, you can proceed directly onto CCNP.

If you want to pursue the Security track, you will need to pursue CCNA Security to proceed to be able to get the CCSP (I think in the next year or so it is reasonable to think that CCSP will evolve into CCNP Security to keep things in line with the new naming convention that is evolving from Cisco). The Voice track now requires you to obtain the CCNA Voice specialization prior to obtaining the CCVP.

Either of the professional level certifications is a significant undertaking. I obtained CCNA Security through self study but due to the cost of the equipment (used IPS's are cheap or easy to find), I went the bootcamp approach using the folks at CCBOOTCAMP for the CCSP track. It was intense and not something that you can easily obtain without some field experience. It was 2 weeks of intense studying and taking tests.

The use of Voice on networks is becoming more common with companies. One thing that I heard from several of the folks who were at CCBOOTCAMP the same time as I was but in different classes was that it was not unusual for those obtaining the CCVP to also get certified in CCNP. The same was heard for those in the CCSP track to also go down the CCNP track as well for similar reasons. Knowing more about about routing and switching will serve you well in either the Security or Voice tracks.

Expert's answer

Considering whether to stay in the career field that you are already in or move to another one is never an easy decision to make. The first thing to look at what it will take in terms of training and experience to move up in the current career path you are in. Will the time, effort and cost be worth the investment, help you advance and hopefully earn more money ?

If the answer is no or you think you have advanced as far as you can in your current career field, then see what it will take to get a position in a field where you can leverage the knowledge you already have while providing room for growth. Talk to recruiters in the area that specialize in the career that you are currently in to see what openings there may be at other companies that are in the same business. They can also give you a pretty good idea what training/experience you will need to move onto a better position.

Depending on the working relationship you have with your boss, sit down with him/her and talk about where you think you currently are at this point. Showing initiative in seeking out your boss for some career guidance might end up with some assistance in getting some training that could help you along the way. You mention that your boss has a CCIE. Pursuing one or more of the Cisco Certifications at the professional level (CCNP, CCNP Wireless, etc) could open up some other opportunities are your current place of employment. If it doesnt help open up other opportunities elsewhere.

Expert's answer

The CCIE certification is still one of the more valuable technical certifications to hold. Being able to complete the entire process in 9 months sounds like a fast track program. And since the CCIE certification can not be obtained without proving that you have real hands on technical skills you may have identified a good path to take from where you are to a career in networking. Look for some networking or networking related employment along the way if you can work it into your schedule so that you have some work experience to go with the certification when you are done and you will be in an even better position than with the certification alone.

Expert's answer

You have a number of choices for capturing screen shots and even video of remote Windows computer screens. The following is a non-exhaustive list of programs that can do what you ask. Of the lot I like the first, VNCscan the best for the kinds of remote monitoring and support functions that work well in our environment. Farsighter from sureshotsoftware.com is interesting because it will stream video of remote system activity back to your monitoring station.

http://www.vncscan.com/vs/Remote_Screenshots.htm
http://www.win-spy.com/
http://www.snarkysoft.com/products/
http://www.browsereporter.com/
http://www.sureshotsoftware.com/farsighter/index.html
http://www.allinonespy.com/
http://www.emco.is/products/remote-screenshot/features.php
http://www.mysuperspy.com/
http://www.bysoft.se/sureshot/windowsspy/index.html
http://www.zqware.com/screenviewer.htm
http://www.monitoringinvisibly.com/
http://www.waresight.com/