howtonetwork.net

Cisco Certification Training

What do Platinum members get?

by

Platinum is the premium level of access to the site.

All funds received from the site are re-invested to get more content added such as theory,labs,exams and lectures as well as pay for hosting and bandwidth charges.

Platinum members pay more so they get more. Here are a few of the benefits you get as a platinum member:

Unlimited Rack Time
101 labs including solutions and videos
500 CCNA exam questions
Platinum area including success study tips and exams
Video lecture series which is added to regularly
Platinum coaching e-mail address answered by me
Platinum only forum moderated my me and a CCIE
Resume checking service
Coaching call in days

You can join the site and learn more at the membership benefits page:
http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/10.cfm

Stuff Not Sinking in?

by

Everyone gets mental blocks from time to time. Here is what I suggest:

1. If you are feeling overwhelmed then feel free to take a break. A day off can work wonders and you should be taking regular breaks.

2. Don’t try to force information in. It never works! Let stuff sink in at the pace that is right for you. If it takes twice as long so what?

3. Make it fun. Read a bit and then see how much of it you can recite. Make memory jogger cards. Set yourself a competition to get certain marks and reward yourself when you get them.

4. Ask for help! If you get stuck then come on the forum and shout. If you are frustrated then tell us and if you finally get it let us all know as well.

Don’t suffer in silence.

5. Attack your brain in many ways. Writing stuff out, reading it out, listening to recordings. Do hand on labs and take exams. Stop half way through an ACL exam and do an ACL lab.

6. Teach it. The only way you will truly know stuff is when you have to teach it to somebody else.

Paul Browning

Digging Deep

by

So you want to learn about ACLs for example. How much extra work should you do beyond what you need to pass the exam?

There are two camps here:

1 – you learn what you need to know to pass the exam. Do the labs, learn the theory, do the crams, flash cards etc. and then pass.

If you need to dig deeper later on then do that but your main focus should be passing the exam.

2 – you can’t just learn what you need to know. You should dig deeper to gain a more thorough level of knowledge about the subject. This makes you a better network engineer.

Both of the above are correct but taken too far they are both wrong.

I’ve seen people focus purely on passing the exam which leads to a person who can pass exams. Even the Cisco exams can be passed by such a person.

I’ve also seen people get lost in subjects for days or even weeks. They fall off the study wagon and become almost obsessed in the tiniest details. Instead of taking about two to three months to pass they take six or more.

We are all grown ups so we make our own choices. My personal recommendation is to read all you need to know, dig deeper if you have spare time outside your study schedulle. If you are doing some more advanced exams you will be digging deeper anyway.

As a qualfied engineer you will be able to go back AFTER you passed and dig as deep as you like at your leisure.

Paul Browning

Cisco Trainers Wanted!

by

About Me

My name is Paul Browning. I left the police in the UK on 5th  June 2000 (my 30th birthday) for a career in IT. I worked for BT and Cisco for two years before leaving to set up Networks Inc. Ltd. I went on to make over $1 million dollars running Cisco courses before I sold the company to a friend I had met whilst working for Cisco – Stuart Juggins.The funny thing was that all I really offered with Networks Inc. Ltd were weekend CCNA courses. PaulBrowningweb2

After about four years I began to offer CCNP training but the majority of my income was from the CCNA weekends. There was also a lot of demand for corporate training once our reputation spread. I usually had most of my week free to work on other projects or spend time with my family.

While building Networks Inc. I learned a ton of great information. I learned how to build a business offering what people want. I learned cutting edge sales and marketing ideas and I also learned search engine optimization (SEO) which helped me get Networks Inc Ltd to page one on Google UK.

About Stuart Juggins

stuart My name is Stuart and I am the CEO of Networks Inc Ltd. I bought Networks Inc. Ltd from Paul back in November 2008 and we still work together on Cisco training projects.I have been working in IT for about fifteen years now. I have always worked as a network engineer on Microsoft and then Cisco networks. I worked with Paul at the Cisco TAC for three years (Paul joined after I had been there a year). I left with the TAC moved to India and worked for a few more large blue chip companies before starting my own Cisco consultancy.

My last project was designing a major OSPF network integration for the UK government. The project was classified so all I can say about that is that it involved joining up several large government departments.

I now run Networks Inc Ltd full time and have grown the company since I took over. We now offer all of the CCNA voice exams as well as regular CCNP and now CCIE training courses. As you know by now, Paul and I are looking to take the model internationally. I am really passionate about helping people to pass their Cisco exams and also helping them to set up their own Cisco training businesses. It is great fun and when you see people pass exams and do well in the IT industry.

Licensing the Model

It’s Paul here again. It got to the point where I was travelling all over the UK and to be honest, after teaching the same course over 100 times I was feeling like I needed a bit of a change. After a conversation with my business coach we came up with the idea of training some of my former students to teach the weekend course. The entire weekend teaching model was already set out in a trainers manual I had written. To be honest, once the students start going through their labs, you only need to go round the classroom every 20 minutes to check on their progress and help them out if they get stuck.

Did it Work?

The first training license was sold for Cardiff in Wales. The weekend filled quickly with a mixture of corporate and private clients. Jon Rees (who was one of my former students) ran the course with me assisting him. It went really well. Jon was so pleased that he bought the license for North London. He has gone on tomake over $70k in the first year alone! Not only that but teaching two weekends a month gives him his whole week free to work on building his IT support business.

Once we proved the model worked we went on to sell licenses to other students for areas including Edinburgh, South London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. We have capped the licenses for the UK now and only Ireland is available.

How the Model Works

All of our weekend courses fill through a multitude of marketing techniques we have developed over the years, techniques which have been proven to work time and time again. Part internet marketing (including SEO and promotional videos) and part traditional such as business networking and speaking to IT managers for large blue chip companies. We have filled over 250 Cisco courses using the model, even during the recession we are filling courses all over the UK (so what I am saying is that it works)!

Coming to America/Canada and Australia

After about a year of being asked by Cisco students we have decided to extend the idea out to the USA, Canada and Australia. The proposal is to take a small group of Cisco students and then train you up to do two things. Firstly, deliver our famous Cisco weekend course using our time tested methods (over 96% exam pass rate). Second, how to market and sell your courses in your local area to private paying individuals and corporate clients.

How We Will Help

As well as teaching you how to fill your own courses we are going to develop a brand new international Cisco training portal. Here, students can visit and get lots of great information about Cisco exams, get discussion forum support, access to exam tools and best of all, access to your web page where they can find out about you and your course and book on your weekend Cisco boot camp.

As well as this, you will receive continuing technical and marketing training as well as numerous leads from our page one Google web siteswww.howtonetowork.net and www.networksinc.co.uk

The Offer

At the moment, Stuart Juggins and I are developing the model so it will work as seamlessly as possible. It will involve designating hot spot training areas in the above countries and then licensing interested parties to teach Cisco weekend courses there. The numbers will be strictly limited and no licenses will be sold near to another one.

We will sort through interested parties by means of a phone discussion to see if we can work together on the project. Please note that we would rather have 5 great candidates who are passionate about helping others rather than 20 half hearted people who are not serious.

Questions

We can’t answer all of your questions until we have got the model ready to run. All we need to know for now is are you interested? Once we have all the information ready for you, so long as you have filled in the form below you will be given first refusal for your area.

Q. How much will it cost?

A. We honestly don’t know yet. In the UK the cost was a high one off payment but for this model we will ask for a smaller up front payment and then let you pay a smaller sum monthly to be licensed. Your course profits should easily cover this.

Q. Do I need to be CCNA/CCNP?

A. No. Before you teach you will need to have passed your CCNA but the training you will receive will take you well past CCNA level and more than prepare you to deal with any situation you will come across in the classroom.

Q. I don’t know how to speak in front of a group.

A. There isn’t much speaking involved. You deliver the course with a script to cover things such as how the weekend works, fire safety and code of conduct. There are some mini lectures to deliver as well but these are all done using the proven scripts you are given.

Q. How will I receive the money for my course bookings?

A. We plan to develop the system so your training pages on the web site take the money from the student and deliver it into your bank account. We will not be taking money from your profits. To this end, you will  need to create a legal entity such as LLC. You will also need insurance. We will advise you about all of this.

Q. Can I deliver CCNP or CCNA Voice etc?

A. We are going to start with the most popular course which is the CCNA. Once you can deliver that we are going to offer other modules for you to teach once you complete the training. These can be CCNA specialization or CCNP. To cover all the training costs and manuals etc you will be asked to pay a low monthly fee for this.

Q. What support will I get?

A. You will get both tech support from us on the forum and with hands on training plus marketing and sales training which will be ongoing. There will also be admin support via the training web site where your students can get access to tools and materials to help them with their studies.

Q. How much can I make / will it work?

The goal is for you to be in profit in the first six months at the very latest. We are not in the business of launching businesses which do not work. It is a waste of everybody’s time and effort. It is in our interests for you to make money so that the business grows and we are all successful. I have spent seven years of my life  building Networks Inc. Ltd and now the online Cisco training site www.howtonetwork.net and Stuart had been in the industry for the best part of his life.

Q. How do I express interest?

A. Just fill in the form below and we can keep you posted on developments. It does not commit you in any way. You will just get first refusal on the training license when it goes live.

Join the ‘I’m Interested’ List

Name
Email
Phone
Address1
Address2
City
State
Zip
Country

TOTW 58

by

How to Network Tip of the Week #58 – 16th October 2008

===========================================================

Welcome to the fifty eighth www.howtonetwork.net tip of
the week.

===========================================================

How to Build Your Own Cisco Home Lab

If you are wondering what to buy, how much to spend and
where to buy the equipment from them this article is for
you. You are going to need about 20-30 hours hands on time
in order to pass your CCNA so it is either use my live
rack or buy your own.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/581.cfm

===========================================================

The CCNA and the Credit Crunch

I am seeing many students get qualified and walk into nice
IT jobs and contracts still. Despite all of the doom and
gloom you may be reading in the press and watching on the
news there are still plenty of network roles available and
open for qualified people and I can’t see that changing.

Here are my thoughts.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/582.cfm

===========================================================

60 Days to CCNA

I am going to close this down later today until November.
There are plenty of people using the facility now and I
want to make some changes based upon feedback so far so if
you have been waiting then now is the time to act. I will
not be letting the odd one sign up here and there like I
did last time.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/department95.cfm

===========================================================

Writers Wanted

I am looking for some contributors to add articles about
Cisco exams and CCNA related topics such as the above CCAN
home lab article.

If you would like to join the writing staff of howtonetwork
(which you can add to your resume) please send me a sample
article (preferably in html format) to:

help@howtonetwork.net

===========================================================

My Exam Day Experience – By John D.

Last week I spoke to one of my howtonetwork.net students
who recently re-took his CCNA. He didn’t have the best of
experiences, partly due to his lack of preparation and
partly due to faults with the testing software.

When you read it you will gain some valuable tips for your
exam day.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/577.cfm

===========================================================

CCNA Simplified – Out Now

If you haven’t ordered your copy yet then it isn’t too
late. The first run of copies are now in the hands of
their proud owners.

Members get a special price plus an extra 10 hours rack
time when they invest in a copy.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/552.cfm

===========================================================

CCNA Articles

I have added a few CCNA and study articles to my IT
training site www.networksinc.co.uk and if you are still
studying for your CCNA or CCENT you will find some of them
very useful.

CCNA Articles

===========================================================

CCNP Boot Camp

Last 1 seat available for our CCNP boot camp in the UK.

CCNP Training

===========================================================

Cisco Exam Coaching

I have been asked several times over the last few months
if I am available to do some private coaching for a few
weeks for individuals who need some extra support to get
through their CCNA or CCENT.

Up until now I have been too busy getting CCNA Simplified
out as well as other projects. I have a few weeks free
leading up to November and can literally take on a hand
full of clients. I only want to work with people who are
serious about passing their exam. If you work with me you
will pass. Period.

I can also assist with you getting into your first IT role
as well as how to approach companies. I have posted a page
where you can join a waiting list and the programme should
go live next week.

Anyone on the waiting list will have first refusal for the
seats. There will be a charge for the programme which will
be weekly and from start to finish should take you 2-8
weeks depending upon your experience and free time to study.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/579.cfm

============================================================

Please forward this e-mail

Please think of any friends or colleagues who would benefit
from this content. They can join the howtonetwork.net tip
of the week at:

http://www.howtonetwork.net

All the best

Paul Browning
www.howtonetwork.net
www.subnetting-secrets.com
www.networksinc.co.uk

TOTW 31

by

How to Network Tip of the Week #31 – 3rd April 2008

============================================================

Welcome to the thirty-first www.howtonetwork.net tip of the
week.

============================================================

Reviewers Still Wanted

We are about to start adding product reviews for things
such as router sims, Cisco study sites etc. I will be
doing the main reviews but I want each review to have a
second opinion.

If you fancy yourself as a product reviewer then please
send over a 2 page sample as a .doc file to the address
below. Please do a review of the IP Subnet Calculator
which is available on the site.

I can only reply to the person(s) I want to work with
sorry. I am looking for a clear and friendly writing style
with a fair summary of positive and negative points to
the products.

Here is the subnet calculator:

IP Subnet Calculator

Reviews to:

help@howtonetwork.net

============================================================

Update on HowtoNetwork Content

If you have recently joined the site or newsletter you may
have missed out on all the recent additions and facilities
on the site.

CCNA and CCENT question of the day for no charge:

Free CCNA Questions

Cool Subnetting Tools:

IP Subnet Calculator

Cisco Practise Exams:

Free CCNA Exams

Try before you buy content:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/department76.cfm

Tip of the Week Archives:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/department27.cfm

============================================================

Downloading Cisco SDM

A few people are having problems downloading the SDM
software from Cisco website.

Here is the download link:

Cisco SDM

You do need to have an account with Cisco to download it
but you can create a CCO login for no charge on Ciscos
website.

============================================================

Please forward this e-mail

Please think of any friends or colleagues who would benefit
from this content. They can join the howtonetwork.net tip
of the week at:

http://www.howtonetwork.net

All the best

Paul Browning
www.howtonetwork.net
www.subnetting-secrets.com
www.networksinc.co.uk

 

TOTW 32

by

How to Network Tip of the Week #32 – 10th April 2008

============================================================

Welcome to the thirty-second www.howtonetwork.net tip of the
week.

============================================================

Cisco Networkers Conference – Orlando

If you fancy a week with Cisco training experts then why
not join Cisco at their conference from 22-26 June 2008.

Cisco Live provides training, insight, and education to over
ten thousand Cisco customers and partners and is home to
the US Networkers program. It’s the place to learn new
technologies, discuss business trends, share ideas, and
network.

With its featured programs for network engineers, network
developers, IT managers, and senior business executives,
Cisco Live in Orlando, Florida will be the premiere event
for IT training, education, and insight. Join more than ten
thousand Cisco customers, partners, and industry peers for
Cisco Live 2008.

Cisco Live

============================================================

Security Exam Added

Do you know how to set MAC address security on your switch?

Can you turn CDP off on your router or interface?

Can you write a wildcard mask to match 255.255.192.0?

These are all basic Cisco CCNA level exam questions. Don’t
worry though. By the time you have run through our CCNA
exam a few times you will be well up to speed.

It is a zipped downloadable flash exam so you can put it
onto your PC or laptop and take it at a time convenient to
you.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/department33.cfm
============================================================

Please forward this e-mail

Please think of any friends or colleagues who would benefit
from this content. They can join the howtonetwork.net tip
of the week at:

http://www.howtonetwork.net

All the best

Paul Browning
www.howtonetwork.net
www.subnetting-secrets.com
www.networksinc.co.uk

TOTW 33

by

How to Network Tip of the Week #33 – 17th April 2008

============================================================

Welcome to the thirty-third www.howtonetwork.net tip of the
week.

============================================================

Cisco Release New Foundation Exams

It is all very hush hush at the moment but in the next few
weeks Cisco will be releasing the first of several new
foundation exams. Some providers are already offering the
first of the new exams called the IINS – Implementing Cisco
IOS Network Security.

Read more here:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/510.cfm

============================================================

Are You Ready for the CCNA Exam?

It can be a very dejecting experience to fail the CCNA exam.
Especially if you feel you have put in a lot of study time
and have given it your best shot.

With a strict study schedule involving daily labs, theory
and practise exams then you are giving yourself the best
chance possible. The only reason we fail is the exam is
due to lack of preparation.

The below CCNA prep test will ask you if you have covered
all the necessary areas listed on Ciscos CCNA exam syllabus.

You would need to be able to answer ‘correct’ to each
question in order to be ready for the exam. Bear in mind
that the CCNA has about a 50% pass rate so it is still
considered to be a tough exam by all in the IT industry.

Here is the link to the questions:

Free CCNA Exam

============================================================

Security Exam Added

Do you know how to set MAC address security on your switch?

Can you turn CDP off on your router or interface?

Can you write a wildcard mask to match 255.255.192.0?

These are all basic Cisco CCNA level exam questions. Don’t
worry though. By the time you have run through our CCNA
exam a few times you will be well up to speed.

It is a zipped downloadable flash exam so you can put it
onto your PC or laptop and take it at a time convenient to
you.

CCNA Security

============================================================

Subnetting Secrets

If you only want to learn subnetting then please feel free
to hop over to our subnetting only site. It has a 7 part
e-course which will teach you all the basics and we do
not charge for the lessons.

Subnetting Secrets

============================================================

CCNA Weekend Bootcamps – UK

We have added a course in Birmingham in the UK. If you live
nearby then we would love to see you.

We plan to run courses in the USA later this year as well
as train up trainers who can run our weekend CCNA boot camp
model in various US cities.

http://www.networksinc.co.uk/CCNA_boot_camp.htm

============================================================

Please forward this e-mail

Please think of any friends or colleagues who would benefit
from this content. They can join the howtonetwork.net tip
of the week at:

http://www.howtonetwork.net

All the best

Paul Browning
www.howtonetwork.net
www.subnetting-secrets.com
www.networksinc.co.uk

 

TOTW 34

by

How to Network Tip of the Week #34 – 24th April 2008

============================================================

Welcome to the thirty-fourth www.howtonetwork.net tip of the
week.

============================================================

New Members Passing

Well done to James Scharoun who is a member of the site and
passed his CCENT last week with a very respectable score.

Congratulations to Ben Jackson who passed his CCNA this
week. As soon as a friend of his found out he had just
passed his CCNA he put him forward for a highly paid
contracting role in London.

Who says that you can’t use the CCNA to get a job?

Will you be the next to pass your Cisco exams? If you are
not a member then you are missing out.

Join here:

https://www.howtonetwork.net/public/5.cfm

You can leave anytime and it is only $9.97 per month!!

===========================================================

A Day in the Life of a CCNA

Have you ever wondered what a CCNA engineer gets up to
during a typical day at work? Well you need no longer
wonder because we have asked Daniel, a newly qualified
CCNA from this site to tell us what he gets up to.

Read more here:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/511.cfm

===========================================================

Cisco Release New Foundation Exams

It is all very hush hush at the moment but in the next few
weeks Cisco will be releasing the first of several new
foundation exams. Some providers are already offering the
first of the new exams called the IINS – Implementing Cisco
IOS Network Security.

Read more here:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/510.cfm

============================================================

Are You Ready for the CCNA Exam?

It can be a very dejecting experience to fail the CCNA exam.
Especially if you feel you have put in a lot of study time
and have given it your best shot.

With a strict study schedule involving daily labs, theory
and practise exams then you are giving yourself the best
chance possible. The only reason we fail is the exam is
due to lack of preparation.

The below CCNA prep test will ask you if you have covered
all the necessary areas listed on Ciscos CCNA exam syllabus.

You would need to be able to answer ‘correct’ to each
question in order to be ready for the exam. Bear in mind
that the CCNA has about a 50% pass rate so it is still
considered to be a tough exam by all in the IT industry.

Here is the link to the questions:

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/509.cfm

============================================================

May I Interview You?

Have you used howtonetwork.net to pass your CCNA CCENT?
Perhaps we can interview you to find out which study methods
worked for you and how you found the time to fit your
studying round family and work?

Please drop us a line at:

help@howtonetwork.net

============================================================

CCNA Weekend Bootcamps – UK

We have added a course in Birmingham in the UK. If you live
nearby then we would love to see you.

We plan to run courses in the USA later this year as well
as train up trainers who can run our weekend CCNA boot camp
model in various US cities.

http://www.networksinc.co.uk/CCNA_boot_camp.htm

============================================================

Please forward this e-mail

Please think of any friends or colleagues who would benefit
from this content. They can join the howtonetwork.net tip
of the week at:

http://www.howtonetwork.net

All the best

Paul Browning
www.howtonetwork.net
www.subnetting-secrets.com
www.networksinc.co.uk