Certified Network Pro

I talked with a couple guys who interviewed me for an interesting project. They could not tell me the specifics on the applications I would be developing. When pressed, they said learning to be a Certified Ethical Hacker would be of some use to understanding the problem domain. Great. Never heard of it. But my school has a whole cyber security track that leads up to the certification.


So I started at the beginning. Enrolled in a course called Network+. It turns out that this first course  prepares you for a introductory Network+ certification. The more the merrier I guess. There was no traditional textbook for this class. I purchased access to some online TestOut site. Initially I thought that was a rip off. Over $125 for access to a web site?


Turns out the $125 was actually money well spent. The site has detailed simulations for network activities. They simulate office buildings, completed with hardware and Windows operating systems. They even have some Windows Server installations you need to navigate. This is much easier that buying a bunch of hardware and setting up networks in my basement.


The cost of the subscription also gave me a voucher to take a Network Pro certification exam. This is different than the CompTIA Network+ cert. I had not heard of Network Pro before. My instructor says it is more common over in Europe. Okay. The Network Pro emphasizes hands on knowledge of choosing the best hardware and debugging real network problems.