Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, Steel, notfred

 
ALiLPinkMonster
Gerbil XP
Topic Author
Posts: 390
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:05 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Contact:

getting into networking

Mon May 07, 2012 5:03 pm

I start my first class in my basic networking CC in two days. I'm sure I will know soon enough, but I just wanted a heads up on what I will need in my arsenal to start off. All I have right now is my TF101, which I can't imagine is good for more than taking notes in class, and my mom's aging Dell desktop which isn't very pleasant to work on. So besides the obvious laptop, what should I expect to spend money on?
i3-8100 | GTX 1050 Ti | 2x8GB DDR4-2666 | B360M D3H | MX500 250GB | P300 3TB | Define Mini C | CX450
 
Washer
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 110
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:41 pm

Re: getting into networking

Mon May 07, 2012 5:07 pm

I'd recommend a new desktop computer (a laptop would work too, though honestly I don't see the point in having one and a tablet too). Simulation software will take you far in to learning and by the time you need to buy gear you'll know what you need. Don't let someone trick you in to dropping coin on gear when you don't need to. If the Cisco certifications are a goal of your classes the Cisco Packet Tracer software is rather good in my opinion and far more useful in learning than purchasing switches or routers for awhile, GNS3 is also useful though not as easy to pick and requires some hunting for iOS images (though I'm sure you could get those from an instructor if you ask nicely). When you start looking towards a CCNP is when you'll need gear.
 
Flatland_Spider
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1324
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:33 pm

Re: getting into networking

Mon May 07, 2012 7:35 pm

ALiLPinkMonster wrote:
I just wanted a heads up on what I will need in my arsenal to start off. So besides the obvious laptop, what should I expect to spend money on?


You should have a basic understanding of binary and hex to start off with, and some Linux skills might help because of the tools available on that platform.

Expect to spend money on notepads and pens. Diagramming stuff out is very helpful in understanding how the data flows, or what you want to do.

The important thing is getting the theory down. Knowing the theory will be much more helpful then any gear you can buy.
 
bthylafh
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4320
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:55 pm
Location: Southwest Missouri, USA

Re: getting into networking

Mon May 07, 2012 8:06 pm

At a basic level a virtual machine program (VirtualBox or VMware Player, or possibly VMware Workstation if you think the extra features worthwhile) will give you experience with networking multiple machines without the hardware. You'll want a decently fast computer to run it on.
Hakkaa päälle!
i7-8700K|Asus Z-370 Pro|32GB DDR4|Asus Radeon RX-580|Samsung 960 EVO 1TB|1988 Model M||Logitech MX 518 & F310|Samsung C24FG70|Dell 2209WA|ATH-M50x
 
ALiLPinkMonster
Gerbil XP
Topic Author
Posts: 390
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:05 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Contact:

Re: getting into networking

Mon May 07, 2012 8:18 pm

Washer wrote:
I'd recommend a new desktop computer (a laptop would work too, though honestly I don't see the point in having one and a tablet too). Simulation software will take you far in to learning and by the time you need to buy gear you'll know what you need. Don't let someone trick you in to dropping coin on gear when you don't need to. If the Cisco certifications are a goal of your classes the Cisco Packet Tracer software is rather good in my opinion and far more useful in learning than purchasing switches or routers for awhile, GNS3 is also useful though not as easy to pick and requires some hunting for iOS images (though I'm sure you could get those from an instructor if you ask nicely). When you start looking towards a CCNP is when you'll need gear.

I do plan on building one ASAP. I have the keyboard dock for my tablet so I guess a laptop would be a bit extraneous. Good to know that I don't need to spend much more money than that.

Flatland_Spider wrote:
You should have a basic understanding of binary and hex to start off with, and some Linux skills might help because of the tools available on that platform.

Expect to spend money on notepads and pens. Diagramming stuff out is very helpful in understanding how the data flows, or what you want to do.

The important thing is getting the theory down. Knowing the theory will be much more helpful then any gear you can buy.

Binary is simple. I know what hex is and what it's used for, but I never learned exactly how it works. I've never touched Linux but I have a friend who knows it like the back of his hand. I'm sure he can teach me what I need to know. I did (fail) a class of programming in high school, so idk if minimal C knowledge will help but I've got it rattling around somewhere up there.
i3-8100 | GTX 1050 Ti | 2x8GB DDR4-2666 | B360M D3H | MX500 250GB | P300 3TB | Define Mini C | CX450
 
ALiLPinkMonster
Gerbil XP
Topic Author
Posts: 390
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:05 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Contact:

Re: getting into networking

Tue May 08, 2012 8:00 am

bthylafh wrote:
At a basic level a virtual machine program (VirtualBox or VMware Player, or possibly VMware Workstation if you think the extra features worthwhile) will give you experience with networking multiple machines without the hardware. You'll want a decently fast computer to run it on.

Will an i5 and 8 gigs of memory handle it?
i3-8100 | GTX 1050 Ti | 2x8GB DDR4-2666 | B360M D3H | MX500 250GB | P300 3TB | Define Mini C | CX450
 
Hallucin8
Gerbil
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:12 am

Re: getting into networking

Tue May 08, 2012 8:05 am

i5 with 8gb will be fine for a few virtual machines.
 
bthylafh
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4320
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:55 pm
Location: Southwest Missouri, USA

Re: getting into networking

Tue May 08, 2012 8:37 am

ALiLPinkMonster wrote:
bthylafh wrote:
At a basic level a virtual machine program (VirtualBox or VMware Player, or possibly VMware Workstation if you think the extra features worthwhile) will give you experience with networking multiple machines without the hardware. You'll want a decently fast computer to run it on.

Will an i5 and 8 gigs of memory handle it?


It certainly will - that's what I've got and I'm satisfied. If your budget can stretch a little, RAM is cheap and 16GB would be even better if you want to run several.
Hakkaa päälle!
i7-8700K|Asus Z-370 Pro|32GB DDR4|Asus Radeon RX-580|Samsung 960 EVO 1TB|1988 Model M||Logitech MX 518 & F310|Samsung C24FG70|Dell 2209WA|ATH-M50x
 
grantmeaname
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1695
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:49 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Contact:

Re: getting into networking

Tue May 08, 2012 9:11 am

You'd really get a lot more mileage out of Packet Tracer than six instances of windows/linux in VMs. Your present hardware is more than sufficient.
Krogoth wrote:
Care to enlightenment me?
 
ALiLPinkMonster
Gerbil XP
Topic Author
Posts: 390
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:05 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Contact:

Re: getting into networking

Wed May 09, 2012 8:36 pm

Just an update, I just got home from my first class. Learned a LOT. Luckily I understand all of it.

It's funny. The first thing the teacher said was "most of what you will learn here is theory and how to apply it." The in-class PCs have PT installed and it will be the main program that we use for assignments.

Anyway, wish me luck. Now that I know what's ahead of me, I feel confident in this career choice and it's certainly going to be more than a paycheck to me.
i3-8100 | GTX 1050 Ti | 2x8GB DDR4-2666 | B360M D3H | MX500 250GB | P300 3TB | Define Mini C | CX450

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On