Warriors of the Net

This is an entertaining resource to help you visualize networking concepts. It is an animated movie “Warriors of the Net” by TNG Media Lab. It is there somewhere in the Cisco Academy learning materials, but maybe most of student didn’t notice.

Before viewing the video, there are a few things to consider. First, in terms of concepts, think about when in the video you are on the LAN, on WAN, on intranet, on Internet; and what are end devices versus intermediate devices; how the OSI and TCP/IP models apply; what protocols are involved.

Second, some terms are mentioned in the video which may not be familiar. The types of packets mentioned refers to the type of upper level data (TCP, UDP, ICMP Ping, PING of death) that is encapsulated in the IP Packets (everything is eventually converted into IP Packets). The devices the packet encounters on its journey are Router, proxy server, router switch, corporate intranet, the proxy, URL, firewall, bandwidth, hosts, web server.

Third, while port numbers 21, 23, 25, 53, and 80 are referred to explicitly in the video, IP addresses are referred to only implicitly.

Finally, though all animations often have simplifications in them, there is one outright error in the video. About 5 minutes in, the statement is made “What happens when Mr. IP doesn’t receive an acknowledgement, he simply sends a replacement packet.” As you will find out, this is not a function of the Layer 3 Internet Protocol, which is an “unreliable”, best effort delivery protocol, but rather a function of the Transport Layer TCP Protocol.

Here are the links:

1. Trailer:  Site A, Site B
2. Movie: Site A, Site B

Available also in other language.

Enjoy.

Source: Cisco Networking Academy, Exploration 1

World’s Youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate is a 12 year old Irtiza Haider from Pakistan!

Irtiza Haider has recently become the known world’s youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate.

Certifications at any level are tough — they are challenging to prepare for and certainly stressful to sit through. So when you hear that 12-year Irtiza Haider of Class 8 has recently become the known world’s youngest Cisco Certified Network Associate, you can’t help but wonder what enabled someone so young to accomplish something so big! “Well,” he starts off, “My father encouraged me a lot to undertake this course. He knew I was always interested in computers and he thought it would be a good way to spend my free time during the summer.”

The CCNA, is a certification that emphasizes on the technology and skills needed to work with networks of 100 nodes or fewer, covering both IP and non-IP networks including IPX and AppleTalk. Moreover, you need to have 80 percent of the questions correctly answered in the 2 hours, in order to pass the CCNA test.

So, did Irtiza find the preparation process difficult? “Yes. It is quite technical and you need to be able to understand theories and concepts, which obviously are not meant for students who are only 12 years old. But I was fortunate to have good teachers and people who supported and encouraged me.”

Irtiza had already enrolled in the CCNA classes back in June of 2007 however he, his father and teacher went to Islamabad to attend the Cisco Academy Awareness Day in Islamabad on June 19, 2007 to learn more about the prospects of the program. “I was very encouraged by Cisco representatives at the event and we got more information about how to proceed further.”

Amongst a lot of peers, they also met with Mu’men Suliman, Area Manager of the Cisco Network Academies. “Moving forward with the great expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy in Pakistan,” says Mu’men in retrospect, “I believe that Irtaza sets the bar of how the young generation is keen to earn the knowledge and expertise of Networking and advanced technologies in a country that will lead the future of the ICT platform.”

The 12-year old boy’s teacher and mentor is Rizwan Dastgir, Curriculum Lead and Academy Instructor at Ahad IT Services (a Cisco Local Academy), in Faisalabad, a city of about 3 million people. In a city well known for its agriculture, it’s surprising to find an IT institute focusing on producing young CCNAs. “There is a lot of talent in Pakistan and Faisalabad is no exception. This institute only helps to provide the people here with a platform.”

As with all things technical, Irtiza had been forewarned by his senior colleagues that the CCNA course would be extremely difficult and very dry, but that only added to the young boy’s persistence. “I found the curriculum very interesting and easy because of the way it was all explained to me by my teacher. I picked it up very quickly.” And if anyone thinks that this young Irtiza had it easy, think again. He spent 9 hour days at the Ahad IT institute, studying and learning. “I spent most of time at the academy during my entire summer vacation. We would start at about 11 a.m. and go on until 8 p.m. with a small break in the middle.”   details…

Source: lanwanword, Saturday, July 5, 2008

CCNA Concentration

According to Cisco literature, Cisco announced three new Associate-level concentrations that are relevant, role-based, and designed with the growing knowledge requirements of IT professionals and organizations in mind. These highly specialized associate-level concentrations represent areas of rapid development in technology convergence that makes up today’s sophisticated network environments and also offer a career stepping stone to the professional-level credentials.

The three CCNA concentration certification are:

• CCNA Security
• CCNA Voice
• CCNA Wireless

All of those three concentration certification require you to have CCNA.

CCNA Security Certification
Exam Code: 640-553 IINS: Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS)

CCNA Security Certification meets the needs of IT professionals who are responsible for network security. It confirms an individual’s skills for job roles such as:

• Network Security Specialists
• Security Administrators, and
• Network Security Support Engineers.

This certification validates skills including installation, troubleshooting and monitoring of network devices to maintain integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and devices and develops competency in the technologies that Cisco uses in its security structure

Students completing the recommended Cisco training will gain an introduction to core security technologies as well as how to develop security policies and mitigate risks. IT organizations that employ CCNA Security-holders will have IT staff that can develop a security infrastructure, recognize threats and vulnerabilities to networks, and mitigate security threats.

CCNA Voice Certification
Exam Code: 640-460 IIUC: Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications (IIUC v1.0)

The Cisco® CCNA Voice certification confirms that you have the required skill set for specialized job roles in voice technologies such as:

• Voice technologies administrator
• Voice engineer, and
• Voice manager.

It validates skills in VoIP technologies such as IP PBX, IP telephony, handset, call control, and voicemail solutions. Candidates also get exposure to the Cisco Unified Communications architecture and design covering mobility, presence, and TelePresence applications.

The CCNA Voice Certification enables employers to validate that their staff possess a strong foundation in voice applications and infrastructure concepts; and are capable of performing baseline installation, operating, and maintenance tasks on Cisco VoIP solutions, particularly the Smart Business Communications System from 8-250 lines.

CCNA Wireless Certification
Exam Code: 640-721 IUWNE: Implementing Unified Wireless Networking Essentials (IUWNE v1.0)

CCNA Wireless recognizes the critical importance of professionals supporting wireless LANS including:

• Networking Associates/Administrators
• Wireless Support Specialists, and
• WLAN project managers.

The CCNA Wireless Certification validates candidate’s skills in the configuration, implementation and support of wireless LANs, specifically those networks using Cisco equipment. Students completing the recommended Cisco training are provided with information and practice activities to prepare them for, configuring, monitoring and troubleshooting basic tasks of a Cisco WLAN in SMB and Enterprise networks. Employers will be able to validate their staff have the skills needed for basic wireless networking on a Cisco WLAN in SMB and enterprise networks after completing certification.

All of these three CCNA concetration certification are valid for three years. To recertify, Pass any current CCNA concentration exam (wireless, security, voice) OR pass a current 642 professional exam, OR pass the current CCIE written exam or the current CCDE written exam.

Source: Cisco, and other links.