Outside Plant Engineer

Here is a simple example: A data center may have a portfolio of aging data center equipment (server, storage and networking) that was sold with a three-year warranty and support agreement. At the end of year three, the support expires. Enter TPM service providers who will extend support for the equipment for a fee. Service level agreements (SLA) spell out important support functions such as response times (i.e., same day or next day) and specify minimum certification levels for the support engineers, etc. TPMs are relevant because they allow the customer to avoid a hardware refresh, but still enjoy the same level of operational quality. The TPM approach is also a tactic to manage or delay OEM-forced upgrades. Why MSPs Should Consider TPM With the economic challenges in mid-2020 and for the foreseeable future, the tendency is to try to extend the useful life of hardware assets (and again, avoid the cost of a hardware refresh). This is analogous to repairing your older model car instead...

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) provides you with three pricing options for CompTIA Security+ certification exam: If you buy just an exam voucher, it will cost $339. For $899, you can purchase the CompTIA Security+ Deluxe Bundle, which includes the exam voucher plus a voucher good for one retake and two training resources — CompTIA CertMaster Learn for Security+ and the Official CompTIA Study Guide for Security+ eBook. If you want more, you can choose the premier bundle, which includes everything the deluxe bundle does plus CompTIA CertMaster Practice for Security+, for $1,049. If you earned your certification before Jan. 11, 2011, you remain certified for life. Otherwise, your certification will be valid for three years from your exam date. To renew your certification, you need 50 continuing education units (CEUs) over the three years. You can earn your CEUs by completing the CompTIA CertMaster CE course, earning a higher level CompTIA certification, earning a...

Part of the EC-Council’s core program, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification is designed for cybersecurity practitioners with advanced technical skills. CEH credential holders are well-versed in the techniques and tools used by hackers to cause harm. Rather than use their skills for malicious purposes, CEH holders work to beat hackers at their own game by looking for system vulnerabilities and other network system weaknesses. While not required, the official CEH training is highly recommended; it covers over 340 common cyberattack technologies and methods. There are two paths to earning the CEH. Candidates who attend CEH training can take the CEH exam without going through the application process. Those who choose not to attend training must have at least two years of experience and submit an application package that verifies that work experience; when their applications are approved, candidates are sent an exam voucher code that allows them to attempt the exam. Once candid...

Software developers need experience with programming languages, of course, but also look for certifications from AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat and VMWare that help you see how your applications fit into the larger system. This career path offers one of the highest IT salaries: $105,590, according to BLS. Data specialists who oversee a company’s database and turn raw data into usable information are looking at an average salary of $90,272, according to BLS. Look to beef up your skills through certifications from IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAS. Whichever direction you go in IT, start with an attitude of continuous learning. Nothing in tech stands still, and neither should your knowledge. The more you learn, the more valuable you’ll be. Then add certifications to help prove that you know your stuff, to either your current employer or a future employer. More Info: what can you do with an a+ certification

Read at least half a chapter a day. (Chapters 7 and 8) After reading, review the Chapter Review topics for what you read. After the review, do at least 10 of the practice test questions for the chapter. After doing the practice test questions, take the time to read the explanation. Day 21 Reread all the chapter reviews from chapters you’ve finished. Do all of the practice test questions that you’ve finished previously. Look at blog articles for any topics that interest you or you want to dig into deeper. Days 22 through 25 Read at least half a chapter a day. (Chapters 9 and 10) After reading, review the Chapter Review topics for what you read. After the review, do at least 10 of the practice test questions for the chapter. After doing the practice test questions, take the time to read the explanation. Reread all the chapter reviews from chapters you’ve finished. Do all of the practice test questions that you’ve finished previously. Look at blog articles for any topics that interest yo...

Purchase a Security+ certification voucher for the exam. These typically are good for a year, and purchasing it early provides some motivation to you to keep you studying. You can get a code for a 10% discount on all CompTIA vouchers here. Be careful about buying vouchers from unknown sources. Many people have purchased vouchers through sites such as eBay only to learn that the voucher isn’t valid. Schedule your exam for your target date. Contact a Pearson Vue testing center and schedule your exam. Just as purchasing the voucher provides some motivation for you to keep studying, scheduling your exam helps keep you focused. Even if a life event pops up and slows you down, you can still reschedule the exam for a later date. Practice test questions help you gauge your understanding and ability to pass the actual exam. These can be very useful, but beware of questions without explanations. Many “braindumps” have questions and answers but the majority of the questions don’t have any explan...

If we go out with the DHCP discovery packet and the DHCP server does not respond, that means one of two things. Either we’ll get an alternate configuration, which is that configuration if we are a DHCP client, I’m running Windows 7 or later, we have that option. Or, we’re going to get an APIPA address, which is the 169.254.x.x IP address. The way we’re going to verify this, that we have an expired IP address, is we’re either going to use ipconfig or ifconfig to verify our TCP/IP configuration. We’re going to balance it against our documentation. If we’re supposed to have a 10.1 IP address and that’s not what we’re getting, and we’re getting an APIPA instead, we know the DHCP server didn’t respond. Or if we are using an alternate configuration, we know our DHCP server didn’t respond. Let’s take a look at these two settings where we can find the alternate configuration on my DHCP server. We begin with TCP/IP settings under Network Connections and then Ethernet. More Info: comptia a+ en...