Cisco Ccna Certification The Hidden Details Of Telnet

Writen by Chris Bryant

Telnet is a simple yet powerful program that allows you to connect to a remote Cisco router or switch, and then configure it as though you were right at the console. Telnet is also one of those features that seems so very simple, until you get asked a half dozen questions about it on your CCNA exams. As with all topics, it's the details you know about Telnet that will help you pass the Intro and ICND exams.

Let's take a look at a few of these details. We'll begin by debunking one common belief about Telnet:

Telnet runs at layer 7 of the OSI model, not layer 3!

It's easy to think that Telnet runs at Layer 3 of the OSI model, the Network layer. After all, you're entering an IP address when you telnet in to a router or switch, and you may be on another router when you do it! None of that matters. Layer 3 is strictly the domain of routing. Like other features that require input from the end user, especially authentication, Telnet runs at the Application layer of the OSI model.

Speaking of authentication….

Cisco routers require a password to be set before anyone can telnet in.

Cisco routers can run quite a few passwords. We can set an enable password, an enable secret, an enable secret and enable password, a password for PPP connections, and even a console password.

All of those are optional, but the telnet password is not. Makes sense – you wouldn't want just anyone telnetting into your router, would you?

If you have no password set on the VTY lines of your router, no one can telnet in. If they try, they'll see this message:

R1#telnet 3.3.3.3

Trying 3.3.3.3 ... Open

Password required, but none set

[Connection to 3.3.3.3 closed by foreign host]

To allow telnet access into a Cisco router, configure the VTY lines with a password and the login command:

R3#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

R3(config)#line vty 0 4

R3(config-line)#login

% Login disabled on line 2, until 'password' is set

% Login disabled on line 3, until 'password' is set

% Login disabled on line 4, until 'password' is set

% Login disabled on line 5, until 'password' is set

% Login disabled on line 6, until 'password' is set

R3(config-line)#password cisco

Note the messages you get after enabling login. These messages simply indicate that the login won't work until a password is set. The order with which you use the login and password commands don't matter just make sure you use them both.

We're not quite done, though. The remote user can now telnet in, but by default, that user will be placed into user exec mode. If the user is to be allowed to enter privileged exec mode during a telnet session, an enable password or enable secret must be set.

R1#telnet 3.3.3.3

Trying 3.3.3.3 ... Open

User Access Verification

Password:

R3>enable

% No password set

R3>

The user is stuck in user exec until you set a local enable password. Doing so will allow the user to use that password to enter privileged exec mode.

R3#conf t

R3(config)#enable password ccna

R3(config)#^Z

R1#telnet 3.3.3.3

Trying 3.3.3.3 ... Open

User Access Verification

Password: < user entered cisco here>

R3>enable

Password: < user entered ccna here >

R3#

The user is now in privileged exec mode. There's also another method to use so the user is placed directly into privileged exec mode when telnetting in, avoiding the enable password prompt. Use the command privilege level 15 on the VTY lines to do so.

R3#conf t

R3(config)#line vty 0 4

R3(config-line)#privilege level 15

R1#telnet 3.3.3.3

Trying 3.3.3.3 ... Open

User Access Verification

Password: < user entered VTY line password here >

R3#

Note that the user went straight to privileged exec mode.

Managing Telnet Connections

We already know how to use Telnet (a layer 7 application) to access a remote device there are also commands that help us manage telnet connections.

"show sessions" is a common command to see what current telnet sessions are operating.

Telnet sessions do not have to be exited they can be suspended as well. The command to suspend the Telnet session is followed by striking the "X" key.

To resume this telnet session, enter the resume command followed by the session number ("resume 1") and press .

To end a suspended telnet session, enter the disconnect command followed by the session number ("disconnect 1") and press .

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccnp Bsci Certification Exam Five Ospf Details You Must Know

Writen by Chris Bryant

Preparing for your BSCI exam on your way to the Cisco CCNP certification, you can quickly get overwhelmed by the details! Here are five commonly overlooked points you should keep in mind when it comes to your OSPF studies.

The virtual link command includes the area number of the transit area, and if authentication is being used on Area 0, the virtual link command must include the authentication statement. Since the virtual link is a logical extension of Area 0, it stands to reason that it has to be configured with the authentication type and password configured on Area 0.

OSPF requires no seed metric when routes are being redistributed into an OSPF domain. The default cost for such routes is 20, but you do need to use the "subnets" option if you want to redistribute subnets into OSPF.

There are two kinds of external OSPF routes. The default, E2, reflects the cost of the path from the ASBR to the external destination. The other option, E1, has a cost reflecting the entire path from the local router to the external destination.

When configuring stub areas, each router in the area must agree that the area is stub. For a total stub area, only the ABR needs to be configured with the "no-summary" option, but all routers in the area still must agree that the area is stub.

Routers in a stub area will have a default route to use to reach external destinations; routers in total stub areas will have a default route to use in order to reach both external and inter-area networks.

The BSCI exam and CCNP certification require a great deal of dedication and hard work. Keep studying and paying attention to the details, and you will get there!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Ccnp Certification How And Why To Build An Etherchannel

Writen by Chris Bryant

CCNA and CCNP candidates are well-versed in Spanning-Tree Protocol, and one of the great things about STP is that it works well with little or no additional configuration. There is one situation where STP works against us just a bit while it prevents switching loops, and that is the situation where two switches have multiple physical connections.

You would think that if you have two separate physical connections between two switches, twice as much data could be sent from one switch to the other than if there was only one connection. STP doesn't allow this by default, however in an effort to prevent switching loops from forming, one of the paths will be blocked.

SW1 and SW2 are connected via two separate physical connections, on ports fast0/11 and fast 0/12. As we can see here on SW1, only port 0/11 is actually forwarding traffic. STP has put the other port into blocking mode (BLK).

SW1#show spanning vlan 10

(some output removed for clarity)

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

Fa0/11 Root FWD 19 128.11 P2p

Fa0/12 Altn BLK 19 128.12 P2p

While STP is helping us by preventing switching loops, STP is also hurting us by preventing us from using a perfectly valid path between SW1 and SW2. We could literally double the bandwidth available between the two switches if we could use that path that is currently being blocked.

The secret to using the currently blocked path is configuring an Etherchannel. An Etherchannel is simply a logical bundling of 2 - 8 physical connections between two Cisco switches.

Configuring an Etherchannel is actually quite simple. Use the command "channel-group 1 mode on" on every port you want to be placed into the Etherchannel. Of course, this must be done on both switches if you configure an Etherchannel on one switch and don't do so on the correct ports on the other switch, the line protocol will go down and stay there.

The beauty of an Etherchannel is that STP sees the Etherchannel as one connection. If any of the physical connections inside the Etherchannel go down, STP does not see this, and STP will not recalculate. While traffic flow between the two switches will obviously be slowed, the delay in transmission caused by an STP recalculation is avoided. An Etherchannel also allows us to use multiple physical connections at one time.

Here's how to put these ports into an Etherchannel:

SW1#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

SW1(config)#interface fast 0/11

SW1(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on

Creating a port-channel interface Port-channel 1

SW1(config-if)#interface fast 0/12

SW1(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on

SW2#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

SW2(config)#int fast 0/11

SW2(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on

SW2(config-if)#int fast 0/12

SW2(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on

The command "show interface trunk" and "show spanning-tree vlan 10" will be used to verify the Etherchannel configuration.

SW2#show interface trunk (some output removed for clarity)

Port Mode Encapsulation Status Native vlan

Po1 desirable 802.1q trunking 1

SW2#show spanning vlan 10 (some output removed for clarity)

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

Po1 Desg FWD 12 128.65 P2p

Before configuring the Etherchannel, we saw individual ports here. Now we see "Po1", which stands for the interface "port-channel1". This is the logical interface created when an Etherchannel is built. We are now using both physical paths between the two switches at one time!

That's one major benefit in action let's see another. Ordinarily, if the single open path between two trunking switches goes down, there is a significant delay while another valid path is opened - close to a minute in some situations. We will now shut down port 0/11 on SW2 and see the effect on the etherchannel.

SW2#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

SW2(config)#int fast 0/11

SW2(config-if)#shutdown

3w0d: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface FastEthernet0/11, changed state to administratively down

SW2#show spanning vlan 10

VLAN0010

Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

Po1 Desg FWD 19 128.65 P2p

SW2#show interface trunk

Port Mode Encapsulation Status Native vlan

Po1 desirable 802.1q trunking 1

The Etherchannel did not go down! STP sees the Etherchannel as a single link therefore, as far as STP is concerned, nothing happened.

Building an Etherchannel and knowing how it can benefit your network is an essential skill for CCNA and CCNP success, and it comes in very handy on the job as well. Make sure you are comfortable with building one before taking Cisco's exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Ccnp Certification Bcmsn Exam Tutorial Qos Service Types

Writen by Chris Bryant

To pass the CCNP exams, you've got to master Quality of Service, and the first step in doing so is knowing the differences between the different QoS types.

Now this being Cisco, we can't just have one kind of QoS! We've got best-effort delivery, Integrated Services, and Differentiated Services. Let's take a quick look at all three.

Best-effort is just what it sounds like - routers and switches making their "best effort" to deliver data. This is considered QoS, but it's kind of a "default QoS". Best effort is strictly "first in, first out" (FIFO).

An entire path from Point A to Point B will be defined in advance when Integrated Services are in effect. Integrated Services is much like the High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes found in many larger cities. If your car has three or more people in it, you're considered a "priority vehicle" and you can drive in a special lane with much less congestion than regular lanes. Integrated Services will create this lane in advance for "priority traffic", and when that traffic comes along, the path already exists. Integrated Services uses the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) to create these paths. RSVP guarantees a quality rate of service, since this "priority path" is created in advance.

Integrated Services is defined in RFC 1613. Use your favorite search engine to locate a copy online and read more about this topic. It's a good idea to get into the habit of reading RFCs!

Of course, if you've got a lot of different dedicated paths being created that may or not be used very often, that's a lot of wasted bandwidth. That leads us to the third QoS model, the Differentiated Services model. Generally referred to as DiffServ, there are no advance path reservations and there's no RSVP. The QoS policies are written on the routers and switches, and they take action dynamically as needed. Since each router and switch can have a different QoS policy, DiffServ takes effect on a per-hop basis rather than the per-flow basis of Integrated Services. A packet can be considered "high priority" by one router and "normal priority" by the next.

Believe me, this is just the beginning when it comes to Quality of Service. It's a huge topic on your exams and in the real world's production networks, and as with all other Cisco topics, just master the fundamentals and build from there - and you're on your way to CCNP exam success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCNA / CCNP exam questions! Details are on the website.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Network Exam Tutorial Becoming A Master Troubleshooter

Writen by Chris Bryant

Passing your Network+ exam is the first step on the way to becoming a master network troubleshooter, and that's where you need to be. The average network admin spends 90% of their time troubleshooting and 10% installing hardware and software, so you better be good at troubleshooting!

In my experience, there are two kinds of network troubleshooters in the world:

Those who take a structured approach

Those who hope to get lucky

The sad part is that I'm not really kidding. You've got good troubleshooters that take much the same structured approach every time they troubleshoot, and you've got "point-and-clickers" who start looking around feverishly and just hope to get lucky.

Don't be a "point-and-clicker". :) So what's this structured approach I've been talking about?

First, ask yourself and any appropriate personnel...

"What exactly are the problems?" When an end user calls for support, they tend to be very general about the issue. What is the issue? What are the symptoms of the problem? Get this info and you're 90% of the way home. If you don't know what the problem is, you can't troubleshoot it!

Second, identify the area that's affected by the problem. Let's say this is a typical email problem where a user reports that they can't get their mail. Is that person the only one with the problem? If so, start troubleshooting with their workstation. Is everyone on the network having the problem? Start with the server.

Next, ask my favorite question... "What has changed since this stopped working?" We all know the answer to that one, right? "It was like that when I got here!" But something had to change, and it's our job to figure out what.

Determining the cause of the problem is the next step, and this all depends on the previous step. If you repair the change that was just made, that will probably resolve the issue. If you see multiple changes that could have resulted in the problem, draw on your experience and decide what the most likely cause is.

The rest of the steps are simple, but the last one tends to get left off:

Put the solution into operation

Test the solution and note any possible side effects

DOCUMENT THE SOLUTION

Sorry to yell about that last one, but when you find something that works, write it down and share it with the group! :) This will save a lot of time the next time the same problem occurs.

You'll develop your own style of troubleshooting as you gain more experience, but the following is a good outline to follow for any network issue. Just follow this path of questions:

Is this issue self-contained, or the symptom of a larger problem?

What is the scope of the issue?

What has changed since this was working?

What is the most likely issue and fix?

Put the solution into action.

Test the solution.

Make sure the solution didn't cause more problems!

Document the solution and how you arrived at it.

Follow this order and your network will thank you – and so will your coworkers!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free certification exam tutorials, including Security+, Network +, CCNA, and CCNP topics. You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCNA, Network+, Security+, A+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! And now, you can earn your A + certification from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Exam Tutorial How To Spend Your Study Time

Writen by Chris Bryant

To pass the CCNA exam, you've got to create a study plan. Part of that plan is scheduling your study time, and making that study time count.

You've scheduled your exam you've created a document to track your study time you've planned exactly when you're going to study. Now the plan must be carried out, without exception.

What exceptions do I mean? Cell phones. Televisions. IPods. Significant others. The list can go on and on.

It's one thing to have a plan, and an important thing now you've got to make sure you carry it out to its fullest potential. That's easy to say until you're studying and a friend calls, or you remember that TV show you wanted to watch is on tonight, or you start surfing the Web for Cisco information and end up playing a game.

You MUST make these small sacrifices in order to achieve your main goal, the CCNA. Any worthwhile accomplishment requires some small sacrifice.

TV will be there when you're done studying. Your significant other will be there when you're done studying. And believe it or not, people once existed without cell phones! Turn the phone off. Turn your instant messenger service off. Turn your text pager off. Despite what we think, the world can do without communicating with us for 90 minutes. Remember, it's better to have 90 minutes of great study than 180 minutes of constantly interrupted study. Studies show that while a single phone call causes an 11-minute interruption on average, it takes well over 20 minutes to get back to what you were doing with the proper mental focus. This is true at the office and at your home!

How To Spend Your Study Time CCNA candidates generally spend their time split between book study, practice exams, and lab time on real Cisco equipment. The best study is done by a combination of these, not by overly relying on one. Let's take a look at each method.

Book study – I've never understood why some people (usually the trolls we were talking about earlier) talk about book study like it's a bad thing. "You can't learn about technology from books." What a load of manure. You have to learn the theory before you can understand how a router or switch operates. The best way to learn the theory is to read a good book.

At the CCNA level, you doubtless know that you have dozens of choices when it comes to books. Some of the better-known books really do gloss over some important topics, such as binary math and subnetting. Make sure to pick a book or books that go beyond just explaining the theory and that give you a lot of explanation of router configs and real-world examples as well.

Practice Exams: Practice exams are good in moderation, but don't use them as your main focus of study. Occasionally, I'm asked for study tips by candidates who have taken the exam a few times and not passed yet. I ask them what they're doing to prepare, and they give a list of companies they bought practice exams from. (You see a lot of this on Internet forums as well.)

Don't fall into this trap. Practice exams are fine if used as a readiness check, but some candidates just take them over and over again, which renders them basically useless.

On top of that, some of them cost hundreds of dollars. That's money you'd be much better off spending on Cisco equipment to practice on.

Again, I'm not against practice exams as a supplement to your studies. Just don't make them the main focus of your study. Taking practice exams over and over and hoping the exam will be just like the practice exam is a recipe for disaster. As I tell my students, when you're in front of a rack of routers and switches during a job interview (or at 2AM when you've been called in to fix a problem), the correct answer is not "D". You've got to know what to do.

And how do you learn these skills? Funny you should ask.... Lab Time On Real Cisco Equipment. Again, speaking from experience: This is the most important part of getting your CCNA, succeeding on the job, and going on to get your CCNP.

Getting hands-on experience is critical to developing your networking skills, especially your troubleshooting skills. Although simulators are better than they used to be, they're still not Cisco routers, and they never will be.

You do your best learning not only when you're configuring your routers, but when you screw something up.

That's so important, I want to repeat it – loudly: You do your best learning when you screw something up. 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 isn't working, or your RIP configuration isn't working.

This is true at every level of the Cisco Learning Pyramid. I can show you the show ip protocols output or what you get when you run debug ip rip, and you might remember it for a little while. But when you use it to troubleshoot a lab configuration, you WILL remember it.

Putting your own practice lab together will also help get you over what I call "simulator question anxiety". If you spend any time on CCNA Internet forums, you'll see discussion after discussion about these exam questions. To a certain point, this discussion is justified. The simulator questions carry more weight on your exam than any other question while you can earn partial credit on them, you've got to get them right or you will most likely fail the exam.

There's no reason to be anxious about them if you're prepared. You don't want to be the person who walks into the testing room that's scared to have to create a VLAN or an access list you want to be the person who walks into the testing room confident of their ability to perform any CCNA task. The best way to be that confident is to know you've done it – on real Cisco equipment.

There are several vendors that sell routers and switches on ebay most of them sell CCNA and CCNP kits that include all the cables and transceivers that you'll need as well. (And how is a simulator going to help you learn about cables and transceivers?) Keep in mind that you can always sell the equipment after you're done with the CCNA, or you can add a little equipment to it to go after your CCNP.

Whichever of these methods you use (and I hope you'll use all of them), make sure to keep them in balance with each other. Don't depend too much on just one.

On the topic of learning how to troubleshoot… as you run labs on your Cisco equipment, you'll run into questions or problems that you don't know the answer to yet. Get used to using Google (or your favorite search engine) to find the answer to these problems - but try to figure it our yourself first!

There's nothing wrong with asking questions of someone else if you're not able to find the answer yourself. Trying to find the answer yourself is another important troubleshooting skill you need to start developing today. Don't be one of these people who posts a simple question on a forum without trying to find the answer on your own. Besides, you get more satisfaction and build more confidence when you determine the answer yourself.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Get your CCNA study guide with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Certification The Many Different Kinds Of Switching

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're studying for your CCNA exam, whether you're taking the Intro-ICND path or the single-exam path, you're quickly introduced to the fact that switching occurs at Layer 2 of the OSI model. No problem there, but then other terms involving switching are thrown in, and some of them can be more than a little confusing. What is "cell switching"? What is "circuit switching"? Most confusing of all, how can you have "packet switching"? Packets are found at Layer 3, but switching occurs at Layer 2. How can packets be switched?

Relax! As you'll see in this article, the terms aren't that hard to keep straight. Packet switching, for example, describes a protocol that divides a message into packets before they're sent. The packets are then sent individually, and may take different paths to the same destination. Once the packets arrive at the final destination, they are reassembled.

Frame switching follows the same process, but at a different layer of the OSI model. When the protocol runs at Layer 2 rather than Layer 3, the process is referred to as frame switching.

Cell switching also does much the same thing, but as the name implies, the device in use is a cell switch. Cell-switched packets are fixed in length. ATM is a popular cell-switching technology.

The process of circuit switching is just a bit different, in that the process of setting up the circuit itself is part of the process. The channel is set up between two parties, data is transmitted, and the channel is then torn down. The circuit-switching technology most familiar to CCNA candidates is ISDN.

Don't let these terms confuse you. The four different terms are describing much the same process. The main difference is that they are occurring at different levels of the OSI model, and using a different transport method to get the data where it needs to go.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Computer Certification Keeping Your Cool On Exam Day

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you wake up on exam day, one of two things is going to happen. Well, yes, you're going to pass or fail. But what I'm thinking of comes before that, and has a lot to do with how you perform on exam day.

You're either going to have a tremendous feeling of anticipation or the dreaded feeling of being nervous about it. Anticipation is a great thing to feel on exam day. You're driving to the exam center, excited about the exam. You're much like a football player, slapping another player on the helmet or the shoulder pads before the game starts. (Warning: Don't try this on the exam proctor.) You know there's a challenge ahead, but you're looking forward to it. In your mind, you're already victorious; you're at the testing center only to make it official.

Conversely, there's nothing worse than being nervous or feeling unprepared before the exam. I've driven up to an exam center and seen exam candidates doing some last-minute cramming in their car. Sadly for them, if there's something you were unprepared for at 8 AM on exam day, you're still going to be unprepared when you go into the test center, no matter what you read in the car at the last minute. You don't see football players studying their playbook on the sideline before the game starts.

It's all about preparation. I regularly tell my students and customers that you don't pass a Cisco exam (or any other vendor exam) the day you take it. You pass when you turn the TV off for weeks before the exam to study; you pass when you spend time and money to attend a class or buy a book or training video; you pass when you give up a weekend to get some hands-on experience. That's when you pass. The exam score you get is simply feedback on your exam preparation.

There's a great saying "Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance". That describes to a "T" what your strategy to pass the exam must include. Put the time in well before exam day and you'll reap the rewards on the big day. If you're just planting the seeds of knowledge in your car the morning of the exam, don't expect much of a harvest.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Certification Exam Tutorial Prefix Notation

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're preparing to pass the CCNA exam and earn this coveted Cisco certification, you've got to be totally prepared for the many kinds of binary and subnetting questions Cisco may throw at you. You also have to be familiar with the different manners in which a subnet mask can be expressed, and that's where your knowledge of prefix notation comes in. Prefix notation is an alternate way to express the value of a subnet mask, as opposed to the more familiar dotted decimal format. Not only will you see prefix notation in Cisco documentation, but you'll probably see it on your CCNA exam. Consider the following two values:

255.255.255.0

/24

Believe it or not, those two values are exactly the same. The first mask is written out in the more familiar dotted decimal format, and you know by looking at those first three octets that every bit is set to "1", since the maximum value of such an octet is 255.

The second value represents the exact same mask, only this value is expressed in prefix notation. This particular value would be pronounced "slash twenty-four", and the 24 represents the number of consecutive ones that are set in the subnet mask.

Those of us who hate to type numbers are particularly appreciative of this, since it means you'll have to type a lot less numbers to represent a subnet mask. In addition, it's a lot easier to discuss masks in prefix notation than dotted decimal. ("I thought about using a two-fifty-five two-fifty-five two-fifty-five zero mask ,but then decided to use a two-fifty-five two-fifty-five two-fifty-five one-twenty-eight mask...")

Be sure you're comfortable with prefix notation before taking your CCNA exam. As with Cisco documentation, you'll most likely see masks expressed in both dotted decimal and prefix notation, and you've got to be ready to use the both as well!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Network Certification Exam Tutorial An Introduction To Backup Types

Writen by Chris Bryant

Fault tolerance isn't fault invulnerability. No matter how hard we work to avoid single points of failure, sooner or later something catastrophic will happen to a part of our network. Don't get me wrong, I'm no pessimist - quite the opposite! But part of being a world-class network manager is having a disaster recovery plan in place, and in place before disaster strikes. It doesn't do you any good to implement a data backup strategy after data is lost!

I bring that point up because having a sound backup system in place is a vital part of administering a network. If an email server in your network right now, would you have a backup to restore as much data as possible? Take it from me -- you better.

It's rare to find a network that has no backup system in place, but whether that system is current is often another matter. Personally, I've visited networks where they had a tape drive right there in the server room, with tapes right next to it, and no system in place. Everyone thought someone else was supposed to be handling it (or hoped someone else was), the tapes had no dates, etc. That's exactly where you and I do not want to be.

Part of developing a data backup strategy is deciding how often to run backups, and what kind of backups to run. It's not always feasible to back up all data on every single server every single night. Let's look at the different backup types and exactly what gets backed up when they're run.

Files have an archive bit that indicates whether the file has been changed since the last backup ran. When a file is backed up, this bit is set to "off". When a new file is created or an old file's contents are altered, this bit is set to "on". Keep this archive bit in mind during the following discussion.

A full backup is just what it sounds like. All files are backed up, regardless of the archive bit setting. That's the easy one. Watch these next two. :) The difference is subtle, but significant.

An incremental backup backs up all files created or changed since the last backup of any kind. Every single file with the archive bit set to "on" is backed up.

A differential backup backs up everything that is different -- that is, all files created or changed -- since the last full backup only.

Now you may be thinking, "What in the heck do we need both of those for? What's the real difference?" Believe it or not, this wasn't developed just to make your Network+ exam harder. It just seems that way!

Your choice of backups depends largely on the amount of time you have to run your backups and how much data will have to be stored. Many network administrators choose to run full backups only on weekends and either incremental or differential backups during the week.

One network I was the admin for had this backup schedule:

Every Sunday - full

Every Tuesday - incremental

Every Thursday - incremental

I was lucky enough to never have to use the backups, but let's say that on Saturday morning, a drive went bad. Since I used incremental backups, I needed the last full backup and both of the incremental backups. If I had run differential backups, I would have needed only the last full backup and the last differential backup.

The type of backups your network will run really depends on three factors:

the amount of data to be backed up

the capacity of the backup media

the time available for the backup

If you can run full backups every night, great; if you can't, differential backups are a great middle ground between full and incremental backups. The important thing is that you do run them!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free CCNA exam and Network + tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, Ultimate Network+ Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and twice-daily CCNA, Network+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! Details are on the website. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! And now, you can earn your Security + certification from The Bryant Advantage!

The Value Of A Computer Information Systems Degree

Writen by Morgan Hamilton

The invention of computers has changed the world. In this, the computer age, almost everything we do involves computers and the Internet. Communication, business, entertainment, and other aspects of human life rely on computers and related technology. It's essential for people to adapt to the computer revolution by making themselves familiar with computer related knowledge. Computer information systems degree and similar courses can provide people with opportunities to benefit from the influence of computers.

Many parents these days are encouraging their children to consider a computer information systems degree for their future career. Parents can sense the trends of the present job market and they know that computer related degrees are a wonderful way of approaching college. A computer information systems degree provides a person with valuable knowledge that are in demand in most modern businesses. Knowledge about computers in today's world gives a person an edge over individuals who are computer illiterate.

I have a brother who was fond of computer games when he was a child. His interests influenced him to go after a computer systems information degree in college and these days he has got himself a lucrative business. It was amazing to see him progress through his schooling. He was very dedicated and interested in his course and earned his degree in a short period of time. My brother has certainly made a wise decision in pursuing a computer information systems degree.

The use of computers is still expanding. The present trends clearly show that computers will continue to play a major role in human life. If you want to be familiar with computers by taking up a computer systems information degree, you can hop on the Internet and discover the available opportunities. Start working your way towards a wonderful computer career via a computer information systems degree.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning computer. Get more information by visiting Computer Information Systems Degree

Cisco Ccnp Bsci Exam Tutorial 10 Isis Details You Must Know

Writen by Chris Bryant

Earning your CCNP certification and passing the BSCI exam depends on knowing the details of many Cisco technologies, ISIS chief among them. To help you prepare for exam success, here's a list of ISIS terminology and basic concepts that will help you pass this tough exam. Enjoy!

ISIS Terms:

Domain: section of the network under common administrative control

Area: logical segment of the network composed of contiguous routers and their data links

Intermediate System: A router.

End System: A host device.

The four levels of ISIS routing:

Level 0: ES-IS routing in the same subnet.

Level 1: IS-IS routing in the same area.

Level 2: IS-IS routing in the same domain.

Level 3: Inter-domain routing performed by InterDomain Routing Protocol (IDRP).

ISIS Adjacency Possibilities:

L1: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area and any L1/L2 in the same area.

L2: Can form adjacency with any L2 in any area, and with an L1/L2 in any area.

L1/L2: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area, L1/L2 in any area, and L2 in any area.

A router interface's SNPA (Subnetwork Point Of Attachment) is its highest DLCI number if it's on a Frame network, and its MAC address if the interface is on an Ethernet segment.

ISIS Hello Types:

ESH: ES Hello – Sent by End Systems to discover a router.

ISH: IS Hello – Send by Intermediate Systems to announce their presence. End Systems listen for these.

IIH: IS-to-IS Hello – Send by one IS to be heard by another IS. These hellos makes IS-IS adjacencies possible.

Best of luck on your CCNP exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCNA / CCNP exam questions! Details are on the website.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", just visit the website! You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccnp Bsci Exam Tutorial Ip Version 6 Zero Compression

Writen by Chris Bryant

BSCI exam success is all part of becoming a CCNP, and part of that success is now learning the basics of IP Version 6, or IPv6. One of the most difficult parts of learning IPv6 concepts is the radically different addressing scheme that IPv6 uses as compared to IPv4. Just look at these sample addresses:

Typical IPv4 address: 129.14.12.200

Typical IPv6 address: 1029:9183:81AE:0000:0000:0AC1:2143:019B

As you can see, IPv6 isn't exactly just tacking two more octets onto an IPv4 address!

I haven't met too many networkers who really like typing, particularly numbers. You'll be happy to know there are some rules that will shorten those addresses a bit, and it's a very good idea to be fluent with these rules for your exam.

You remember from your CCNA studies that there's no difference between an upper-case letter and lower-case letter in hexadecimal. That's one of three basic rules you need to know when working with IPv6 addressing. The other factors deal with all the zeroes you'll run into in IPv6 addresses! One of these rules is the rule of zero compression.

The rule of zero compression states that if an address contains consecutive fields of zeroes, they can be expressed with two colons. It doesn't matter if you have two fields or eight, you can simply type two colons and that will represent all of them. The key here is that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address. This is referred to as zero compression. Here's an example:

Original format: 1234:1234:0000:0000:0000:0000:3456:3434

Using zero compression: 1234:1234::3456:3434

Again, you must remember that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address expression.

What if there are zeroes in the address that don't quite fit this rule? The next part of our IPv6 tutorial will deal with leading zero compression, another tool you can use to shorten these long, long addresses!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", just visit the website! You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the BSCI exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Comptia Network Certification Exam Tutorial The Five Ip Address Classes

Writen by Chris Bryant

Part of every IP address indicates the network the host is part of, and the other part identifies that particular host. You need to be able to look at an IP address and determine the network and host portions, and you do that by determining the class of the address.

Many books list only three network classes, but there are five. Since you shouldn't assign an address from the last two classes to a host, you better know what they are!

Class A networks have a beginning octet of 1 - 126.

Class B networks have a beginning octet of 128-191.

Class C networks have a beginning octet of 192 - 223.

Notice a number missing? 127 is the reserved first octet for loopback addresses, such as the 127.0.0.1 address assigned to a PC.

Class D networks are reserved for multicasting. Class D addresses begin with an octet in the 224 - 239 range.

Class E networks are reserved for "experimental use", and the first octet of these addresses is 240 - 255. Those addresses are reserved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Neither Class D nor Class E networks should be assigned to host devices. For exam and real-world purposes, the entire address range 224.0.0.0 - 255.255.255.255 are unacceptable for assignment to network hosts.

Now, what does all this have to do with identifying the network and host portions of an address? Classes A, B, and C all have different default network masks, and it's that mask that tells you which part of an address is the network portion and which part is the host portion.

Class A's default mask is 255.0.0.0, or /8.

Class B's default mask is 255.255.0.0, or /16.

Class C's default mask is 255.255.255.0, or /24.

Even if you were already familiar with these default masks, you may be wondering what that "/8" business is. This is another way to express a network mask. It's called prefix notation, and it's much less complicated than it sounds. The number behind the slash is simply the number of consecutive ones at the beginning of the mask when it's expressed in binary.

255.0.0.0 in binary is 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000.

255.255.0.0 in binary is 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000.

255.255.255.0 in binary is 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000.

When you see all the values in an octet set to 1, the value of the octet is 255. If you see an IP address with an octet set higher than 255, it's invalid. ("256.1.1.1" literally cannot happen, so it's an invalid address.)

Prefix notation is really the preferred way of expressing subnet masks. A mask of /8 is pronounced "slash eight", which is a lot better than saying "two-fifty-five zero zero zero". It also has less numbers to type, which I still believe is the real reason we use it! You might not see prefix notation on your Network+ exam, but you need to know it to work in today's networks.

Now, about those network and host portions.....

The Class A network mask 255.0.0.0 means the first octet of the address is the network portion, and the final three octets are the host portion.

The Class B network mask 255.255.0.0 means the first two octets of the address are the network portion, and the final two octets are the host portion.

The Class C network mask 255.255.255.0 means the first three octets of the address are the network portion, and the final octet is the host portion.

Identifying the network or host portion of a given IP address is a two-step process:

Determine the address class by examining the first octet, then...

... use the network mask to determine the network and host portions.

Let's get a little practice with this. What is the network portion of the address 23.14.189.200?

The first octet falls into the Class A range.

The network mask for Class A is 255.0.0.0, meaning that the first octet of the address is the network portion and the remaining three octets are the host portion.

That's really all there is to it. The first octet, "23", is the network portion. The remaining octets, "14.189.200", comprise the host portion.

It's just that simple to identify the network and host portions of an IP address. But what happens when we run out of IP addresses for our hosts? Find out in my next CompTIA Network Plus exam tutorial!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free certification exam tutorials, including CCNA and CCNP tutorials. CompTIA Network+, Security+, and A+ certification tutorials are available, also! Visit his blog and sign up for Certification Central, a daily newsletter packed with CCNA, Network+, Security+, A+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! A free 7-part course, "How To Pass The CCNA", is also available. Coming in 2007 -- Microsoft Vista certification with The Bryant Advantage!

Microsoft Certification 101

Writen by Natalie Aranda

In the current job market, Microsoft certifications represent one of the richest and varied spectrums of job roles and responsibilities, which are embraced by industry professionals worldwide, that earning a specific credential provides an objective validation of their ability to successfully perform critical IT functions in a wide range of companies and industries.

Microsoft certification is the top effective way to achieve goals in long-term IT careers, being at the same time a useful tool for companies to develop and retain valuable IT professionals.

The following certifications are aimed for network administrators, network engineers, systems administrators, IT engineers, information systems administrators, network technicians, technical support specialists and other IT professionals currently working in complex computing environment of medium-to-large organizations.

- MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) certification A Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer credential qualifies an IT professional to effectively plan, maintain, implement, and support information systems in diverse computing environments using both the Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and the Microsoft .NET integrated family of server products.

To qualify prerequisite is completion of network+ or documentation of equivalent experience for at least one year on Windows 2003, implementing and administering a network operating system

- MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer) certification The Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) credential provides industry recognition to professional developers who build applications using Microsoft Visual Studio. An MCSD candidate should have experience equivalent to one or two years of deploying, building, and maintaining applications.

This certification is designed for individuals who intend to pursue the skills necessary to develop Windows-based applications using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, Microsoft ASP .NET, and for those interested in developing XML Web services-based solutions.

- MCSD (Microsoft Certified Software Developer) certification The Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for Microsoft .NET credential is the top-level certification for advanced developers requiring as prerequisite an MCSD for Microsoft .NET and two years of experience developing and maintaining solutions and applications.

This refers to the professional who designs and develops leading-edge enterprise solutions, using Microsoft development tools and technologies including also the Microsoft .NET, a certification to gain the knowledge, skills, and validation needed to be recognized as an expert with Microsoft products and technologies.

- MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Analyst) certification The Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) credential will provide you with skills to successfully manage, implement, and troubleshoot the needs of Microsoft Windows 2003–based operating environments.

This certification requires a prerequisite completion of network+ or documentation of equivalent experience.

- MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) The Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) are technical and instructional experts in Microsoft technologies, products and solutions. They are in charge of Learning Solutions for partners who are required to use a Microsoft Certified Trainer when delivering training using Microsoft Business Solutions courses or official Microsoft Learning products.

Natalie Aranda writes about technology and learning. Certifications training often help pass certification exams. A MCSE certification qualifies an IT professional to effectively plan, maintain, implement, and support information systems in diverse computing environments using both the Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and the Microsoft .NET integrated family of server products.

Cisco Ccnp Bsci Exam Tutorial The Bgp Attribute Med

Writen by Chris Bryant

Your BSCI exam and CCNP certification success depend on mastering BGP, and a big part of that is knowing how and when to use the many BGP attributes. And for those of you with an eye on the CCIE, believe me - you've got to know BGP attributes like the back of your hand. One such BGP attribute is the Multi-Exit Discriminator, or MED.

The MED attribute is sent from a router or routers in one AS to another AS to indicate what path the remote AS should use to send data to the local AS.

That sounds a little confusing on paper, so let's walk through an example. R1 is in AS 1, and R2, R3, and R4 are in AS 234. R4 is advertising a loopback into BGP, and R1 has two possible next-hops to get to that loopback - R2 (172.12.123.2) and R3 (172.12.123.3). Let's see which of the two paths R1 is using.

R1#show ip bgp 4.4.4.4

BGP routing table entry for 4.4.4.4/32, version 8

Paths: (2 available, best #2, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)

Flag: 0x208

Advertised to non peer-group peers:

172.12.123.3

234

172.12.123.3 from 172.12.123.3 (3.3.3.3)

Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external

234

172.12.123.2 from 172.12.123.2 (2.2.2.2)

Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external, best

R1 is using 172.12.123.2 as the next-hop to enter AS 234. If all values are left at their default, we could have 100 routes being advertised from AS 234 to AS 1 and the next-hop would remain the same.

We can configure R2 and R3 to send different MED values to R1, and the router sending the lowest MED would be the preferred next-hop. (The MED is a metric, and the lowest metric is always preferred.) We'll configure the MED attribute on both R2 and R3, sending a MED of 200 from R2 and 100 from R3.

R2(config)#route-map SET_MED_200 permit 10

R2(config-route-map)#set metric 200

R2(config-route-map)#router bgp 234

R2(config-router)#neighbor 172.12.123.1 route-map SET_MED_200 out

R3(config)#route-map SET_MED_100 permit 10

R3(config-route-map)#set metric 100

R3(config-route-map)#router bgp 234

R3(config-router)#neighbor 172.12.123.1 route-map SET_MED_100 out

After clearing the BGP table on R1, R1 will still see both next-hop addresses and will still consider both to be valid, but the path through R3 will be selected due to its lower metric.

Just keep in mind that the MED is actually a metric, and lower metrics are more desirable in path selection. That will put you one step closer to passing the BSCI and earning your CCNP Certification!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCNA / CCNP exam questions! Details are on the website.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", just visit the website! You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Why Get A Microsoft Mcse Certification

Writen by John Gall

In the years of the dot com boom and bust, the Microsoft MCSE Certification has gotten its eye blackened over an over. Paper Microsoft MCSE's who were excellent at finding brain dumps and passing exams gave the Microsoft MCSE Certification a bad name. What used to be a guarantee of a nice salary is now ridiculed in some ignorant circles. After working in the Information Technology field for twelve years I still believe the Microsoft MCSE Certification is worth every dollar you spend and every hour spent in study and practice. I'll share my history with the Microsoft MCSE Certification and why I still believe it's a valuable certification credential.

My History: Pre Microsoft MCSE

When I started out as a PC LAN Analyst I wanted to someday run my own shop. The best way I felt to get there was to study for the much sought after Novell CNE and Microsoft MCSE Certification. Because I worked in a Novell environment and had no opportunity to work with Windows NT I started on my Novell CNE Certification. I went book by book purchasing them on eBay and reading while I worked a second job. The CNE was also an easier certification to get as the answers to the exam came direct from the books. Microsoft's MCSE Certification exams tend to generalize on the concepts from the books rather than the text verbatim. Once complete with the CNE I had a full understanding of Novell's File Server and their weak attempt at a firewall/web server. I understood archaic technologies like IPX and Token Ring as well as networking technologies used today such as Ethernet, and TCP/IP I at least had enough knowledge to perform well at my job and work as an IT Consultant where I formed my own business Gall Consulting which runs today as a successful income.

After getting my CNE Certification I finally got a job running my own show. I had one Novell 3.12 server which ran the entire company. Within a year we began to work with Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and NT 4.0 was just on the scene. I began the lengthy study of the seven Microsoft MCSE exams. When I had completed the Microsoft MCSE certification a year later I was like Yoda around the job. I had a complete set of knowledge about Windows Networking and Windows Applications. Because I completed the entire set of Microsoft MCSE exams and coursework I knew the technology and the theory behind the technology. This led to high performance as a Senior LAN Administrator. Rather than a swiss cheese education I had a thorough understanding of Microsoft Windows technology and could adapt to new situations easily.

NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 MCSE

When Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory was released we faced a problem. My small Novell to small Microsoft NT Domain, had grown to a world wide enterprise with five domains including various trusts going everywhere. DNS was handled by our UNIX group and we had to find a way to learn a new technology, create a single corporate Active Directory Domain and use Dynamic DNS on our Windows Active Directory domain controllers yet co-exist with our UNIX administrators who were none to happy to have to share DNS. Faced with this challenge I returned to what worked in the past. I studied for the Windows 2000 MCSE Certification

As I did before I started at the beginning and worked my way through each course and exam until I had completed my Windows 2000 MCSE Certification. By now I had a great career as an IT Operations Manager and no one was going to hire or pay me extra just for getting my Microsoft MCSE Certification. This is the true value of the certification. It started as my drive to obtain career credentials and became a vehicle to ensure I had an entire breadth of knowledge that would let me take on monumental tasks. Needless to say, today we have a single corporate Active Directory domain with a few sub domains necessary for DMZ areas.

Our DNS works so well the UNIX group asked us to take over and we're able to build on Active Directory as a source of valuable corporate data. My point in this article is to look at the Microsoft MCSE Certification as a way to ensure you have all the knowledge rather than just what's necessary in the short term. Knowing why something works is much more powerful than knowing just enough to build it in the first place the coursework involved in the Microsoft MCSE Certification provides this. I can say without fail, EVERY Information Technology professional I've worked with that had a Microsoft MCSE Certification performed at a MUCH higher level than those who only had on the job experience or had only studied what they needed to complete their daily tasks.

About The Author

John Gall is a full time IT Manager and IT Consultant in Minnesota. He runs several websites as a hobby featuring content similar to that in this article.

http://www.napavalleypictures.com; http://www.gallconsulting.com; http://www.sandalspictures.com; http://www.microsoftclassaction.com

Cisco Ccna Ccnp Home Lab Tutorial Starting Over

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're preparing for success on your CCNA or CCNP certification exams, sooner or later you're going to want to start totally from scratch on your Cisco routers and switches. It's easy enough to type "write erase" and "reload", but there are a few details you have to watch if you want your home lab or rack rental devices to act as though they just came out of the box.

The first step is indeed to run the command write erase, and then reload the router. You're going to be prompted with a question before the reload starts, though, and you have to give the right answer .... or your configuration will still be there when you reload!

First, you will be prompted to confirm the erase. Press to accept the default answer of "confirm".

R1#write erase

Erasing the nvram filesystem will remove all configuration files! Continue? [confirm]

[OK]

Erase of nvram: complete

With the startup configuration erased, it's time to reload the router. This is where the second prompt comes in:

R1#reload

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: no

When a Cisco router prompts you with two answers to a question, you've got to type the answer in (or at least the first letter of it). Answer NO to this question and press when prompted to confirm the reload.

The router will then start the reload process. Since there is no startup configuration in NVRAM, the router will prompt you to enter setup mode. You should only answer yes if you have a lot of time on your hands, just want to see what setup mode is like, or practice CTRL-C to get out it! Otherwise, answer NO.

--- System Configuration Dialog ---

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: n

Would you like to terminate autoinstall? [yes]:y

You'll see quite a few messages after this relating to interface states, and finally you're back at the user exec prompt.

Router>

Now you're working with a router that's just like it was when it came out of the box!

For switches such as the 2950, the process is much the same, but you should delete the VLAN.DAT file before reloading the router. This file contains VLAN information and is kept in flash, so it will still be present after a reload.

switch1#write erase

Erasing the nvram filesystem will remove all files! Continue? [confirm]

[OK]

Erase of nvram: complete

switch1#delete vlan.dat

Delete filename [vlan.dat]?

Delete flash:vlan.dat? [confirm]

switch1#reload

Make sure to hit for the two questions regarding the deletion - if you answer "y" instead, the switch thinks you're trying to erase a file named "y"!

After the reload is complete, you'll be prompted to enter setup mode. As you did with the router, enter "N" and begin to configure the router from user exec mode. There's nothing like working with real equipment to prepare for your CCNA and CCNP success, and there's no better practice than configuring routers and switches from the very beginning!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Certification Exam Training Telnet Passwords And Privilege Levels

Writen by Chris Bryant

Your CCNA certification exam is likely going to contain questions about Telnet, an application-level protocol that allows remote communication between two networking devices. With Telnet use being as common as it is, you had better know the details of how to configure it in order to pass your CCNA exam and to work in real-world networks.

The basic concept is pretty simple - we want to configure R1, but we're at R2. If we telnet successfully to R1, we will be able to configure R1 if we've been given the proper permission levels. In this CCNA case study, R2 has an IP address of 172.12.123.2 and R1 an address of 172.12.123.1. Let's try to telnet from R2 to R1.

R2#telnet 172.12.123.1

Trying 172.12.123.1 ... Open

Password required, but none set

[Connection to 172.12.123.1 closed by foreign host]

This seems like a problem, but it's a problem we're happy to have. A Cisco router will not let any user telnet to it by default. That's a good thing, because we don't want just anyone connecting to our router! The "password required" message means that no password has been set on the VTY lines on R1. Let's do so now.

R1(config)#line vty 0 4

R1(config-line)#password baseball

A password of "baseball" has been set on the VTY lines, so we shouldn't have any trouble using Telnet to get from R2 to R1. Let's try that now.

R2#telnet 172.12.123.1

Trying 172.12.123.1 ... Open

User Access Verification

Password:

R1>

We're in, and placed into user exec mode. Let's say we want to configure a new IP address on the ethernet interface on R1. We'll now go into privileged exec mode....

R1>enable

% No password set

R1>

... or maybe we won't! The default behavior of Telnet on a Cisco router is to place the incoming user into user exec mode, and require an enable password to allow that user into privileged exec mode! Right now, we can't configure anything on this router and even the show commands we would use are limited at best.

If we wanted to allow all telnetting users to be put into privileged exec mode immediately without being prompted for an enable password, the command privilege level 15 placed on the VTY lines will accomplish this.

R1(config)#line vty 0 4

R1(config-line)#privilege level 15

From R2, we'll telnet into R1 again.

R2#telnet 172.12.123.1

Trying 172.12.123.1 ... Open

User Access Verification

Password:

R1#

We were able to telnet in from R2 with the original password of "baseball", and even better, we were placed into privileged exec mode immediately!

You may or may not want to do this in real-world networks, though. If you want to assign privilege levels on an individual user basis, configure usernames and passwords and use the privilege 15 command in the actual username/password command itself to give this privilege levels to some users but not all.

R1(config)#username heidi password klum

R1(config)#username tim privilege 15 password gunn

Both users can telnet into the router, but the first user will be placed into user exec and challenged for the enable password to enter privileged exec mode. If there is no enable password, the user literally cannot get into privileged exec. The second user will be placed into privileged exec immediately after successfully authenticating.

Passwords on a Cisco router or switch are vitally important, and you're not tied down to granting "all-or-nothing" access. Knowing the details like the ones shown here help you tie down network security while allowing people to do their jobs - and it doesn't hurt to know this stuff for the CCNA exam, either!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free certification exam tutorials, including Cisco CCNA certification test prep articles. His exclusive Cisco CCNA study guide and Cisco CCNA training is also available! Visit his blog and sign up for Cisco Certification Central, a daily newsletter packed with CCNA, Network+, Security+, A+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! A free 7-part course, "How To Pass The CCNA", is also available, and you can attend an in-person or online CCNA boot camp with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Certification Dont Delay Those Ccna Studies

Writen by Chris Bryant

Every once in a while, a rumor floats that Cisco's getting ready to change the version number of their CCNA and CCNP exams, which also means the questions will be changed.

This prompts a flurry of posts to certification boards around the 'Net (and my mailbox!), with Cisco certification candidates in particular wondering if they should hold off on their studies until the next exam versions come out.

The answer is an unequivocal no. NO. You should never delay your studies for any reason, but especially this one.

Let's say Cisco changes the CCNA exams tomorrow. They're not going to remove questions regarding LAN switching. They're not going to take distance-vector protocols, OSPF, EIGRP, or subnetting questions off the exams. These are core subjects that everyone who works with Cisco technologies needs to know. And it goes double for anyone who wants to work with Cisco technologies.

The second reason is that studies that are delayed for one reason are often delayed again for another reason. "I'm too busy, it's summertime, etc.".

If you're serious about your Cisco certifications, start studying today. The knowledge you acquire every time you study does not become invalid because an exam version changes. It's not the certification that makes you valuable, it's the knowledge behind the certification – and you need to start building that knowledge today.

To your success,

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Exam Tutorial A Guide To Ram Rom Nvram And Flash

Writen by Chris Bryant

CCNA exam success depends on knowing the details, and nowhere is this more true than knowing the various components of a Cisco router. This is also where you can quickly start drowning in acronyms! The terms "RAM" and "ROM" probably aren't new to you, but keeping up with "what goes where" with RAM, ROM, NVRAM, and Flash Memory can be quite a challenge! In this tutorial, we'll take a look at all four of these components and their contents.

ROM stands for Read-Only Memory. ROM stores the router's bootstrap startup program, operating system software, and power-on diagnostic test programs (the POST).

Flash memory is generally referred to as "flash" The Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) images are held here. Flash is erasable and reprogrammable ROM. Flash memory content is retained by the router on power-down or reload.

RAM is short for Random-Access Memory. RAM on a Cisco router stores operational information such as routing tables and the running configuration file. RAM contents are lost when the router is powered down or reloaded.

NVRAM is non-volatile RAM. By "non-volatile", we mean that the contents of NVRAM are not lost when the router is powered down or reloaded. Where RAM holds the running configuration file, NVRAM holds the startup configuration file. If NVRAM is empty when the router reloads, you will be prompted to enter setup mode.

Success on the CCNA exam depends on keeping these terms straight and knowing their contents. Know the contents of each, pay special attention to what is lost on a reload and what is not, and you're on your way to CCNA exam success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Get your CCNA study guide with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Certification Tutorial Segmenting Your Network

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're getting started on your CCNA studies on your way to earning this certification, you're swamped with network device types that you're familiar with, but not quite sure how to use. Let's look at these networking devices and their main purposes.

Hubs and repeaters operate at Layer One of the OSI model, and they have one main purpose - regenerating the electrical signal that Layer One technologies carry. This regeneration helps to avoid attenuation, the gradual weakening of a signal. Much like a radio signal, the electric signals that travel at Layer One gradually weaken as they travel across the wire. Hubs and repeaters both generate a "clean" copy of the signal.

While hubs and repeaters can be helpful, they do nothing as far as network segmentation is concerned. The first such device we encounter as we move up the OSI model is the switch. Operating at Layer 2, a switch creates multiple collision domains by default each switch port is considered its own little collision domain. If 12 PCs are connected to a Cisco switch, you have 12 separate collision domains.

Switches can be used to segment the network into smaller broadcast domains, but this is not a default behavior. Virtual LAN (VLAN) configuration segments the network into smaller broadcast domains, since a broadcast sent by a host in one VLAN is heard only by other devices in the same VLAN.

Routers operate at Layer 3 of the OSI model and segment a network into multiple broadcast domains by default. Routers do not forward broadcasts as switches do, making the router the only device of the four we've discussed today that create multiple broadcast domains by default.

Knowing what each of these devices can and cannot do is essential to passing the CCNA and becoming a great network administrator. Good luck to you in both of these goals!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", just visit the website! You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Exam Tutorial Ccna Recertification Requirements

Writen by Chris Bryant

Passing the CCNA exam and earning this coveted Cisco certification is an important step in your career, but it's not the end of your responsibilities as a CCNA! When you work with computer networks, you've got to be continually learning and staying up on the latest technologies and changes in the field. Part of this responsibility is keeping your CCNA current by meeting Cisco's recertification requirements.

Cisco requires CCNAs to recertify once every three years. While most CCNAs will move on to the CCNP in that time, if you choose not to you must meet certain requirements in order to keep your CCNA valid. Cisco does this to ensure that CCNAs keep their networking knowledge current, which in turn helps the CCNA certification valuable. And that's exactly what you want, since you worked so hard to earn your certification in the first place!

As of March 2006, there are five different options for recertifying as a CCNA. You can take and pass any of the following exams to renew your CCNA - the CCNA exam itself, the ICND exam, any 642 series exam, any Cisco Qualiied Specialist exam (except the Sales Specialist exams - those don't count!), or any CCIE Written Qualification exam.

With all these options, there's an option that's just right for you. Whether you just want to renew your CCNA or pursue a Specialist, CCNP, or CCIE certification, you can easily renew your CCNA along the way. Just don't forget that keeping up with Cisco's latest recertification requirements is your responsibility, and that's easy to do - just visit Cisco's "Learning And Events" section on their website. Cisco will tell you what you need to do to keep your certification, but it's up to you to keep up with certification program changes! Once your certification expires, it's gone, so get in the habit of visiting Cisco's website to make sure you're up to date on important recertification requirements.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Exam Tutorial Five Isdn Details To Remember

Writen by Chris Bryant

CCNA exam success depends on mastering many technologies that are new to you, and few exam topics have more details than ISDN. ISDN isn't just for your CCNA exam studies, though. While ISDN is dismissed by many, the fact is that there are many small and mid-size networks out there that use ISDN as their backup to frame relay. Some of these companies have spoke networks that use ISDN to connect to their hub as well, so it's a great idea to know ISDN configuration and troubleshooting for your real-world career as well as passing the CCNA. With that in mind, let's take a look at five common ISDN errors and how to avoid them.

With dialer map statements, remember that the phone number you put in the dialer map is the phone number of the remote router, not the local one. Look at it this way - if you want to call a friend on your cell, you don't pick up your cell and dial your own number!

Speaking of dialer map statements, don't forget the all-important broadcast option at the end of the command:

R1(config-if)#dialer map ip 172.12.21.1 name R2 broadcast 5555555

The router will accept that command without the "broadcast" option, but routing protocol updates and hellos would not be able to travel across the line. (This command is also needed in frame relay map statements to allow broadcasts and multicasts to be transmitted.)

PAP is PPP's clear-text authentication scheme, and clear text is a really bad idea. But if you do have to configure it, don't forget that PAP requires additional configuration -the ppp pap sent-username command.

R1(config-if)#ppp pap sent-username R1 password CISCO

Must set encapsulation to PPP before using PPP subcommands

R1(config-if)#

The error message we got while configuring the sent-username command is another important reminder - by default, a BRI line is running HDLC, not PPP. Since HDLC doesn't allow us to use either PAP or CHAP, we'll need to set the link to PPP with the encapsulation ppp command.

R1(config-if)#encapsulation ppp

R1(config-if)#ppp authentication pap

R1(config-if)#ppp pap sent-username R1 password CISCO

But before we configure any of this information, we should configure the ISDN switch-type. Why? Because without the switch-type configuration, it doesn't matter that we avoid the other four errors - the line will not come up. Configure the switch-type with the "isdn switch-type" command, and then verify it with "show isdn status".

R1(config)#isdn switch-type basic-ni

R1#show isdn status

Global ISDN Switchtype = basic-ni (output of this command cut here for clarity)

If you forget this part of the configuration, the output of show isdn status wastes no time in reminding you!

R1#show isdn status

**** No Global ISDN Switchtype currently defined ****

ISDN is an important part of your CCNA studies, and this knowledge still comes in handy in production networks as well. Keep studying, notice the details, run those debugs, and you'll be a CCNA before you know it!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Get your CCNA study guide with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Ccna Ccnp Home Lab Tutorial Configuring An Access Server

Writen by Chris Bryant

As your CCNA / CCNP home lab expands, an access server such as the Cisco 2509 or 2511 is one of the best investments you can make. In this article, we'll look at the basic configuration for an access server and discuss how to connect to the other routers and switches in your pod through the AS.

Here's part of a configuration from one of my access servers:

ip host FRS 2006 100.1.1.1

ip host SW2 2005 100.1.1.1

ip host SW1 2004 100.1.1.1

ip host R2 2002 100.1.1.1

ip host R1 2001 100.1.1.1

ip host R3 2003 100.1.1.1

interface Loopback0

ip address 100.1.1.1 255.255.255.255

no ip directed-broadcast

This is an IP Host table, and this is what makes the entire AS setup work. Your PC will connect to the access server, and the access server is in turn physically connected to your other routers and switches via an octal cable. One end of the octal cable splices off into eight separate cables, each terminated with an Rj-45 connector. That connector will be placed into the console port of one of your home lab devices. In this configuration, I have connector 1 connected to the console port of R1, connector 2 to R2, connector 3 to R3, connector 4 to Sw1, and so forth. (The connectors are physically numbered as well.)

The IP Host table entries here are linked to the loopback address shown. The loopback can be any address, but it must match the address in the IP Host table. This allows you to create reverse telnet sessions to the routers and switches.

To open the reverse telnet sessions upon opening a connection to the AS, type the entire name of the device and press the enter key twice. A connection to that device will now be visible, as shown here:

Access_Server#r1

Trying R1 (100.1.1.1, 2001)... Open

R1#

To get back to the access server, use the key combination followed by pressing the "x" key. Keep doing this until you've opened a connection to every router and switch in your pod.

Once you've opened the lines, you will not use the full device name to connect to the home lab devices. You should press only the number corresponding to the reverse telnet session you opened. For instance, in this configuration I opened telnet session 1 to R1, session 2 to R2, and session 3 to R3. Once I opened those sessions, I just use those numbers to reconnect to the devices, as shown here:

Access_server#1

[Resuming connection 1 to r1 ... ]

R1#

Access_server#2

[Resuming connection 2 to r2 ... ]

R2#

Access_server#3

[Resuming connection 3 to r3 ... ]

R3#

If you type the full hostname again after initially opening the connection, you will see this message:

Access_server#r1

Trying R1 (100.1.1.1, 2001)...

% Connection refused by remote host

The connection is refused because you already have an open connection to that router.

There's one more important part of an access server config your CCNA / CCNP home lab will need:

line 1 8

no exec

transport input all

The line numbers may differ according to your access server, but "no exec" is very important here. This will stop rogue EXEC sessions from refusing connections that it shouldn't be refusing. Without this command, you'll commonly see "connection refused by remote host" when you shouldn't be. That message is the most common error you'll see on an access server, and it's there because you already have an open connection or you left "no exec" out of your configuration. "No exec" isn't mandatory, but it will help you keep your sanity!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Get your CCNA study guide with The Bryant Advantage!

Ibm Teams Up With Computer Science Teachers Association To Provide Free Online

Writen by Andrew Bleak

Online courses can now be obtained free of charge. These providers of free online computer courses offer free course materials that can be freely downloaded from their respective websites. But the main thing here is to assure the credibility of the sources and accuracy of the detailed information on a specific course. If such a provider has enough experience in the IT industry to back their claims, chances are, you're getting the best free online computer course deal in the country.

Now always remember that free online computer courses can be obtained by just acquiring a free set of educational materials on a specific field of interest. If free educational materials on computer courses are what you want, then you should consider getting these from IBM and the Computer Science Teachers Association. Through accredited schools in the country, that is.

Now these two top American IT specialist groups have actually teamed up with each other so as to provide free online computer course materials on various tech areas. The tech areas cover a wide range of specific skill-development training materials, such as free online computer course materials on advanced handheld equipment usability, JAVA-based programming, web design and development, Flash, and SQL programming. These free computer course materials have integrated a system to match each individual's skill level in a certain area of computer technology. The online system provides the distance learners the option of dictating their own pace when it comes to the learning process. Plus, since it's an online computer course they're availing, they could easily take on fun travel holidays even while continuing with the course.

There are free materials for beginner, intermediate, and expert learners, respectively. IBM and the Computer Science Teachers Association have created these materials so as to be integrated on the educational system of the country. With this, these free online computer course materials would be handled by each accredited educational institution.

For a beginner, these electronic computer-related training materials would be very useful. Compared to other online computer training courses, such digital materials do not need intermediary skills in computer navigation and basic computer software operation. In addition, these free digital materials do not require a learner to have the skills in navigating through the internet. Of course, the reason for this is quite obvious. If it's an online computer-related course a learner is intent on studying, this person must possess internet browsing and computer navigation skills that range from beginner levels to near-expert skills. But what IBM and the Computer Science Teachers Association have made accessible even to beginners are the materials themselves. Aside from the fact that these learners are given free online computer-related course materials based on their choice and skills, they can just download these free course materials and view them offline. This makes such materials accessible even to those without internet browsing knowledge. Some materials or documents are even available in non-electronic or hard copies, which make learning even more accessible to those without proper computer navigation and software operation skills.

On the other hand, intermediate to near-expert computer and IT specialists can also benefit from these free online computer course materials. The main reason for this is that these free online materials from IBM and the Computer Science Teachers Association have passed the strictest standards when it comes to quality and accuracy. Through the documents made available by the team-up, students with enough background on IT-related topics and subjects could already gain substantial knowledge in his or her chosen field. Thus, these free online computer course materials can greatly help in making the data from free online computer courses, or even the paid ones, virtually usable and easy to understand. In this sense, the free electronic course materials by IBM and the association can even be used as a stand-alone method of learning each field of IT; this could be very much advantageous to those who possess average to above average computer skills. Another additional bonus of these materials is that students could easily set their own pace of learning, without any pressure whatsoever from online course administrators who give out tight deadlines for projects and modular activities.

For more valuable information on college course online and computer course, please visit http://www.coursenotes.com

Cisco Ccna Certification Passwords Passwords Passwords

Writen by Chris Bryant

When you're looking at a Cisco router configuration, figuring out what the different passwords do can be a little confusing at first. But as I tell all my students, the key to understanding something that looks complex is to break it down to smaller parts.

Having said that, let's take a look at a typical running configuration and then break it down line by line to make sure you understand what each password is doing. This is a must for success on exam day and on the job!

Username r1 password router

Username chris password Bryant

Username david password stimpson

Enable password cisco

Enable secret ccna

Service password-encryption

Line console0

Login

Password passexam

Line vty 0 4

Login

Password ccnp

There's a lot going on in that little configuration. Working from top to bottom, let's take a look at what each section does.

Username r1 password router

Username chris password Bryant

Username david password stimpson

The username / password combination creates a local database that the router will use to authentication users connecting on your BRI lines, and it's also used to authenticate users connecting via telnet!

To use the local database instead of a common VTY password:

Line vty 0 4

Login local

This allows each user to have their own password instead of everyone using the single VTY line password.

Enable password cisco

Enable secret ccna

The enable password and enable secret commands are used to do the same thing – protect privileged exec mode, more commonly referred to as enable mode.

Why use both? The enable password is still in use for backwards compatibility. Most routers are configured with both, and they'll probably be different. (This is because the router's going to prompt you for a different password for one if you try to set them both to the same word.)

If we only have one enable mode to protect, but two different passwords, which one should a user enter? The enable secret – because the enable secret always has precedence over the enable password. No exceptions. (We don't get to say that very often in Ciscoland, do we? J )

There's one other major difference. The enable secret is encrypted by default the enable password is displayed in clear text. Actually, all the other passwords you see above will be displayed in clear text by default.

Service password-encryption

This default can be changed by activating a Cisco router service that's off by default. Run the service password-encryption command to encrypt all passwords in your configuration.

Before a user gets to enable mode, though, there may be a password to start working at the console to begin with. This password has to be entered just to get to user exec (assuming the previous user logged out fully and correctly!).

Line console0

Login

Password passexam

Note that there are two commands. You need to enable the password function with the "login" command, and then set a password. The order in which you enter these two commands does not matter – just make sure you enter them both!

Line vty 0 4

Login

Password ccnp

Of course, the VTY lines are used to enable Telnet connectivity and to set a password. Cisco requires a password be set for Telnet access, and this basic configuration will prompt any user for the one single password. This password would apply to all five simultaneous Telnet connections if more than one user were telnetting in at once.

For much more on Telnet, read my tutorial on the subject, found at www.thebryantadvantage.com

To get your CCNA, you've got to be more than ready for password questions. Whether you're asked to set one or troubleshoot an existing configuration on an exam or on the job, these should be second nature to you. And they will be, once you break a configuration like this into smaller parts.

To your success,

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" and "How To Pass The CCNP", visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!