Tips on Learning

[ibthevivin]

Hey geniuses. So currently I'm interning at a small application development firm. At our corporate office we have a junk network setup (unmanaged switches, little dinky wireless routers scattered around). My boss and a consultant are working together to put together a network for our office (about 100-150 users).

I was wondering, what are the things I should look for as they're planning and implementing the new network?

I know they're purchasing some heavy duty equipment (managed switches, business grade router with dedicated Fast Ethernet, etc).

The reason I ask is, as I'm studying for my CCNA, I want to get hands on experience (or as close as possible) and I'm currently unable to discern from what deserves my utmost attention from not.

Thanks. Let me know if you need me to clarify anything.

[rubberman]

1. Keep eyes open.
2. Observe.
3. Ask questions, such as "Why are we doing that?", "What advantages does that gear give us?", "Why Fast Ethernet, and not gigabit?", "What management tools (snmp, nagios, etc) are we going to use?", "What about a firewall?"...

Sounds like a good situation for an intern to learn about setting up a new network. Good luck! :-)

[mrgreen]

try looking into Simulators like Cisco Packet Tracer or GNS3. Both allow you to configure routers/switches and setup your own topology for practice.