Network Uptime

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Starting Delimiter
- Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Certifications -
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Are you a CNX? CNX stands for Certified Network eXpert, and it was an industry certification supported by a consortium of network analysis companies including Network General, Wandel and Goltermann, Hewlett Packard, the AG Group, and others.

In the past few years, Wandel and Goldermann has merged with TTC to become Acterna, Hewlett Packard has spun-off into Agilent, the AG Group has become WildPackets, and Network General merged with McAfee Associates to become Network Associates. None of the original consortium remain in their previous form, and only Network Associates and WildPackets was still in the consortium after these dramatic and fast-moving industry changes.

Also during this period, the management of the actual exams was moved to a third party, who was also eventually acquired by WildPackets (this all sounds weird, except it really happened!). Obviously, there were not enough companies left in the consortium to consort together. Two does not a party make.

So, it's official. The CNX exam is officially dead. It's really a shame, since there are so few industry exams that are vendor-neutral. I'm also a bit put-out, since I'll need to update all of my old CNX certifications to the new versions.

New versions? Absolutely. The CNX may be gone, but the two remaining companies in the old CNX consortium have brought the certifications 'in-house,', and have renamed and revamped the tests to better represent the ideals of the sponsoring companies.

WildPackets now sponsors the Network Analysis Expert Certification, or NAX. I'm impressed by WildPackets' change to the normal certification process, requiring a dissertation to obtain the highest level of the NAX certification. WildPackets also offers a transition program for CNX holders to the NAX certification at no additional cost. The NAX web site is:

http://www.nax2000.com

The other remaining consort, Network Associates, has also created a new series of certifications called the Sniffer Certified Professional Program. NAI also provides a free method of upgrading to the SCP. Read more about the new Sniffer Technologies certification at:

http://www.sniffer.com/education/scpp.asp

I'm not sure if I'm going to get one certification, or go for both. Since my CNX is still 'valid,' there's no rush to update my certification without some thought of what I'd like to accomplish in the future. As these certification programs mature, we'll keep adding resources and study guides to Network Uptime to help you through the exams. Good luck!

In other news, I've been getting a lot of email messages relating to the fundamentals of wireless networking. Although there are many engineering and training courses that focus on 802.11b wireless technologies, many people are interested in the technology as a whole. If you want to learn more about wireless technology as a hobby, there are organizations that can help you get started in Amateur Radio. The ARRL and RSGB are two of the larger organizations, but many countries have similar groups that can help:

The American Radio Relay League
http://www.arrl.org/hamradio.html

The Radio Society of Great Britain
http://www.rsgb.org.uk/beginners/whats_ar.htm

My amateur radio license has helped me understand the basics of networking, not just wireless technology. Let me know if it does the same for you!

We've also been thinking of expanding our popular tip-of-the-month feature into a weekly email. Let us know what you think in our monthly Network Uptime PING on the Network Uptime home page.

http://www.NetworkUptime.com/

Our newsletter readership is growing larger each month. Thanks for your ongoing support!

- James 'AG4DX' Messer
Editor, Network Uptime
James@NetworkUptime.com

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Network Uptime Surf Report
- Every Day is Tax Day! -
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(To our International Subscribers: April the 16th is 'Tax Day' this year in the United States, when our annual income tax must be reported to the federal government.)

To recognize the inevitability of April the 16th (or the 17th, if you live in New England), this month's newsletter will provide some links that will help you 'tax' your network. These traffic generators and other utilities can help provide some feedback on the resiliency and capacity of your network.

**** Be very careful with these utilities! **** It's usually not a good idea to generate additional traffic on your production networks during production hours. :) Handle these utilities with care!