By SANDRA GITTLEN

Places to talk about tech online

Network World, 08/14/01

When I was in college, our professors encouraged us to form study groups. They said that talking about what you learned is the best way to seal the knowledge into your memory.

Well, for those of you going through certification, there are plenty of places online where you can talk about what you're learning. There are also great question-and-answer sites, discussion groups and message boards that can address your concerns. Here is a sampling.

Network World's Help Desk
Ron Nutter, a Master Certified Novell Engineer and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, answers all your questions, from desktop troubles to network hookup woes. The Help Desk archives are a good first stop no matter what your issue is.

Network World's Dr. IntraNet
Dr. IntraNet, otherwise known as network architect Steve Blass, tackles technology topics such as building Windows 2000 networks and firewall readiness. He explains the ins and outs of VPNs, messaging and more.

Microsoft's IT Community
Microsoft has built a strong community of implementers that are geared toward helping each other out. With newsgroups, technical chats and user groups, you're bound to find the help you need with Microsoft's entire product line.

Oracle's Technology Network
If you're struggling with how to install and manage your Oracle databases, the company has a strong resource site for you. From white papers to discussion forums to user groups, Oracle has information abound.

Cisco certification discussion group
Got a perplexing question? Post it to this discussion group and you're bound to get an answer - and quickly. The participants in this forum talk about anything from the complexity of training books to hands-on challenges.

alt.certification.cisco, with archives.

There are other certification discussion forums listed.

Compaq's product forums
Compaq has broken down its discussion forums by specific product lines. Even if you have legacy Compaq equipment in your network, you can probably find answers here.

This is just a smattering of all the resources available to you. Let me know which ones you use at sgittlen@nww.com

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Gittlen is Events Editor at Network World.
You can e-mail her at sgittlen@nww.com.