The SG300's are layer 3 switches which can do some routing for you but they will not be able to manage WAN connections. As far as trunking over fiber, you have some options. If IDF will have its own (2) Vlans then we will set that switch up in L3 mode (there is a radio button in the web app; or the command “set system mode router” from the CLI) and have it be the hop (from our router) to those subnets. Let’s assume you have Vlan 1 as native which is insecure but we can discuss that in a moment. So our L3 INF switch will have two vlans (10 and 20) with subnets 192.168.10.0/26 and 192.168.10.64/26. For each vlan on the switch, you will give the switch an address so for vlan 10 it will be 192.168.10.1 and for vlan 20 it will be 192.168.10.65. Now assign your ports to the proper Vlan depending on their purpose and set a default route for the switch (which will be the router’s IP on Vlan 1). Make sure your fiber link AND the link between the two IDF switches are on Vlan 1. Now we will do the same thing for MDF networking giving it Vlan 30 and 40 with subnets 192.168.10.128/26 and 192.168.10.192/26. Again add your ports to your vlans as needed. Make sure your router port and fiber port are on vlan 1.


Now, on the router you will provide routes; this usually will ask you for a network address, mask, and destination IP address. After you give it this info correctly, it will know to send all packets destine for network 192.168.10.0/26 to 192.168.10.1 and so on for each vlan. You will have 4 vlans /subnets so there will need to be 4 separate routes. This is assuming you use an off the shelf business solution like Sonicwall, Fortinet, etc. In the event you decide to go with something more robust, the basic idea is the same but the method to enter the route may differ a bit. Also, your VOIP system may have something to say about the use of 2 separate VLANS in one VOIP Call manager. In that case, you may need to use a single Vlan throughout for VOICE.


Assuming you want 2 vlans (voice and PCs); you can go under the “Vlan Management” section of any port and label the fiber link a Trunk link with a native Vlan (there are a few different menus where this can be accomplished, I find “Port Vlan Membership” to be the best; you will need to establish the trunk at both ends of the link). If you decide to go this route, I would change the native Vlan to something different (for security reasons) and be sure you also make the change on the firewall also ensuring the firewall is aware the link is a trunk.
As for the routers membership: if cost is a serious issue, there are Fortinet firewalls that can handle the load you are talking about and have multiple interfaces which you can assign to different Vlans. Take two ports on the switch, have one port assigned to each Vlan THEN plug them into separate ports on the firewall which you will then add to their respective VLANs through the firewalls web app. This will prevent the need for a trunk going to the router from the MDF switch. You can then shape the links by giving priority to your Voice vlan on a link level if need be. In doing this, you will not be required to enable L3 mode on the switches but you will rather give the routing job to the firewall. So for Vlan 10, we will give 192.168.10.1 and Vlan 20 192.168.10.65. Given that the router now has “skin in the game” (interfaces that are connected to both VLANs) it knows what port to use to get to each vlan/subnet.


This is all predicated on the notion that you will be using the SG300 series but, no matter what you decide to go with, the underlying theme is the same. You can use that fiber connection as a “barrier” of sorts if it does represent a true separation of two parts of your company (i.e. Warehouse and Accounting/CEO Office). If your growth is truly explosive the 4 vlan solution will be the better approach (imo, I’m sure there will be 50 other opinions). I base ALL of this on the switches you said you were considering; they are the SMB class and cheaper. If your boss is willing to give you a somewhat blank check, I would build this network entirely different with your growth in mind. Good Luck and let us know as it progresses if you need any further help!


Fortinet Fortigate-60D
https://www.amazon.com/Fortinet-FortiGate-60D-FG-60D-Generation-Appliance/dp/B00B9HZ5QM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473186466&sr=8-1&keywords=Fortigate+60D

Depending on your level of knowledge:

Networking

Brocade IP Primer I haven't read it myself, but some guys around these parts that I have a lot of respect for recommend it highly for beginners.

CCENT Offical Cert Guide Good next step after above and gets you the CCENT cert which is half the ccna if you pass the test.

CCNA Official Cert Guide Next step after CCENT, gets you CCNA obviously if you pass the test.

If you need to know some basic wireless, I highly recommend the CWTS by CWNP. It is meant more as marketing/sales, but honestly its a really good entry into wifi. You can always follow it up with the CWNA after.

And an always favorite, the network warrior. This book really brings it all together for doing day-to-day networking for a ccna level. I haven't read all of it, but the majority I did read really clarified what I the CCNA brushed over.

As far as Microsoft and other tech's, I highly recommend getting your hands on CBT Nuggets (Yeah, its a bit expensive ~$1000 / year) and just start devouring as much as you can. Watch two or three shows a night? Sub one of them for a CBT nuggets vid. Just devour a few books and some vids and do your best to lab (either in vmware or with gear) and you'll be off to a really great start.

On a political level at work, I'd be fighting for some training (again cbtnuggets or the like) saying, hey tech is always moving forward and you need it to keep up and benefit the company. If you stay hungry you'll do just fine :)

Read a book. You're most likely not getting your resume in front of the right people, or, if you are getting it in front of the right people then you're not wowing them enough for them to call you back.

Write your resume in a way that makes everything sound amazing, but still be completely honest. DO NOT LIE. If you lie on your resume, you're probably going to get called in for a technical interview and it's going to be fairly obvious that you don't know what's on your resume.

Remove any unnecessary information though. It's kind of a balancing act. After that, contact any contracting company in the area. Most positions that cater to people who have little to no experience are filled by contracting companies.

Network. No I don't mean computer networking. I mean go out and meet people. Most jobs are filled because someone knew someone who had some pull somewhere. Get on LinkedIn (I actually have no idea if LinkedIn is even popular in India, use whatever professional social network is popular) and join user groups. Add people that you know and have them introduce you to people who you would like to know.

Go to any local user groups (like Cisco Users Group). They usually meet once a month and it's filled with people who have connections. Toastmasters here in the US is also a great place to go to meet people. I don't know if there is anything similar in India but I would look around.

Bottom line is this: without experience you're not going to find a job super easily. Putting together a fantastic (notice I didn't just say good or even great. Fantastic) resume and meeting people is your best bet.

Alright. I grabbed this book (Link) and it seems to come with a network simulator on the training DVD. As for experience with networking I don't have too much professional experience but I have lots of experience working with ISPs and telecomms as tech support and sales so I know more than average about most networking equipment and troubleshooting as is, and a gentleman I spoke to up at the test center says that the experience from those positions is definitely an advantage. I was going to go for an A+ certification but then I learned that they make next to nothing and that networking sounds a whole lot more fun. I know I love to troubleshoot and fix my own network connectivity issues and have been able to tell my ISP where the problem was occurring on their network when calling in. Hopefully our city will be hiring soon and I can get a position there. There's a motion on the table right now to have the whole downtown area networked with wifi by 2015 so hopefully that's good.

> Keep in mind that with the unemployment rate so high, people who are well over-qualified are getting whatever jobs become available.

Where exactly do you live? Just about every major city and secondary city in the US can't find good networking people. I've tried helping my manager try to find people and everyone I've asked usually has a good job, and then they tell me that they are hiring and looking for people! I also get called every single day by recruiters.

Help desk people however are a dime a dozen.

> I've interviewed people with Master's degrees in related fields for an internship position (which is less than junior level).

What exactly is the point of that? The person would usually get circular-filed because they are overqualified. Sounds like they didn't get the position either.

> Certs have absolutely no value, IMO

They do to HR and recruiters.

> participating in open-source projects, or other community (tech) involvement.

I agree with this.

OP, you want to get a good job? I have posted this before, but I'll do it again. You have to people network.

1. Get on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and start people networking. I'm not going to explain LinkedIn to you, there is plenty of information out there.
   
   
2. Go to your local Cisco Users Group. If there isn't one in your town, ask your local Cisco office or a Cisco VAR (value added reseller) if they can help you start a group.
   
   
3. Make your own business cards and become your own consultant. Be an "IT Consultant" for "Logic_Bomb421 Computer Services" or something more ingenious than what I can think of off hand. VistaPrint is your friend, and don't get the free ones, they make you look cheap when you want to look professional. Hand them out at the Cisco Users Group.
   
   
4. Read books on how to find a job and how to sell (yourself.) Read this book - Guerilla Marketing - http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Marketing-Job-Hunters-Unconventional/dp/0470455845
   
   
5. Read this other book - Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money - http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Sales-Answers/dp/0131735365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323129165&sr=8-1
   
   
6. Check your local chamber of commerce web site and start researching companies in your area. Once you find a few that you would like to work for, contact the CIO / CTO of the company and ask to do an informational interview because you want to know what it's like to work in IT for a company. If you don't know what an informational interview is, Google it.
   
   You do all this and more, chances are you won't be a help desk grunt hating life and not moving up.

I learnt a lot from Tanenbaum's Computer Networks, though it's not exactly light reading.

If you're going to be/are a Cisco shop*, then a CCENT/CCNA would be really useful (and it also gets you a discount on equipment, but it never beats eBay) - though it's not a bad certification even if you're not a Cisco shop. If you do take that track, I'd recommend CBTNuggets/Jeremy Cioara's videos, though they're not cheap (and I can't think of any way to see videos without paying for them ;) ). By that same token, ASP/APP if you're going to be an HP shop*, JNCIE/JNCIP if Juniper*, BCNE if Foundry/Brocade*, or if you're going to be a Linux/BSD shop*, start tinkering (which is probably the best way to learn anyway).

I've never done or met anyone who's done Network+, though my experience is that CompTIA's certifications aren't held in high esteem.

* Once you start needing managed/enterprise gear, it's generally a good idea to try and keep all their gear from one supplier where possible, because some features don't work between competing products, it makes it easier for the employer to find employees, and it generally makes life easier. For unmanaged/consumer gear, you can mix and match all you want, though most sys/net-admins tend to develop biases for one vendor or another.

• SecureCRT, the chat window feature that allows you to paste and run commands to all sessions is awesome.
  
  
• The Rhino 5200, it rocks. It has a bunch of useful functions like printing labels that wrap around cables and I don't have to beg anyone for their crappy label printer.
  
  
• Crossover Linux to manage the windows applications I need to run on Linux (checkpoint smartconsole and ikeview, visio, ...)
  
  
• I need to get a digital toner and tracer to better deal with undocumented patch panels, the fluke intellitone must be nice but is a bit expensive for something I need only once in a while.
  
  
• I'd like to get the panduit cable comb to make /r/cableporn worthy bundles but it is expensive for a piece of molded plastic .
  
  
• And I need an Air Console, because screw sitting on the floor in the cold aisle of a coloc center.
  
  
• Now that I'm writing a wishlist, I also need one of these to avoid manually switching console port from one device to another, a usb quad serial ports adapter.
  
  Edit :
  
  
• Wolf Wifi Pro, an android wireless survey app, it's basic but a fraction of the cost of more professional tools and still allows me to make signal strength and snr heatmaps over a floor plan. It's good enough for my needs, in fact it's awesome.
  
  
• Wacom Bamboo Graphic Tablet to draw crude diagrams or dicks or dick shaped OSPF areas I can paste in an email.
  
  
• BIC 4 color pens because they blow my mind and are really useful for hand drawn diagrams.

Ubiquiti Nanobeam - $99

You would need two of these, one at each end, wired into your PC and your router. They will give you probably 300 Mbps and very low latency, but it's a $200 setup.

Ubiquiti Nanostation - $59

These ones are a better fit for your situation, I think. You'd still need two of them for optimal performance.

Third option would be to get a single Nanostation and connect it to your PC via a wire and use that as a "wifi adapter" connected to your router. This might give you much better performance since the radio in it will be way better than usual wifi cards.

But if you have no other choice than wifi, if the signal is strong enough, a good adapter will be better than a shitty one, just maybe not go as overkill as the one you linked before.

I planned do you what you are doing, but my friend bought a new house too far away, and I never used the equipment. I have 2 of these I could give you a good deal on.

Ubiquiti NanoStation loco M5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EHSV4W/

If you want something else, I definitely recommend using the 5GHz range as 2.4GHz has lots of interference because of its popularity.

Hey, FYI, the link you shared contains Amazon Referral tags, that will associate anyone who clicks it with you.

You shared this URL:

> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LPIT470/?coliid=I8TY3BLO5227M&colid=2V77J81YB3FSS&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

But all we needed was this part:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LPIT470/

AutoModerator auto-removes threads & comments that contain referral links or tags to help maintain anonymity and prevent anyone from profiting from links/clicks/views.

Please clean the tags from future Amazon URLs.

Thanks.

I don't live in a FiOS area anymore, so I can't actually give you a step-by-step guide. You're going to have to figure out a lot of this on your own.

Here's a brief primer on FiOS MoCA:

MoCA is a system for transmitting IP over coaxial cable. In most FiOS installs, there's actually MoCA running on two different frequencies: First, the WAN-side connection from ONT to the primary (in 99% of installs, only) Actiontec router, which IIRC runs at 1000 MHz. Second, the LAN-side connection from the router to any cable boxes and other MoCA devices, which runs at 1150 MHz, and is bridged to the router's WiFi and LAN ethernet ports. You're going to want to get your second router to listen to this 1150MHz signal, but not to act as a DHCP server.

If you disable the 1000MHz (again, not sure this is correct, but it's labeled as something like WAN Coax) MoCA connection, your secondary Actiontec won't have any way to connect to the ONT directly, which is what you want.

The first problem that comes to mind with this setup is getting the non-WAN Actiontec to run a DHCP client on the LAN side. The easiest way around this is probably to configure it using a static IP address in the same subnet, but outside of the primary router's DHCP range, which I believe you can do pretty easily.

Good luck!

USB-C converters are a non issue because they are cheap and everywhere. I have like 5 in my bag of different types. You can get insanely good docks now for usb-c. I have a totu one that i liked so much i bought one for my bag solely.

https://www.amazon.com/TOTU-Ethernet-Delivery-Portable-Laptops/dp/B07FX2LW35

​

Ive had this forever and its perfect and the long cable is amazing

​

https://www.amazon.com/Asunflower-Serial-Console-Rollover-Routers/dp/B00KMRVGFO/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=usb+to+serial+cisco&qid=1554828013&s=electronics&sr=1-3

​

I have used a mac for almost 10 years solely. I would never go back. Another thing that is fantastic about macs is network locations which I use a ton for each site i visit or for new setups that I do.

Highly recommend the peplink balance product, there are many dual-WAN routers out there, but none that "just work" in all use cases for less than what these cost. In fact most units that are far more expensive still don't work as well-- often times these get put in front of equipment in the 5-figure price range. For the extra $100 it's probably worth it to get the triple-WAN product for future growth.

http://www.amazon.com/Peplink-Balance-20-Dual-WAN-Router/dp/B0042210U6

Then look into a multi-AP setup, I'm a big fan of Ubiquiti Unifi personally but they are far from the only vendor worth looking at. I'm biased as well because I can build a network with them in my sleep.

A cheap robust solution would be a handful of linksys e2500 dual-band routers setup as access points. Gobs of bandwidth for under $60 a unit.

A good start would be to study for any standard certifications in the field, since they cover the basic topics and hey, why not get certified while you are at it? Comptia's N+, Cisco's CCENT or CWNP's CWTS cover the fundamentals of networking.
On the other hand, you could just go through free online lectures like this one on youtube or this one offered by MIT. Of course, there's always the good old-fashioned way to learn- borrow any standard textbook like Tanenbaum.

Learn the fundamentals before you touch any of the crap from a vendor.

Computer Networks by Andy Tanenbaum. Available from Amazon but you should buy a used copy on abebooks for < $10. A newer (e.g. 2002) edition is preferable.

Once you've read that feel free to pick up the trade-oriented certification guides that will teach you command line stuff.

Also, put Linux on an old computer or two. Don't spend more than $100, any old junk will do. Play around with the network tools.

Good luck!

I LOVE following the history of networking, awesome find!

If you end up wanting more, where wizards stay up late and dealers of lightning are great reads about the people behind the early internet.

I would also like to take the time to plug a few resources, if I may, that have greatly assisted me throughout my career.

1. Of course, Cisco Press. Wendell Odom especially.
   
2. Non-Cisco Press, Todd Lamlle's CCNA book is great!
   
3. CBT Nuggets!! Jeremy Cioara and Keith Barker.
   
4. Tech Exams Forums!! For answers to your questions regarding certification, study material, etc, from a variety of vendor certs. Or, to just read motivating success stories!!
   
5. Internetworking Experts (INE!) That link should direct you to their free CCNA video course. If that doesn't work for you, simply register an account with them and search for the CCNA video course.
   
6. Thomas Limoncelli's The Practice of Systems and Network Administration
   
7. Gary A Donahue's Network Warrior
   
8. Jeff Doyle's CCIE Professional Development Routing TCP/IP Vol. 1 or 2
   
9. Douglas E. Comer's Internetworking with TCP/IP
   
10. GNS3!! Free Cisco Router and ASA Emulation!! Just make sure you have access to Cisco IOS software!
    
11. Andrew S. Tanenbaum's Computer Networks.
    
12. Jeremy Stretch and PacketLife!! Also, Jeremy's network Cheat Sheets!
    
13. Firewall.cx!!
    
14. Cisco's Command Lookup Tool! Requires login, but nonetheless, a great resource for your Cisco engineers when you just NEED to know how the hell a particular command works.
    
15. Priscilla Oppenheimer's Top-Down Network Design
    
16. I've heard the folks at /r/networking are pretty legit.

If someone hasn't recommended it I would start with the ICND1 & ICND2 exams from Cisco for the CCENT and the CCNA respectively.

If you do decide to become Cisco certified, you may want to make sure you purchase the correct books, as the CCNA is changing later on this year.

I'd recommend Wendel Odom's books:

ICND1 on Amazon

and:

ICND2 on amazon


EDIT:

And if you have good discipline I'd start working on a bachelor's degree online.
I'm working on my IT Security degree at Western Governer's University www.wgu.edu.
They're fully accredited and have a very well thought out approach to online education.

Tuition is $3,000 per 6 month semester, and you can take as many classes as you can a semester.

My advisor has stories about people who are laid off and get their 4 year degree in just a year in order
to get back into the job market.

The TCP/IP Guide - It's a little dated these days and barely touches IPv6, but it's a good, quick look at a lot of the glue services that you will eventually need to understand and troubleshoot: DNS, SNMP, NTP, etc.

TCP/IP Illustrated, VOL 1 - Here's where we get into the nitty gritty. This shows you what is happening in those packets that cross the wire. Invaluable if you go onto doing Performance Engineering functions later on, but still good.

NMAP Network Scanning - NMAP is a godsend if you don't have remote login rights but you need to see what's happening on the far end of the connection.

Wireshark Network Analysis - Most useful tool in your toolbox, IF you can use it, for proving the negative to your customers. At some point you're going to be faced with an angry mob in Dockers and Polos who want to know "WHY MY THING NOT WORK?". This is the book that will let you point to their box and go "Well, as soon as the far side sends a SYN/ACK your box sends a FIN and kills the connection."

Learning the bash shell - You're a network engineer, you're going to be using Linux boxes as jump boxes for the rest of your life. Shell scripting will let you write up handy little tools to make your life easier. Boss wants to blackhole China at the edge? Write a quick script to pull all of the CN netblocks from the free FTP server APNIC owns, chop it up in sed and AWK, throw a little regex in for seasoning and you're done. And when he comes back in 30 days for an updated list? Boom, it's done even faster.

The vendor specific books are nice, but I can't tell you how many network engineers I've run across who couldn't tell me how DNS worked or how a three way handshake worked or couldn't write a simple script in Bash to bang out 300 port configs in 30 seconds. There are a shit ton of paper CCIEs out there, but those books up there will make you stand out.

Good advice here. I also recommend Todd Lammeles CCNA book after you've done the Network+. Download GNS3 for playing around.

Also, start using Linux now if you haven't already. Debian, Ubuntu, or CentOS are fine to get started. The majority of network gear is running some flavor of Linux these days. Get comfortable doing things from the command line.

As a reference book, I recommend this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/159327047X/ref=s9_topr_hm_bwS_g14_i1

If you really want in-depth knowledge, I would go with TCP/IP Illustrated. It has recently been updated and pretty much covers the gamut of all things networking.

If that looks a little too daunting, you can go with a CCENT book (Lammle and Odom tend to be the best writers, IMO). It does cover Cisco products, but the concepts in it are primarily vendor neutral. Hope that helps.

The TCP/IP Guide

The Illustrated Network

A bit dated, but pretty well respected:
TCP/IP Illustrated (There are 3 volumes)
----------------------------------
You can find most of this info freely on the web though.

My brother has been raving about "The Practice of System and Network Administration" by Limoncelli, Hogan, and Chalup. I can't speak to it personally, but it gets pretty great reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668

This will technically work. The EdgeRouter X supports OpenVPN, and the UAP-AC-LITE can be set to use whatever address you want as the server.

That said, in this configuration, server access through the VPN will probably be slow. The EdgeRouter Lite and EdgeRouter X both have relatively slow CPUs, ERL offloads most of its packet processing onto a separate chip which is how they get their (quite impressive for the price) performance numbers. ER-X (from what I can tell) doesn't have the offload capability. A quick Google suggests (quite anecdotally) that EdgeRouter X will push about 6-7 megabits of OpenVPN using its CPU and no more.

You might consider using the EdgeRouter Lite ($100) and use IPSec VPN, ERL appears able (again, according to reports on Google) to do IPSec offload which gives it around 100Mbps IPSec bandwidth.

-----

Going for alternatives, if you say you can't run a wire, are the two areas within 250' of each other by coax? Use a MoCA kit just remember to enable the encryption.

Do you have line of sight? Get two of these: http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquit-Networks-Nanobeam-High-Performance-airMAX/dp/0961114150/

Hope that helps!

Exactly. I'd greatly recommend that the "boxes" connected "by radio" are 5GHz like these. These won't double as hotspot so you should get either a router to have a separate network (I'd recommend a buffalo as they come with DD-WRT preinstalled or easily installable) or a DIR-615 which keep revising hardware and usually takes a while to have a compatible DD-WRT. If you don't want any hotspot-specific features you can get a simple AP or any router.

ME/EE background. The problem solving is the most important part. My strongest advice to you, which would be very echoed by this subreddit if you look at previous posts of people trying to get into networking, is to study for the CCENT. It's the fundamentals of networking (beyond the fundamentals really, it's gets into the nitty gritty on a few things)

book

HOWEVER, Be aware that the CCNA test is changing in September. This CCENT book will be out of date by that time. If you have no interest in getting certified, this book is still fantastic for the fundamentals of networking.

Leased phone lines.

A book I highly recommend reading (it's light on technical matters, but it is a really interesting read... at least for me since I wasn't quite alive to experience most of it) is Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet, which looks at the ideation, implementation, and growth of the ARPANET, various regional networks, and eventually the Internet.

I get all of what you're saying, but the honest truth is that if a VPN goes down for us it's not the end of the world. Most of our inter-company data is performed on our websites, so as long as the internet stays up our regular staff can do 90% of their jobs. It'd mostly be me, the IT, affected by a VPN going down. And that 90% is probably going to rise to 98% once we move our mobile devices off of WindowsCE and onto Android. We're going to be doing everything by in-house apps, more or less.

$550 is just not something I can justify for our use cases, when really all I want is IT management out of it and not anything beyond that. I can't justify that price for an office for < 5 people who are basically sitting on the internet all day doing their job and not sending inter-company data over the VPN.

Because of the age of MPLS, there are plenty of good books written over the years. The information is still relelvant. One of my favorites is MPLS-Enabled Applications by Ina Minei. If you go through the NANOG archives, you can find her giving talks on it (MPLS< not the book).

https://www.amazon.com/MPLS-Enabled-Applications-Emerging-Developments-Technologies/dp/0470665459

MPLS in the SDN Era is a must-read, as are Definitive MPLS Network Designs and both volumes of MPLS and VPN Architectures.

Regardless of the book, you are going to need a rock-solid understanding of the IGPs and BGP.

I've had success setting up less technical users with Peplink Balance multi-WAN routers. The web-based configuration is pretty accessible for "prosumers"; see the live demo. They're priced reasonably too.

The O'Reilly DNS books are great. I highly recommend the BIND and DNS book.

awesome videos you linked there.

EDIT: if you are interested in this type of stuff check out the book Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet

Man, I wish I could get a connection that fast where I live!

On a more serious note, it will work just like you said. However, you will need a "special" router that has support for a multi-wan setup.

I don't have any experience with multi-wan routers (outside of BGP setups with multiple wan connections), but maybe something like http://www.amazon.com/Peplink-Balance-20-Dual-WAN-Router/dp/B0042210U6.

I have a USB c dongle for my macbook(since it only has 4 usb-c ports) that has hdmi, Ethernet, USB, mini sd card, and usb-c pass through for charging. It's great and comes in handy a lot.

Like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FX2LW35/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KwNXCb68C3JAM

Just get a ethernet Switch like TP-Link Switch and share the ethernet port. This will be the cheapest and easiest way.

Thomas A. Limoncelli has written some really good books for SA's. Check out his time management book and The Practice of System and Network Administration are both two very good reads.

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668

http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596007836.do

A Toner & Probe kit would definitely help out identifying cables. There are less expensive ones, but if work's paying for it, I recommend Fluke.

We are deploying Fortinet Fortigates at each of our new sites. Might want to give it a try. Their documentation is good and their support team acts fast. We have the exact same setup for up to 20 people that you mentioned above.

https://www.amazon.com/Fortinet-FortiGate-60D-FG-60D-Generation-Appliance/dp/B00B9HZ5QM

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60-KIT-IntelliTone-Toner/dp/B00N2S6RPY

It's like $200 bucks. You don't need each tech having their own. Get two or three, tops.

DNS can be confusing, I'd recommend 'DNS and BIND' by Cricket Liu for some light reading on DNS structure, records, and best practice implementation... I found it to be incredibly informative

https://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-5th-Cricket-Liu/dp/0596100574

On mobile, but there's a book called "Where Wizards Stay Up Late". Will see if I can get you a link, but it should be easily found on Amazon.

Edit: Here ya go!

MPLS Enabled Applications

NANOG MPLS Presentations

The nanog stuff should help you with a frame of reference. The mpls book will help with deeper understanding. Then pick your vendor of choice for syntax and implementation.

The updated version is already released. Look up the 100-101 and 200-101 exams if you want to take them in 2 parts or the 200-120 exam if you want to take it all at once.

The two-part books that cover everything:

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official/dp/1587143852/

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Routing-Switching-200-101-Official/dp/1587143739/

You probably don't need to build up a lab if you're going to stop at CCNA. Cisco's Packet Tracer is included with the books and you can use GNS3 to virtualize routers to practice on. That said, if you'd like the hands-on experience, feel free to grab hardware from ebay. Decent stuff to go with:

• Layer 2 switch: 2950
  
• Layer 3 switch: 3550/3650 emi
  
• Router: everyone has an opinion on this one.
  
  Of course, check /r/ccna

Not specific to any vendor but I found MPLS Enabled Applications to be a good book explaining the concepts of MPLS and related usage. It's not going to explain how it's configured though if that's what you're looking for.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-SG1008D-Unmanaged-Gigabit-Network/dp/B000N99BBC/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1537118986&sr=1-6&keywords=gigabit%2Bswitch&th=1

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Why not buy a branded one for like 14 bucks from Amazon?

Do you at least have a pair of phone wires between the buildings? Hard-wire will be more reliable than wireless any day. I've used this with great success: https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Extender-Kit-TUPEX-100-Broadband/dp/B01BOD8C9W or same thing:
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-VDSL2-Ethernet-Extender-Single/dp/B002CLKFTG

If you have unused coax jacks in each room, MoCA is far superior to powerline.

http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Ethernet-Adapter-without-Routers/dp/B008EQ4BQG

With no controller, you're flat out not going to be able to get them to light up an SSID. As I see it, you've got two basic ways to find the little buggers.

The first is to bring up a controller. The 2332 was a rebranded Trapeze AP, which was then bought up by Juniper. One of their last acts before letting the product line die was to release a virtual controller which, if I recall correctly, had a built in license for 4 APs. You can find the software by going to support.juniper.net and searching for "JunosV Wireless LAN Controller". Once you bring it up, you'll have an SSID up you can go hunt down.

The alternative way, if you don't feel like resurrecting all that infrastructure, is to go analog. More specifically, get yourself a toner, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Multifunction-Collation-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B01HCQSHNG

You'll need to unplug the cable from the switch port and plug it into the signal generator unit. From there, it will greatly facilitate physically tracing the cable through bundles, letting you check that you still have the right one at intermediate points without having to eyeball it or rely on someone tugging at the other end.

Neither way ends up being trivial, but if you don't have any good maps to fall back on, they're your best bets.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LPIT470/

That the one you are referring to? Do you know if there are any solid reviews on it or if it's been updated at all or anything else more about it? I've been looking at these types of backpacks and this one seemed like the best design of the ones I've found, but it also has some questionable reviews on Amazon but also I couldn't find any really solid/good reviews on it anywhere else.

Biggest concern for me is quality and if it will actually hold up for a long time considering the price of it.

Cricket Liu's book is pretty much the definitive resource on DNS. It has been for years.

Yeah it sounds like there is a wiring problem. I would recommend getting an inexpensive cable tester. You can then verify that all connectors are terminated correctly.

I bought this one a while ago when I did wire tech work professionally. It works really well and also allows you to tone out the cable. You plug in the block side and at it to either tone out test depending on your need. Than use the wand to listen for the sound or plug in the cable and test.

Wire Tracker, ELEGIANT RJ11 RJ45 Cable Tester Line Finder Multifunction Wire Tracker Toner Ethernet LAN Network Cable Tester for Network Cable Collation, Telephone Line Tester, Continuity Checking https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCQSHNG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XzQyDb4Q69CQN

you seen to know what you're talking about ;p

I hope this will do the job http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Gigabit-Unmanaged-Desktop-TL-SG1005D/dp/B000N99BBC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

The book DNS and Bind is a good resource.

It sounds like what you're looking for is a cable tester? You'd basically connect a toner on the wall jack side that sends out a continous tone adn then you would search in the server room side for the tone to identify the drop that the signal is coming from to your patch. Then you can identify the patch going to the switch.

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Cheap one from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Multifunction-Collation-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B01HCQSHNG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=170G8HQ7MQQDT&keywords=cable+tester+toner&qid=1572455475&sprefix=cable+tester+ton%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-4

Wired connection through coax (MoCA adapters) like: http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Ethernet-Adapter-without-Routers/dp/B008EQ4BQG ... would be my 1st choice.

If you have only one phone line (red and green wires) you could use the second line (yellow and black wires) for an Ethernet extender over single pair, such as: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-VDSL2-Ethernet-Extender-Single/dp/B002CLKFTG

Which book did you use? I'm using:

CCENT/CCNA ICND1 640-822

Books don't get more wind baggy than this.

Computer Networks by Andrew S. Tanenbaum

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Networks-Edition-Andrew-Tanenbaum/dp/0132126958

Ubiquiti

I just did "line of sight" at ground level through trees at 1.5km 80mbit link using ubiquti m5's.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Nanostation-LOCO-Outdoor-802-11n/dp/B004EHSV4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369620726&sr=8-1&keywords=ubiquiti+m5
2 of them....


I used quotes as I could not see either end...I was across water through trees in rain.

https://smile.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-SG1005D-Unmanaged-Gigabit-Desktop/dp/B000N99BBC/

I found this book good when learning MPLS. It's vendor neutral and speaks to the theory: https://www.amazon.com/MPLS-Enabled-Applications-Emerging-Developments-Technologies/dp/0470665459

That, or MPLS-Enabled Applications

Yea, "Where the Wizards stay up late" is the one I read.




https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674/ref=pd_sim_14_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0684832674&pd_rd_r=V53EY4JJ5Y422XJFDDAF&pd_rd_w=qml3l&pd_rd_wg=VRyhi&psc=1&refRID=V53EY4JJ5Y422XJFDDAF

I'd go with Nanostation Loco5m radios. They're about $60 a piece, you have to worry very little about interference, I'm going through some trees with mine at about 600' with the radios turned down as low as they'll go and my link varies from 120 - 280Mb/s.