Hello out there in the blogosphere. Bill here again at Train Signal. I have to warn you, today I’ve had more than my fair share of caffeine, so I’m just a little hyper. Let’s hope that makes for an interesting blog post, and not an incoherent one. ha-ha.

So today I went through videos 3 and 4 on the CompTIA Network+ course. As always, if you want to know more about the course, feel free to click that link to our page. In video 3, our instructor Chris Bryant guides us through Collisions & Virtual LANs. On video 4 he describes some of the protocols used in layer 4 of the OSI model.

I really enjoyed these Network+ Course videos for a couple of reasons. The first is that the material on the Virtual LAN is something that actually really interests me as a tech-guy (that is pronounced “proud-geek”). Secondly, the videos are fun — and maybe it’s just a combination of my geekiness and the caffeine talking — because there are a few choice moments where Mr. Bryant actually made me chuckle during the video. I don’t think he meant for that to happen, but it did. Seriously, the part in video 3 where he is describing wikipedia.org just makes me laugh in that “in case you’ve been living under a rock that’s inside of a cave on the dark side of the moon” kind of way.

Later on in the Network+ videos, I think Mr. Bryant even makes himself chuckle. That’s because he is describing Virtual LAN and “router on a stick.” I did not make that up, it’s a real term in networking. I think it may in fact be Mr. Bryant’s favorite phrase, because he mentions how funny it is about 3 or 4 times. Really, if the Network+ course wasn’t already extremely useful for certification training, it would be worth watching just to hear him mention that phrase.

All jokes aside though, the protocol discussion on Network+ Course: video 4 (which is continued later in video 5) is invaluable. There are so many OSI layer 4 protocols, and they are all named with ridiculously similar acronyms (watch out for his discussion of NTP vs. NNTP). So Mr. Bryant’s deliberate, thorough instruction style is perfect to help the viewer keep it all clear in his or her mind. You really should check it out. You won’t be disappointed!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Does anyone know if I can cure my caffeine buzz with more caffeine? No? Oh well, I think I’ll give it a try anyway. Be sure to keep your browser locked to Train Signal Training so you don’t miss my next (thrilling? no. geeky? no. thrillingly-geeky! YES!) blog post.

3 Responses to “Network+ Videos 3 & 4: Ping the Router on a Stick”

• Rudy Says:

  August 18th, 2007 at 11:20 am

  Interesting read Bill and informative and now for my discussion concerning one of my pet peeves. Hopefully this constructive criticism will be taken in the way it was meant. Much thought went into posting here before doing so but most like to hear feedback as well as contribute to the learning train. Here is hoping my “read” is not misconstrued.

  It sounds like the video you describe is also found in one of Chris Bryant’s CCNA courses? My next purchase from Trainsignal is always weighed against what new avenue of knowledge I am ready to consume. It would be greatly disappoint me if my purchase of a new subject contained “cut and paste” from another video. Say it ain’t so Bill!

  PS
  Maybe I should have waited till the first cup kicked in:)

• Bill Bullock Says:

  August 20th, 2007 at 9:13 am

  Hi Rudy,

  I think you raise a very valid question. One of the things we strive for in our videos is to not only help you learn everything you need to know for a certification, but also to be at least somewhat entertaining in the process. This would definitely be undermined if our videos contained the kind of premade “cut and paste” video material that you described.
  The CCNA and Network+ courses cover similar material on a base level, that’s true. This is because some of the fundamentals of networking really just have to be there for us to really ensure you’re prepared for those exams. However, we NEVER reuse videos from one course in a completely separate course. That wouldn’t be fair to our customers (and honestly it wouldn’t be very interesting for me to have to review, haha).
  Also, I want you to know that all of our videos come with a money back guarantee as listed on the Train Signal page. You could certainly return a course (within 30 days) if you found that the material wasn’t satisfactory or there was some other problem. I hope that clears things up for you.
  Thanks for the input,
  Bill Bullock

• Rudy Says:

  August 21st, 2007 at 10:47 am

  Sounds like my time was well spent before settling on Trainsignal for my educational needs and now you have confirmed my find with your response! Continuing to enjoy my interaction with TS, keep up the great work.

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