Computer Software

GPS tracking devices are becoming more and more popular today as companies use them to track travel activities for company cars and trucks. They have previously proven their worth in law enforcement, as excellent ways to help in the prosecution of criminals. As a private individual, you may want to use your GPS tracking device not only as a theft deterrent, but also as a way to help you keep records of your travels for tax purposes. These devices use internal motion detectors to shut the unit down once the vehicle is free of vibrations for five minutes, and are capable of recording location data in ten, twenty, thirty and sixty second intervals, depending upon which period you choose. It’s a great way to verify delivery routes when there are numerous and short stops.

Another great GPS tracking device is so small that it fits in the palm of your hand, comes in a weatherproof package, and can record up to twenty-four hours of movement on a single set of AAA lithium ion batteries. This little beauty also comes with a cigarette lighter adaptor and can log data on 100,000 positions. That is a totally amazing feat for such a tiny little device.

How many times have you wondered where your teenaged son or daughter has driven to? Did they go just where they said they would, or are they out running around with friends, speeding, and being totally irresponsible? With a covert GPS tracking device, you can record their exact whereabouts, how fast they were driving, and how many places they actually drove to.

When we travel, we tend to think of the destination, rather than the roads we take to get there. After all, who wouldn’t rather dream of the vacation as opposed to the hours spent in a cramped car with the kids asking every few minutes, “Are we there yet?”

But, the truth is, we have to know where we are to get to where we’re going. That is why having a Global Positioning System (more commonly called GPS) is so essential. This cyber map will always be aware of your movements and location, allowing you the security of never having to second-guess directions.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You have traveled down a dirt road, filled with more ruts than dirt, only to enter a town whose biggest
attraction is a gas station with inside restrooms. You didn’t want to be here, but your innate sense of direction (or lack thereof) coupled with a map that can only be described as adequate, brought you. Now, you have to either turn around or rely on the directions of a man who was more interested in reading the paper than listening to you. It is a tiresome situation, to put it lightly, and one you should not have to experience.

So what difference would a GPS system make? First of all, you would always know exactly where you are. This satellite locator is the only complete one on the word, meaning: the directions it gives you will be based only on the best and most accurate information. Secondly, a GPS system can be personalized. Unlike a map that just gives roads and the occasional extra information, a GPS can be trained to show you local attractions, hotels, restaurants, airports, etc. It can also become your personal address book, storing the roads and routes important to your daily life. With that, you will always be aware of which turn to make and when to do it. No more missing your exit by being distracted; a GPS system will actually tell you to turn.

Because of these amenities, the GPS has quickly risen to the level of ‘needed’ item. Not only does it assure that you will always know where you are, but it also brings a level of safety to drivers. No more stumbling about the street, hoping to find the turn you need. A GPS system will always let you know when the time is right to turn.

Of course, it must be noted that there are different types of systems and, the cheaper you buy, the less it will be able to do. Though it is usually thought to pay less and hope for the best, in this case, it is wiser to invest in a more equipped system, or at least one more tailored to your lifestyle. That way, you can guarantee yourself a higher level of security when it comes to traveling. Whether going about town or heading across country, you should always know where you are.

When you start studying for your CCNA and CCNP exams, many books will present you with a huge list of keystroke shortcuts for use on Cisco routers. While the 640-801, 811, and 821 exams may ask you about one or two of these, you really have to get hands-on experience with these commands to master them. Even better, there are some key combinations that Cisco routers mention, but then don’t tell you what they are! Let’s take a look at a few of the more helpful key combinations, and conclude with the “secret” way to stop a ping or traceroute.

The up arrow on your keyboard is great for repeating the last command you typed. Let’s say you mis-enter an access-list. Instead of typing it from the beginning, just hit your up arrow to repeat it, then fix the problem.

CTRL-A takes the cursor to the beginning of a typed line. If you’ve written an extended ACL, you know that can be a very long command, and one you probably don’t want to retype. If you get a carat indicating there is a problem with the line, use your up arrow to repeat the command. If you see the error is near the beginning, use CTRL-A to move the cursor immediately to the beginning of the line. CTRL-E takes the cursor to the end of a typed line.

To move the cursor through a typed line without erasing characters, you’ve got a couple of options. I personally like to use the left and right arrows, but you can also use CTRL-B to move back and CTRL-F to move forward.

Finally, there’s the combination that Cisco mentions to you when you run ping or traceroute, but they don’t tell you what it is! If you send an extended ping or a traceroute, you could be looking at asterisks for a long time if you don’t know this one. In the following example, a traceroute is obviously failing:

R2#traceroute 10.1.1.1

Type escape sequence to abort.

Tracing the route to 10.1.1.1

1 * * *

2 *

The problem is that you’re going to get 30 rows of those asterisks, which is frustrating and time-consuming at the same time. Note the router console message “Type escape sequence to abort”. That’s helpful – but what is it?

Here it is: Just type CTRL-SHIFT-6 twice, once right after the other. You won’t see anything on the router console, but the traceroute will terminate.

R2#traceroute 10.1.1.1

Type escape sequence to abort.

Tracing the route to 10.1.1.1

1 * * *

2 * * *

3

R2#
The traceroute was successfully terminated. This combination works for pings as well, both extended and regular. Of all the keystrokes you can learn, this one is the most valuable!

Microsoft certified systems engineer (MCSE) is the designing and implementation of the infrastructure based for business solutions. They schedule their instructors led classroom MCSE training at your complete control. They invite the best Microsoft and CISCO certified trainers in the industry to help us for the development of the ultimate training and certification program. Te MCSE training program includes everything one needs to fully prepare for and pass the MCSE exams.

There are some coach and career advisors are also available in the MCSE training camp for providing a toll free advisor hotline. During the MCSE training, and certification program, you will be provided some materials and resources that access to a MCSE training coordinators who will advise the examinee how to best utilize the MCSE training material to complete the certification goals successfully and also teach how to apply new skills towards the career advancement.

Career academies virtual boot camp is a cost effective method that meets the critical demand of the computer users. Experienced users have been arranged here to lead courses in a comfortable and convenient environment. Environment of these camps makes one feel like a classroom delivered through flexible and familiar technology. The MCSE training provided for MCSE assessment and real world insight from the experts with vast experience in the subject matter. It is engaged in a dynamic learning method where multiple Microsoft operating systems were derived simultaneously and multiple senses help reinforce learning concepts. The videos help in clarifying the neutral steps and uplifting of the skills in right direction. They have proven methodology that provides as unequalled training experience with exceptional skills.

Career academies learning system include several unique features. Video lectures given by instructors during the MCSE training show one on one experience with the experts. The full motion video allows the examinee to see the steps, listen to the explanations and perform the Microsoft’s operating system practically. MCSE training is one of the most flexible and comfortable training programs. The users are able to work according to their own convenience in any MCSE training program. They can opt to take the training at home or choose any convenient location for onsite training.

The MCSE training provided during the training sessions is quite rich, interactive and engaging. They incorporate all the live videos, screenshots, power point presentations, white board and lab simulations. All these give the examinee an engaging learning experience.

Lab simulations are the best components in MCSE training, which help in studying a lot. During any MCSE training program practice is provided with production level hardware and software along with step-by step detailed descriptions and instructions. Valuable hands-on experience can be easily experienced with real world scenarios such as installing windows 2003 server operating system as well as experience in adding WNS, WHCP, Domains, etc. can be easily received. Intelligent lab simulations during MCSE training programs allow the examinees to reinforce the concepts that have been learnt during the event and they can also perform various tasks.

The references are given so that the users can easily accrue the MCSE training PowerPoint slides, the printable study guide to help them to focus on areas of need and chart the programs. The practice exams of MCSE training program ensure your eligibility status and help in identifying areas that need more practice. Since various companies offer MCSE training, their task helps the IT candidates selected for the highest quality products and services.

Does your company need to retain the services of a competent computer consulting firm, but you have no idea how to really evaluate “competence”?

In the first part of this two-part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we looked at why small businesses find it so difficult to hire good computer consulting companies, as well as four basic questions that you must be addressed when searching for a new computer consulting vendor.

Now in this second and final installment of this two part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we’ll look at how you can evaluate the true, often-confusing expenses of using a computer consulting company, as well as how to more thoroughly review the computer consulting company’s professional credentials and experience.

Reseller, “Pure” Computer Consulting Company, or Hybrid Technology Provider

Does your company resell various technology products, such as hardware and software? Is this a profit center or do you mind if we shop for our products elsewhere? And if we do shop elsewhere, can we still purchase your needs analysis and procurement services?

Are there any other vendors, such as ISPs or telephone companies, that your firm acts as an agent or affiliate for? In other words, do you accept commissions or referral fees for steering business toward certain vendors?

Costs, Hidden Charges, and Billing Procedures

What are your payment terms, rates and hourly billing minimums? What is billable and what is not billable?

Do you charge for your travel time? Telephone support? E-mail/online support? Remote support?

Are there any hourly rate billing premiums for after-hours or emergency service? What constitutes “after hours” or an “emergency”?

Do you offer support contracts? What are the cost and benefits?

Client Reference Accounts, Case Studies, and Testimonials

Can you tell me about one of your more long-term small business client accounts?

Can you tell me about one of your more recently signed-on clients? Can you tell me about a small business client who didn’t work out and why?

Can you provide references?

Research/Developments and Keeping Skills Sharp

How do you keep up with new tech developments?

What do you bill clients for and what do you absorb internally? Are there any gray areas?

Training Approach and Knowledge Transfer

How do you feel about handholding and in-depth training with users?

What kind of user and technical training can you provide?

Will you train our internal computer administrator to become more self-sufficient, even if it takes away from your “job security” and opportunities to bill more hours?

The Bottom Line

Don’t fall into the ultra-common trap of hiring an independent computer consultant or computer consulting firm that isn’t a good fit for your business. Use these Computer Consulting 101 hiring and screening questions as the basis for making a more informed hiring decision for your computer consulting vendor. And if you have any doubts, don’t be afraid to seek out a second opinion with another computer consulting company.

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Does your business need the services of a computer consulting firm? Before you rush out and hire the first techie or slick-salesperson that knocks on your door, be sure to consider these favorite Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips for screening and interviewing local computer consulting firms. In this first in a two-part series, we’ll look the root of the problem, as well as the four most basic criteria that you’ll need to ask about when searching for computer consulting vendors.

Computer Consulting 101 Preventative Medicine

Many small business owners have a tough time knowing how to deal with difficult computer consultants. However, if you’re able to uncover potential problems at the start of your computer consultant/client relationship, you can avoid many of these unpleasant issues altogether.

Root of the Problem

While most entrepreneurs and small business managers know exactly what to ask when it comes to hiring for internal staff positions, hiring a computer consulting firm can be more difficult.

So on top of dealing with the myriad legal issues surrounding how you retain the services of contractors (best advice: consult with your attorney), as opposed to hiring employees on your payroll, you’ll need to know how to ask the “right” questions. Don’t make the ultra-common common mistake of focusing on the wrong things. Use these Computer Consulting 101 Hiring Tips as your checklist for doing your homework before you sign on the dotted line.

Part-time or Full-time Computer Consulting

Do you have a “day job”? Are you moonlighting?

Solo Practitioner or True Computer Consulting Business

What do you mean by the “we”? Are there any other people who work at your company?

Are they employees or contractors? What are their names, specialties and backgrounds? How long have they been with the company? Will they be involved with this account?
(Tip: The more pointed questions you ask, the more you’ll flush out the B.S. and hyperbole.)

Small Business or Large Company Computer Consulting Experience

What “size” is your typical consulting client, in terms of number of PCs, employees and annual revenue?

Generalist or Specialist Consulting Company

What industries or vertical markets have you worked with? And in what particular aspects and software applications?

What kinds of products, services, and platforms does your company shy away from? Do you work with any specialty hardware, software or services vendors?

The Bottom Line

In this first of a two-part series of these Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we looked at why small business owners and managers find that computer consulting companies are so difficult to hire, as well as four basic issues that you must confront when searching for a new computer consulting vendor. In the second installment of this two part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we’ll look at how you can get your hands around the true costs of using a computer consulting firm, as well as how you can more objectively evaluate the computer consulting firm’s suitability for the task of servicing your company’s technology needs.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Your CCNA studies are going to include quite a bit of information about switches, and for good reason. if you don’t understand basic switching theory, you can’t configure and troubleshoot Cisco switches, either on the CCNA exam or in the real world. That goes double for trunking!

Trunking is simply enabling two or more switches to communicate and send frames to each other for transmission to remote hosts. There are two major trunking protocols that we need to know the details of for exam success and real-world success, but before we get to the protocols, let’s discuss the cables we need.

Connecting two Cisco switches requires a crossover cable. As you know, there are eight wires inside an ethernet cable. In a crossover cable, four of the cables “cross over” from one pin to another. For many newer Cisco switches, all you need to do to create a trunk is connect the switches with a crossover cable. For instance, 2950 switches dynamically trunk once you connect them with the right cable. If you use the wrong cable, you’ll be there a while!

There are two different trunking protocols in use on today’s Cisco switches, ISL and IEEE 802.1Q, generally referred to as “dot1q”. There are three main differences between the two. First, ISL is a Cisco-proprietary trunking protocol, where dot1q is the industry standard. (Those of you new to Cisco testing should get used to the phrases “Cisco-proprietary” and “industry standard”.) If you’re working in a multivendor environment, ISL may not be a good choice. And even though ISL is Cisco’s own trunking protocol, some Cisco switches run only dot1q.

ISL also encapsulates the entire frame, increasing the network overhead. Dot1q only places a header on the frame, and in some circumstances, doesn’t even do that. There is much less overhead with dot1q as compared to ISL. That leads to the third major difference, the way the protocols work with the native vlan.

The native vlan is simply the default vlan that switch ports are placed into if they are not expressly placed into another vlan. On Cisco switches, the native vlan is vlan 1. (This can be changed.) If dot1q is running, frames that are going to be sent across the trunk line don’t even have a header placed on them; the remote switch will assume that any frame that has no header is destined for the native vlan.

The problem with ISL is that is doesn’t understand what a native vlan is. Every single frame will be encapsulated, regardless of the vlan it’s destined for.

Switching theory is a big part of your CCNA studies, and it can seem overwhelming at first. Just break your studies down into smaller, more manageable parts, and soon you’ll see the magic letters “CCNA” behind your name!

Occasionally, during your CCNA and CCNP studies, you’ll run into a term that just doesn’t quite make sense to you. (Okay, more than occasionally!) One such term is “reverse telnet”. As a Cisco certification candidate, you know that telnet is simply a protocol that allows you to remotely connect to a networking device such as a router or switch. But what is “reverse telnet”, and why is it so important to a Cisco CCNA / CCNP home lab setup?

Where a telnet session is started by a remote user who wants to remotely control a router or switch, a reverse telnet session is started when the host device itself imitates the telnet session.

In a CCNA / CCNP home lab, reverse telnet is configured and used on the access server. The access server isn’t a white box server like most of us are used to; an access server is a Cisco router that allows you to connect to multiple routers and switches with one session without having to move a rollover cable from device to device.

Your access server will use an octal cable to connect to the other routers and switches in your home lab. The octal cable has one large serial connector that will connect to the access server, and eight rj-45 connectors that will connect to your other home lab devices. Your access server then needs an IP Host table in order to perform reverse telnet.

An IP Host table is easy to put together (and you better know how to write one to pass the CCNA!). The IP Host table is used for local name resolution, taking the place of a DNS server. A typical access server IP Host table looks like this:

ip host FRS 2007 100.1.1.1

ip host R3 2003 100.1.1.1

ip host R1 2001 100.1.1.1

ip host R2 2002 100.1.1.1

ip host R4 2004 100.1.1.1

ip host R5 2005 100.1.1.1

ip host SW1 2006 100.1.1.1

interface Loopback0

ip address 100.1.1.1 255.255.255.255

no ip directed-broadcast

This configuration will allow you to use your access server to connect to five routers, a frame relay switch, and a switch without ever moving a cable. When you type “R1″ at the console line, for example, you’ll be connected to R1 via reverse telnet. If you have a smaller lab, an access server is still a real timesaver and an excellent investment. And by getting a static IP address to put on your access server, you can even connect to your home lab from remote locations!

BGP is one of the most complex topics you’ll study when pursuing your CCNP, if not the most complex. I know from personal experience that when I was earning my CCNP, BGP is the topic that gave me the most trouble at first. One thing I keep reminding today’s CCNP candidates about, though, is that no Cisco technology is impossible to understand if you just break it down and understand the basics before you start trying to understand the more complex configurations.

BGP attributes are one such topic. You’ve got well-known mandatory, well-known discretionary, transitive, and non-transitive. Then you’ve got each individual BGP attribute to remember, and the order in which BGP considers attributes, and what attributes even are… and a lot more! As with any other Cisco topic, we have to walk before we can run. Let’s take a look at what attributes are and what they do in BGP.

BGP attributes are much like what metrics are to OSPF, RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP. You won’t see them listed in a routing table, but attributes are what BGP considers when choosing the best path to a destination when multiple valid (loop-free) paths exist.

When BGP has to decide between such paths, there is an order in which BGP considers the path attributes. For success on the CCNP exams, you need to know this order. BGP looks at path attributes in this order:

Highest weight (Cisco-proprietary BGP value)

Highest local preference (LOCAL_PREF)

Prefer locally originated route.

Shortest AS_PATH is preferred.

Choose route with lowest origin code. Internal paths are preferred over external paths, and external paths are preferred over paths with an origin of “incomplete”.
Lowest multi-exit discriminator (MED)

External BGP routes preferred over Internal BGP routes.

If no external route, select path with lowest IGP cost to the next-hop router for iBGP.

Choose most recent route.

Choose lowest BGP RID (Router ID).

If you don’t know what these values are, or how they’re configured, don’t panic! The next several parts of this BGP tutorial will explain it all. So spend some time studying this order, and in part II of this free BGP tutorial, we’ll look at each of these values in detail. Keep studying!

When you start preparing for your CCNP exam, particularly the BSCI exam, you’re introduced to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) configurations. BGP is unlike any protocol you learned during your CCNA studies, and even the similarities are a little bit different!

BGP forms neighbor relationships, much like EIGRP and OSPF do. The interesting thing with BGP is that potential neighbors, or “peers”, do not need to be directly connected and can use their loopback interfaces to form the peer relationships.

It may well be to your advantage to use loopbacks to form peer relationships rather than the actual interface facing the potential neighbor. This can be done because BGP uses static neighbor statements rather than any kind of dynamic neighbor discovery process.

Consider a router that has two paths to a BGP speaker. The interfaces are numbered like this:

Router1: Serial0, 172.1.1.1 /24, Serial2, 179.1.1.1 /24, loopback0, 1.1.1.1 /32.

Router2: Serial0, 172.1.1.2/24, Serial2 179.1.1.2/24, loopback0, 2.2.2.2 /32.

We could configure Router1 like this:

router bgp 200

neighbor 172.1.1.2 remote-as 200

In this case, BGP would automatically use 172.1.1.1 as the source for the TCP connection that has to be set up with the neighbor before updates can be exchanged; this address is known as the best local address. However, if the remote peer’s serial0 interface is shut down or goes down for another reason, the peer relationship would be lost even though Router2 is still available.

Instead of using one of the physical interfaces, we can use the loopbacks on each router to establish the TCP-based peer connection. The configurations would look like this:

Router1:

router bgp 200

neighbor 2.2.2.2 remote-as 200

neighbor 2.2.2.2 update-source loopback0

Router2:

router bgp 200

neighbor 1.1.1.1 remote-as 200

neighbor 1.1.1.1 update-source loopback0

In this case, losing one of the physical connections does not necessarily mean the BGP peering is lost; as long as the routers have a valid path to each other’s loopback addresses, the BGP peer relationship will stay in place. And better yet, we avoid the dreaded “single point of failure