Last time we looked at the hardware that goes into set= ting up a home lab. This time around we will look at the software that you will need, and how to obtain it. Fortunately, this isn't nearly as expensive as = it sounds!
We'll continue with our scenario of a person setting u= p a home lab because they are wanting to get into th= e IT industry and are pursuing entry level certifications in order to facilitate this. To that end, we'll focus first on obtaining the software to study for= the A+ OS exam and to begin studies for the MCP certification with an eye on the MCSE. Not to leave others out, we'll also look at obtaining software to stu= dy for other certifications as well.
As we discussed last time when determining our hardware needs, we need to look at the exam objectives for the exams we are wanting to study for to see what software we need = to know. For the A+ OS exam, that is Windows 9x (95, 98, ME) and Windows 2000 Professional. Fortunately, you probably already have a version of Windows 9= x on the computer you already have, so that's easy. If you don't have a copy, we= ll ... you'll have to buy one. Currently Win98SE runs about $170, while Window= s ME runs about $200. Windows 2000 Professional is one of the few products Micro= soft doesn't offer free evaluation copies of, however= , you can still get around having to buy the full retail version. The way to do t= his is to buy the MSPress 70-210 Windows 2000 Professional training kit (see link under Additional Resources section). This training kit, in addition to help= ing you prepare for your first MCP exam, contains a 120-day evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Professional. This is the full-blown product, not crippled in = any way other than the time limit. Given that you are installing in a lab environment, it will be unlikely that you will h= ave it loaded more than 120 days at a time anyway with all of the breaking and rei= nstalling you are likely to be doing. With Win9x and Win2K Pro in hand, you have what= you need to prepare for the A+ exams and start your MCP studies.
Microsoft often gets a lot of flak for its software licensing and pricing, but when it comes to making software available for learning, they are generally pretty gracious. You need look no further than http://www.microsoft.com/servers/evaluation/trial/default.asp, where you wi= ll find all of the software you would ever need to complete your MCSE studies = in 120-day evaluation editions. Windows 2000 Advanced Server will get you the server side for your Windows 2000 MCSE studies (for the point of studying, there is no difference between Server and Advanced Server. AS scales to more processors and offers some advanced features such as clustering that you generally won't have the hardware to try at home, and you won't be tested on it). For electives, you can choose Exchange Server, or SQL Server, or Inter= net Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, Systems Management Server (SMS), an= d so on. Some of the products will increase the system requirements over what you might already have, for example you might find yourself needing to upgrade = the machine that functions as your lab server to 256MB RAM. Check the system requirements for each application you intend to install.
Novell's CNA certification is another good entry level certification for people looking to get into the IT industry working with NetWare and its related products. It's also good for MCPs who are looking to expand their horizons into other vendor's products. While you can't downloa= d a trial edition of NetWare from Novell, like with Windows 2000 Professional y= ou can purchase a study guide that includes the software you need. The Additio= nal Resources section contains a link to Novell's CNA Study Guide, which includ= es the NetWare product that you can use for study purposes.
Unix operating systems are generally not in the realm = of newbies, but many IT professionals who start out learning Windows eventually decide to take on the challenge of a *nix (Unix/Linux). Solaris is one of t= he premier Unix operating systems on the market, an= d it is especially attractive to learn now that Sun has decided to make the core operating system available for free. You can find a link to it in the Additional Resources section at the bottom, as well as a link to Sun's certification programs. Good systems administrators know more than one NOS (network operating system), and if you already know NT/Windows 2000, it is = hard to go wrong learning a *nix.
Another popular IT certification is Cisco's CCNA, whic= h is their entry level networking certification. Unfortunately, even used routers cost a few hundred dollars, which makes buying equipment for certification study cost prohibitive. Fortunately, there are "virtual" routers available, which are software simulations of the real thing. While not perf= ect, they do let you practice on a pretty good simulation of the real thing so y= ou can gain hands-on experience. RouterSim (www.routersim.com) is the most pop= ular of these products, though Sybex also offers a router simulator product that goes along with their CCNA study guide. Neither product is free, but the co= st is much less than purchasing real routers and th= ey should be sufficient for your CCNA studies.
As you can see, much of the software you need for your certification studies (and just for learning in general!) is available for = free or at a low cost. If you have a DSL or cable modem connection to the Intern= et, downloading this software is not a problem. If you have a modem connection, however, and don't want to wait a couple of days for a download to complete (the Solaris binaries are around 800MB for instance), you can order the software on CD for a nominal charge in most cases.
Next time we'll discuss putting our lab together, now = that we have the hardware and the software. We'll discuss multi-boot scenarios a= nd getting the most out of your lab. Until then, happy downloading!
MCSE Training Kit – Windows 2000 Professional
(70-210)
http://mspress.microsoft.com/prod/books/5220.htm
*Note: this kit comes with a 120-day evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Professional.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764547690/o/qi= d=3D990405947/sr=3D8-1/ref=3Daps_sr_b_1_1/104-9506172-4651902
*Note: comes with a three user version of NetWare 5.1 = and the client software
http://www.novell.com/education/certinfo/
http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/binaries/get.html<= /p>
http://suned.sun.com/US/certification/solaris/
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/
http://www.routersim.com/Product_Compare.htm
*comparison of RouterSim and Sybex e-Trainer
http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/26a3da65f3e75eb388= 2569750082e473/97d5e1c64a4ac34e8825693d0057f9b9!OpenDocument