Course young fighter. Practical course on Cisco Packet Tracer

Fast start

It all started around a couple of years ago. Working in a small company (system integrator) from a small city, I ran into a constant staff turnover. The specificity of the work is such that a system engineer in a very short time gains extensive experience with equipment and software from leading world vendors. The cost of such a person in the labor market immediately increases (especially if he manages to get a couple of certificates) and he just goes to a more paid job (he leaves for Moscow rubber).

Naturally, the leadership did not like this situation, but there's nothing you can do. The only available option is to put training specialists on the conveyor. So that even a student after graduation can start work in two or three weeks of express training. So it was decided to form courses for training within the company in various areas. The development of a mini-course for quick training of employees to configure network equipment fell to my lot.

Actually, after this, the creation of the “Course of the Young Fighter” on network technologies began.
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Course young fighter

Perhaps the question immediately arises: "Why is Cisco Packet Tracer, and not the more advanced GNS3?". No doubt GNS3 is much better. But it is better in terms of detailed study of the functional and to prepare for any exams. If the person has a weak idea of ​​how the networks function there, then it is better not to find Cisco Packet Tracer. It is very easy to learn and allows you to practice with the basic functions of network equipment (VLAN, IP addressing, routing, etc.). It is suitable for a quick start.

I also did not want to draw up a regular course on ICND textbooks, since in this case, the learning process was greatly delayed, but I still needed to prepare a person for a couple of weeks, so that he could go to the site and make some basic settings. Therefore, it was decided to make a course of the main topics that are most often encountered in practice, and to provide additional materials for self-study. As a result, several major topics for learning were identified:

1) The simplest network - the union of two computers into one network
2) Using a switch - combining multiple computers into one network
3) Connection to network equipment - connection and basic commands for setting up
4) VLAN - separation of networks into segments
5) STP - loop guard mechanism
6) EtherChannel - link aggregation
7) L3 switch - difference from conventional switch, scope
8) Router - difference from L3 switch, scope
9) DHCP protocol - automatic distribution of ip-addresses
10) Static routing - the basics of routing traffic between networks
11) NAT - providing Internet access
12) Dynamic Routing (OSPF, EIGRP) - for more advanced routing learning
13) Access-List - access control
14) Firewall - difference from the router, scope
15) DMZ - segment organization for public services
16) VPN - merging branches
17) NTP, SYSLOG, AAA, TFTP - setting additional functions
18) WiFi - the basic principles of wireless networks
19) Trashlshuting - the main methods of finding problems
20) Typical schemes - the most frequently used solutions.

According to the plan, after passing this mini course, a person should be able to set up a small network according to a previously known configuration.

Initially, it was very difficult to determine the method of presentation of the material and realize whether a person understands the material provided. Therefore, it was decided to record small video lessons, after which they were laid out on YouTube, where I could get feedback from the "students". This made it possible to slightly adjust the classes. As a result, the lesson was divided into two parts:

1) A small theoretical introductory with bringing additional resources for self-study
2) The practical part, which includes laboratory work in Cisco Packet Tracer

At the moment I stopped at the DMZ lesson. Now the course consists of 17 video lessons that I continue to add. Below are a few lessons and the course playlist itself :

Conclusion

It’s still too early to judge the results of introducing training within the company based on our own courses. By the summer, we expect an influx of students, on which we will be able to test our own achievements. It will also be clear whether it is possible to prepare a person in such a short period of time (a couple of weeks). I repeat, the main objective of the course is the rapid training of specialists in the rapidly changing composition of the system integration department.

In the meantime, we continue to receive invaluable experience and feedback from the virtual "students" on youtube. In the course of creating the course, problems emerged that we had not previously suspected - from the wrong pronunciation of words to the wrong examples in the labs themselves. All video tutorials are available for free. I hope that novice network engineers will be able to gather for themselves at least some useful information. Thus, the project, which began as a service (the task received from the management) gradually grew into something more. Now I consider this activity exclusively as a hobby, which, I hope, will bring something really worthwhile.

Thanks for attention.

PS

And how do you fight staff turnover? And how long does the initial training of a new “green” employee take?