Needless to say, you need something point and click to make your pc faster as you wanted. Don’t worry I know that sometimes it’s really frustrating that you have wait for your cup of coffee to become warm first before you can start using your PC.

If I tried to search for a quick solution, there’s a lot of software that claims to speed up my PC. However, does these claims can really do “pc tune up”?

Oh…you may be wondering why do I still do research for this kind of solution even though I can switch to another operating system.

Simple…

As an IT enthusiast, we need to be at least somewhat familiar on what kind of solutions available now in the market. People will ask us for advice like, how to “make my computer faster” or many will ask “can you speed up my computer?”; and much more questions.

If let’s say I’m using Linux as my personal workstation, and someone suddenly ask me for an advice on how to speed up a computer; at least I need to respond with some useful solutions rather than saying…Oops, ah…eh…:D

So now you’ve got an idea that there’s a solution to make a computer faster and optimize your pc for its full performance, let’s take a look on those solutions that will grant your request to “speed up my pc”.

First we have:

1. PC Speed Doctor – One of the software that claim all-in-one solution to make your computer as fast as an upgraded workstation.

2. Tuneup Utilities – Want’s to increase your PC’s performace up to 60% by only using a software? This one’s claiming that feature.

But what operating system do you really need? If for server use, there’s Windows Server, Unix-like OS, Linux; but again it depends on your needs.

Anyways, I have been trying to learn a new OS; which is FreeBSD. I can say that it has so much to offer as a server especially once you have learned all its features.

So, is this FreeBSD a Unix? My advise is to check Wikipedia.:D But in summary, it’s a Unix-like OS; btw, BSD is the great-grandfather of all Unix OS…

Do you like to learn FreeBSD for your needs? Visit the website at www.FreeBSD.org and get it now. Don’t worry, if you’re unfamiliar with FreeBSD, you can browse thru the Online Handbook within the site itself.

Oh, should this post must be in *nix category instead of Linux? Either way, they have both “ls” command.

Why I was busy? It’s because of the title of this post.

If you can remember my previous post regarding learning Cisco because of its share in the market, that’s the reason why I skipped posting here.

So where did I started to learn?

First at work. Yes, because I was not that familiar in configuring Cisco devices, I decided to take a path where I can not only benefit but will also add weapons into my arsenal; and of course I have no choice but to learn because I’m using it everyday.

To shorten the learning curve, I didn’t wait to learn from experience(as it might too long to wait), I studied using eBook and CBT. Nope, I won’t be selling anything here but the eBook and CBT that I used to learn is good in my opinion, as it will teach not only the theory but also the things you might encounter in the real world.

I used www.thebryantadvantage.com and learned from it. I can say that I’m a bit biased here since I really like the material from this site.

First, I went through the eBook first in a very fast pace, because I needed to learn even the most basic configuration as fast as possible. Hmmm…Have seen the word “need”? Then after learning and doing the labs, I’m not satisfied yet and since I already learned the things for CCNA, I decided to go through once more but this time with the videos and took the exam.

So that’s it, and of course don’t forget that acquiring new knowledge is a continuous process especially in IT industry.

So maybe you’re wondering what’s CSSA stands for, it’s short for Certified Sonicwall Security Administrator.

Basically, the training is mostly on how you configure a Sonicwall firewalls. I can say that the course is fun because it’s a hands-on training. So needless to say, you have to setup not only firewall access rules but also it’s extended functionality.

Okay, hopefully that’s not preaching too much regarding the product.

Anyways, since it’s a hands on experience, I can say that once you’ve taken the course, you would be able to at least deploy the firewall in a small-medium network environment; given that your brain’s retention period is quite long. Why??? It’s slightly too fast for me…hehehe…

Btw, if you have some networking/network security background, you won’t find it difficult to follow with the training and labs. And I’m sure you’ll be familiar with Sonicwall firewall in no time.

Another thing is, the instructor is very helpful with the students; especially when “troubleshooting” the lab exercises (Another good experience). Also, he answers every questions I have in mind with regards in configuring the firewall. Oh, not only mine but for all the students who throw questions to him.

For the exam,hmmm…

Okay, before we went to the course and take the exam, we were sent a link where we need to study some “CBT-like” materials. Well, I’m not sure if everyone did their assignment as it seems too many for a busy individual; but for me, I did go through some of the online materials not only to have my theory notes to review before the exam but also I need something to refer back once I needed the information.

Overall, it’s a good experience especially when you’ll be interacting with these firewalls outside the training.

First, is there any difference in Linux networking compared to Windows OS? You bet, there’s a lot of differences. IMO, you won’t be able to fully maximize the use of your Linux OS without knowing the basics of networking. Oh, did I have a post regarding learning networking?

Anyways, if you have attached your Redhat Linux to a network that provide a DHCP, you can just type dhclient and you’re ready to see the world. But of course, don’t forget to bring up your ethernet interface.

So let’s say, you want to setup a static IP address to your workstation, how would you do that? Well you need to edit the following files:

/etc/sysconfig/network

/etc/sysconfi/networking-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

Remember to have the IP address, Subnet mask, and Gateway IP address in hand before editing those files.

Now that you have configured all the necessary files to connect to your network, you can now issue the command to restart or bring up your network interface.

If you’re unsure how to restart the interface, use the commands below.(Let’s say your interface is eth0)

#ifdown eth0

#ifup eth0

Hmmm…

That should be the basics you should know for network in Linux. Again, Linux has so much to offer when you know networking. So enjoy exploring!!!