Network training

[bobbykerr]

After some advice chaps , having spent the last fifteen years working pretty much exclusively on hardware (due to most it issues dealt with by company IT)and now finding myself looking around for a job and being severely lacking in network skills , can anybody recommend any mfd specific network. Training or reading material - I can use ping commands , understand ip , gateway ,sub net etc - but beyond that could really do with some serious brushing up - hope this all makes sense -

my my best thanks in advance

[jhalfhide]

Re: Network training

Difficult situation as younger engineers are inherently more tech savvy. I've gone the opposite way and started out in IT then into copiers/solutions but with the trainees we have we put them through online webex training from the manufacturer. Doesn't cover everything obviously but gives them the basics and they rely on me for the rest.

MFD's can do so much now that you seem to need to know the ins and outs of every flavour of server environment.


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[blackcat4866]

Re: Network training

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've managed to assemble some bare-bones skills simply from being tossed in front of the bus repeatedly.

Ok, not just that. Each time I failed (frequently at first), I would come back to the office and corner my buddy in IT, and ask: "Ok, what should I have done in this situation ... ?", or "Why didn't this work ... ?", or "Why couldn't I get a network connection ... ". Each time I learned one little thing. After a while I could string together a few things, and maybe be successful once in a while.

I never could seem to get much from the organized classes, probably for the same reason I did so badly at calculus. In the classes you are assigned a bunch of things to memorize for no particular good reason. I seem to do better in the school-of-hard-knocks approach, because I know the reason to get the answer first, then the knowledge to go with it. To hell with the trivia. =^..^=

[MIKON]

Re: Network training

Try this

[NeoMatrix]

Re: Network training

Welcome to deep water therapy .... (AKA school of hard knocks.)

I.T. changes from old accepted practices to new merging practices. There is no tried and true way to keep track of changing ideas and methods in the networking or IT industry. Unless your employed through or deal with a major software or networking company.

If it makes you feel any better I still fumble around with network issues.
I still haven't bothered with learning more about IP6 protocols. The reason being, most of my customers still use IP4.
Until my customers change from IP4 I'm not in any big hurry to learn more.

There is a lot of specialised fields inside the Networking software,hardware an IT industry that can lead to more learning curb tangents than it's really worth. I believe you have most of the basic skill set. Simply, you can solve most of the networking hardware issues by replacing a faulty hardware unit. Then apply the IT software knowledge you already have to get the hardware working. Most net hardware systems are plug and play unless you specifically wish to learn how to design a complete networking hardware system from scratch.

In answering your question, I can only suggest taking an online training coarse or local schooling study program. There is some networking software and hardware books out there, you would have to shop around to find out which books are current for todays merging network technology. There are many different flavours of Networks and Hardware systems. Try not to get too bogged down in the incidentals of all of the systems. Don't stresssszeezs.....

Do you really want to learn about networking hardware ,networking software or IT. Operating System Administration of the whole ?

HTH

[slimslob]

Re: Network training

Check those manufacturer that you are a dealer for to see if they have any online training available. I know that Ricoh in the US has numerous network oriented courses on their training site.

[anothertech]

Re: Network training

I second the Comptia Network+ route, it has helped our guys a lot, and a lot of employers are starting to ask for it.

[slimslob]

Re: Network training

Again, check with your MFP manufacturer, they may have options where they will supplement the cost.

[Oze]

Re: Network training

Just when you think you have a handle on MOST I.T related issues along comes Microsoft Office 365 and Windows 10.
Now you have to get your head around cloud based printing/scanning

[gear13z]

Re: Network training

"for traditional break/fix technicians, the transition to MPS has not been easy, and the people who haven't managed to keep their skill sets up to date are finding themselves unable to compare in today's job market. Instead, they're losing out to hybrid technicians who augment solid repair skills with network savvy and a willingness to work on any machine that enters the network. While up to this point many employers have shown some lenience toward traditional techs, the mandate is becoming clearer by the day: MOVE FORWARD or BE LEFT BEHIND." read from article, I know how your eagerness to learn, but learning a network will takes time, try one step at a time instead of learning the whole process, theres a lot of videos on youtube relating to network training. my advice is, learn and practice, learn and apply. its not good to learn only, you must try it also every now and then and you will see network is fun. Good Luck.

[tjvincent]

Re: Network training

I work on mostly Ricoh and took the online Ricoh training that my dealer had to pay for, in my opinion Proffesor Messer had much better training and it was free, helped me pass Net+

[qbert69]

Re: Network training

Several Pointers I can give:

-If DHCP is available, set it to be used on the machine in most cases it is set by default when the machine is delivered.
-If in DHCP mode, DON'T use the IP address in the print driver, USE the Host Name of the device--Host Name doesn't change!
-Manually install the most recent correct print driver downloaded directly from the MFP manufacturer!
-Don't share printers...if the PC that is sharing the printer is shut down, no one that uses that shared printer will be able to print....DOH!
-If in a server/domain based environment, get the IT Admin to create a "user" for the MFP to do scanning to each individual PC...that way, you will have consistent set-up & login info from PC to PC.

Oh, and if you do sell Kyocera/Copystar/Mita Products, for goodness sake, make sure to sell the customer PinPoint Scan!...makes it a hell of a lot easier!....also be sure to make an exception for the scan folder in whatever security software is being used!

CHEERS!



PS--There is no "best practice" when it comes to networking...only "what works and doesn't break"!!!

[cscce]

Re: Network training

Mike Meyers books are very good. He has one on network + and another on troubleshooting networks (and many others). You can look over the electronic versions of these and many others at Amazon.com.
Best of luck to you!

[Codex]

Re: Network training

I think the Microsoft virtual academy is a good way to start with networking, there are tons of free video courses about network, server, and the windows Os.....

[SargeNZ]

Re: Network training

I picked up 'Networking for dummies' and it make things much clearer for me. It's probably available for free if you know where to look.