Friday, March 17, 2017

Want to Be Successful? Learn IP, TCP, DHCP, and DNS!

Last year, I wrote a blog post for SolarWinds MSP entitled "If It's IP It Belongs to Me." See: https://www.solarwindsmsp.com/blog/ip-belongs

There's Danger in not learning TCP/IP !


By IP I did not mean intellectual property. I meant Internet Protocol. Like TCP/IP. That post was about the trend of all "things" to use IP as their preferred communication system. Gradually over time, all technologies are moving to IP and TCP/IP.

If you don't know the difference between IP and TCP/IP, then you need to go to school. I literally just got off the phone with my friend Robb Patterson, talking about how the phone installers all think they're going to take over YOUR business. But they won't - unless they hire a network engineer who really understands how to set up and troubleshoot all things IP.

It's much easier for you to learn about phone systems than for them to learn the intricacies of troubleshooting IP networks. More and more, IP is becoming the standard for moving data across all kinds of equipment and technology. Your competition will do well to learn more than the absolute basics of IP, TCP, and DHCP.

Troubleshooting an IP camera system? An IP security system? An IP telephone system? The most important skill you’ll need is a good thorough understanding of TCP/IP. If you have a grasp of the 7-layer OSI model, that’s even better.

I posted a related video on this today:



As always if you have any thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment below!

:-)

2 comments:

  1. I couldn't agree more. Even after 20 years working with UP I have limitations. For the hotel network I recently designed, I engaged a CISCO certified network engineer for final details and go live. He got a check for over 10% of that job and was worth every cent. By the way, is rate myself 5/10 because I know what I don't know about protocols, routing, and switch. Subeting and Vlans I can do pretty well.

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  2. Great blog! I like Cisco's CCENT study guide. It covers the TCP/IP basics, especially layer 2 transport, in great detail that is easy to follow and understand. I utilize 85% of that book in my consulting business. However, the greatest thorn in our side is DNS. Its always DNS. Few people understand how critical that service is. E-mails stop coming in after new website goes online. Or, emails come in, but any emails from the website's "contact us" form do not get delivered. Or, last but not least, two computers out of 20 have sporadic issues browsing the internet. All were DNS issues that bewildered clients, web developers, and my own staff.

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