{"id":1456,"date":"2016-12-12T20:36:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T20:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/?p=1456"},"modified":"2016-12-12T20:36:46","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T20:36:46","slug":"networking-foundations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/networking-foundations\/","title":{"rendered":"Networking foundations"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an article earlier today, I wrote about certifications and the ISP<\/a>. \u00a0The biggest area I see folks go wrong when it comes to networking is having a good understanding of design. One of the analogies I like to use is building a house. \u00a0 You have several key roles when you build a house. \u00a0These can be directly applied to the networking world.<\/p>\n

The first is the Architect. Everything starts with this person or team’s vision. The Architect lays out the design and how the network will function. This person needs a wide variety of skills. \u00a0They know the product lines they are supporting, they know how these products fit into the overall vision of the network, and they know the limitations of what they are working with, to name just a few of their many skills. These are your CCIE and higher level CCNP folks in certification terms. \u00a0They have enough breadth of knowledge to see the entire picture. \u00a0Not just what the device in front of them can do. A network architect would know that a certain wireless CPE does not fully support a VPLS tunnel, and would either recommend not using that equipment or come up with a workaround to implement it into the\u00a0network, if in fact, they were using VPLS. \u00a0Many large companies have Architects who implement and validate network designs. These are then pushed to the next group of folks to implement.<\/p>\n

The “tradesmen” or “tradeswomen” are the ones who actually implement the designs around the Architects blueprints for the network. \u00a0Just like a house who has carpenters, brick layers, and roofers, so do you have folks who know wireless, routing, security, and other disciplines. \u00a0These are the folks who can make the machines do what they want them to do. They work off the blueprints to actually make the network talk and function\u00a0according to the Architects design. these are your CCNA and CCNP level folks. These folks know the equipment configuration in and out. \u00a0They are the most responsible for making things work, and knowing how to make it work. The more experienced of these folks typically collaborate with the Architects to provide expert opinions on the latest features of the equipment they are implementing or any limitations of the equipment.<\/p>\n

Many folks working in the ISP world wear multiple hats at the same time. \u00a0 There is nothing whatsoever wrong with this. \u00a0You just have to know the limitations of yourself and the things you have to work with. I see multiple illustrations of this on a daily basis. Clients take a router and make it do BGP, OSPF, PPPoE termination, firewall rules, and other things. \u00a0Sometimes this is a budgetary thing, maybe just a lack of understanding, or it can even be a sales hype thing. however, not having an understanding of the design and architecture of a network can be costly.<\/p>\n

Anyone can build a house. Go to the lumberyard and get some materials, some tools, and watch a few YouTube videos. Bam you are set. \u00a0That will probably work until the first time it rains, or it gets cold. Then you are wondering where your design went wrong. \u00a0Using plastic on your roof sounded like a good idea until the wind ripped it. \u00a0Same can be said in networks. \u00a0Start and always have design\u00a0considerations in mind. \u00a0Not just design, but how individual components are best used in that design. Then rely on the tradesmen \u00a0to implement them. \u00a0You might be one and the same, but don’t wing it as you go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an article earlier today, I wrote about certifications and the ISP. \u00a0The biggest area I see folks go wrong when it comes to networking is having a good understanding of design. One of the analogies I like to use is building a house. \u00a0 You have several key roles when you build a house. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[17],"tags":[393,390,394,392,124,123,126],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6VLMf-nu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2894,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/cisco-courses\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":0},"title":"Cisco courses","author":"j2sw","date":"February 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you looking for Cisco and basic networking training Udemy Courses.\u00a0 Many of these range from $9.99 to $19.99 depending on the promotions and specials Udemy is running https:\/\/www.udemy.com\/cisco-ccna-kiel\/ https:\/\/www.udemy.com\/cisco-ccna-200-125-the-complete-course\/ https:\/\/www.udemy.com\/ccna-on-demand-video-boot-camp\/ Greg Sowell Greg Sowell CCNP focused courses on Lynda.com","rel":"","context":"In "cisco"","block_context":{"text":"cisco","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/cisco\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/cisco-rolled-cable\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":1},"title":"Cisco Rolled Cable","author":"j2sw","date":"March 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I was recently talking to a gentleman who came by and purchased some excess Cisco gear for his CCNA\/CCNP studies. \u00a0I got on the topic of he didn't need the special cisco cable if he had serial to ethernet adaptors. \u00a0Basically a Cisco rolled cable is just a cable with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DIY"","block_context":{"text":"DIY","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/diy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":217,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/modular-advantages\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":2},"title":"Modular advantages","author":"j2sw","date":"December 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Several of you have heard me talk about modular network design. There are five distinct advantages of a modular network design. 1.Scalable You can upgrade pieces easier than all-in-one devices. Being able to upgrade a certain module for that big new client might mean the difference between being able to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Networking"","block_context":{"text":"Networking","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/networking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1565,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/where-does-trill-and-vxlan-fit-in-your-strategy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":3},"title":"Where does Trill and VXLAN fit in your strategy?","author":"j2sw","date":"May 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As networking trends yo-yo between layer-3 and layer-2, \u00a0different protocols have emerged to address issues with large layer-2 networks. Protocols such as Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL), Shortest Path Bridging (SPB), and Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) have emerged to address the need for scalability at Layer2.\u00a0\u00a0 Cloud scalability,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Networking"","block_context":{"text":"Networking","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/networking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Huawei-CloudEngine-12816-data-center-switches-support-TRILL-standard.jpg?fit=335%2C467&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1450,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/learningm-certifications-and-the-xisp\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":4},"title":"Learning, certifications and the xISP","author":"j2sw","date":"December 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the\u00a0most asked questions which comes up in the xISP world is \"How do I learn this stuff?\". \u00a0 Depending on who you ask this could be a lengthy answer or a simple one sentence answer. \u00a0Before we answer the question, let's dive into why the answer is complicated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bitlomat"","block_context":{"text":"Bitlomat","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/bitlomat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1715,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/some-random-visio-diagram\/","url_meta":{"origin":1456,"position":5},"title":"Some Random Visio diagram","author":"j2sw","date":"August 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Below, We have some visio diagrams we have done for customers. This first design is a customer mesh into a couple of different data centers. We are referring to this as a switch-centric design. This has been talked about in the forums and switch-centric seems like as good as any.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "BGP"","block_context":{"text":"BGP","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/networking\/bgp\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Drawing1.jpg?fit=1200%2C926&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Drawing1.jpg?fit=1200%2C926&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Drawing1.jpg?fit=1200%2C926&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Drawing1.jpg?fit=1200%2C926&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1457,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456\/revisions\/1457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}