The Right Tool for the Job: Why Network Techs Should Never Rely on Just One Utility

This video was taken about 10+ years ago is still so relevant.

I cannot tell you how frustrating and surprising it is to run into technicians who are not willing to try new tools.

Do you know what's worse than someone with no tools?  Someone with the wrong tools!

"Fear of Change: How Technology Rewires Our Minds Without Us Knowing" (by Paul W. Smith)

 

I was born and raised in Southern California and by the time my wife and I had settled our young family in Santa Barbara (aka Paradise), I swore we would never leave. Nine years later we moved to Niwot, Colorado (aka God’s Country). The scripted answer to “Why?” centered on a job offer that was too good to pass up, but there was also an element of adventure to a fresh start in another state. We certainly felt some trepidation over such a major change, but I still point to the decision as proof that I am not a Tropophobe.

"Network Cleanup Tips: How to Remove Old Cabling and Legacy Equipment"

I tend to get a lot of 'Network Cleanup' projects. I think it goes back to the satisfaction I get when things are all neat and tidy - thanks mom. Tim O'Neill even referred to me as the 'Network Janitor' in some of his articles.

Oddly enough, I enjoy figuring out what customers have, how to make it work better, what to replace, what to rip out and delivering the final product; a clean, well documented network. Then again, how many people can identify a Memotec x.25 Pad, 3174 IBM Controller or an IBM 8228 MAU?  Yes, I still run into that stuff. Then there's the whole CSI-type angle where you need to figure out how things ended up in the current state. If I'm lucky I can help consolidate some equipment, or eliminate excessive equipment or cabling. I can't tell you how many times I am referred to as the 'site specialist' with only 2 or 3 weeks at a customer site.

"How to Find a Device's IP Address Using Nmap and a Port Number"

 I’m sure you’ve been there before. You connect a network tool to your network, it gets assigned an IP address via DHCP and now you need to connect to it.

"CloudShark Capture Profiles: Streamline Packet Analysis for Your Team"

CloudShark capture profiles are one of the most powerful ways to tailor your analysis view, significantly decreasing the time it takes to solve problems. Your column choices, decode rules, and decryption settings all apply towards making your job easier. In CloudShark 3.7, the new profile manager not only lets you fine-tune your own work, but revolutionizes how your team works with captures - building a curated base of expert profiles that evolves over time and helping all of your analysts and engineers.

Join Tom for a special webinar highlighting profile management in CloudShark.