CertTutor.net UPDATE, November 15, 2002

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November 15, 2002—In this issue:

1. COMMENTARY

2. NEWS & VIEWS

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS

4. WHAT'S NEW FROM CERTTUTOR LIVE!

5. RESOURCES

6. INSTANT POLL

7. NEW AND IMPROVED

8. CONTACT US

1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by Bob Muir, [email protected])

A recent thread in the CertTutor.net Live! The Real World—General forum mentions a helpful utility that I use every day: VMware's Vmware Workstation. You can use VMware and Connectix's Connectix Virtual PC for Windows to run a computer simulation within your PC. Let's delve a little deeper into the advantages that these utilities offer.

The virtual machines (VMs) that these applications create are nearly identical to real computers. A VM includes a BIOS and interfaces that you can add and remove. My VM has a SCSI adapter for virtual SCSI drives, two IDE channels for up to four IDE devices, a Sound Blaster-compatible sound card, multiple network cards, serial ports, parallel ports, and more. You can connect most of these interfaces to your actual equipment, or they can exist virtually. For example, you can link a VM hard disk directly to a physical partition on your hard disk, or it can exist as a file that acts like a hard disk.

VMs are invaluable tools for IT students studying for the next certification or preparing for the next big application rollout. A great advantage of using a virtual hard disk is that you can reset it and return it to an earlier configuration. This feature lets you try different scenarios on a base installation, then return the VM to the base installation after each run-through. If you make a mistake, no problem—click a button and begin fresh without having to reinstall the OS.

Networking capabilities are another advantage of working with VMs. You can use virtual network adapters to network VMs together with any protocol that real adapters use, even if your VMs are completely isolated from your actual network. But you can also link VMs to your network and the Internet by bridging through your real network card or using Network Address Translation (NAT). You can practice working with DHCP, DNS, and WINS without interfering with the real thing. RRAS is a significant component of Microsoft Exam 70-216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure and Exam 70-276: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows .NET Server Network Infrastructure. With a virtual network, you can set up routers and links without having to scrounge up extra computers, network cards, and cables—all within the confines of one desktop workstation.

Even if you're not preparing for a certification exam, VMs can be a godsend. If you're like me, you prefer to use the latest OS on your desktop, both because the new OS is usually better than its predecessor and because it gives you a chance to get used to new features and foibles. When remote clients or users ask for help with their systems, you typically have to talk them through the solution from memory or access a machine with the appropriate OS. With a VM, you can immediately see the menus and dialog boxes your user is seeing.

Another real-world use for a VM is application testing. You've probably spent untold hours tweaking your workstation to get it just right, and you don't need the aggravation of having to rebuild it because the "neat" game your Aunt Mame sent you decided to corrupt DLLs. With a VM, you can quickly determine whether an application will install correctly and evaluate the application's usefulness. When you're finished, a click of a button returns the VM to its previous state, as if the application never existed. Similarly, you can test files for viruses. You can also install viruses to determine what damage they might cause and practice removal techniques before responding to an important client's plea for help.

Other great uses for VMs include testing dynamic disks, server clustering, and RAID configurations. You can use VMs to perform product demonstrations for clients, experiment with unfamiliar OSs, and, of course, prepare for exams. To learn more about VM software and its uses, see the CertTutor.net Live! discussion forums and the following vendor Web sites:
http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop/ws_features.html
http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc5w.html

2. NEWS & VIEWS

Cisco Systems announced changes to its Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), the design counterpart to its entry-level Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. Cisco will retire CCDA for the Designing Cisco Networks exam (DCN 640-441) in the first week of January 2003 and will retire the current exam on March 5, 2003. CCDA certifications are valid for 3 years. A new CCDA exam will incorporate new design techniques and philosophies that have emerged since Cisco introduced the CCDA certification. To learn more about these changes, visit the Cisco Web site.
http://www.cisco.com/go/training

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

Attend our newest Web seminar, brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and Precise SRM, and discover the secrets. Steven Toole will also advise you on how to reduce storage growth and backups by 30% and how to reduce storage administration by 25% or more. Space is limited for this important Web event, so register today!
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4. WHAT'S NEW FROM CERTTUTOR LIVE!

CertTutor.net Live! is the Internet's number-one training and certification discussion board. Each week, CertTutor.net Live! receives thousands of posts about Windows XP, Windows 2000, Cisco Systems, and more. We've selected three of these posts to feature here in CertTutor.net UPDATE. To join in the conversation at CertTutor.net Live!, register at the following URL:
http://www.certtutor.net/registration/index.cfm

Having remote access to your machines can be useful, especially if you want to support offsite devices. Have you considered using Virtual Network Computing (VNC) See this thread for some ideas.
http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=32474

When specifying components for a file server, you must consider options carefully. Can you compare the two RAID configurations in your head? If not, check out this thread for a good comparative discussion.
http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=39&threadid=36116

Pwalley has discovered a software package that can image Windows 2000 servers—while running! What could you do with this capability? See this thread for some suggestions.
http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=39&threadid=36169

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=36067

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=36181

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=2&threadid=36207

5. RESOURCES

See this CertTutor.net Live! forum for all your questions about the first exams of the MCSE and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) tracks.
http://certtutor.net/forums/categories.cfm?catid=14

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is a free, downloadable security scanner that compares Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 systems against recommended baselines and suggests repairs. For more information about this invaluable tool, see the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/tools/tools/mbsahome.asp

This week's question will help you prepare for Exam 70-216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure.

QUESTION
While analyzing your network, you note that your ISP has allocated the public address space 128.250.213.0 /24 to your organization. This address space is split into five subnets, not necessarily of equal length. These subnets are arranged in the following manner throughout the address space:

|<-A-><-B-><-C-><-D-><-E->|

You also note the following:

128.250.213.24 is a host address on subnet A.128.250.213.58 is a host address on subnet A.128.250.213.70 is a host address on subnet B.128.250.213.120 is a host address on subnet B.128.250.213.164 is a host address on subnet D.128.250.213.190 is a host address on subnet D.

Given this information, which of the following represents a possible network address and subnet mask for subnet C?

ANSWER
Subnet E is irrelevant and exists primarily to distract you. From the information you have, you can derive probable networks for subnet A, subnet B, and subnet D. Because subnet C falls between subnets B and D, you can calculate subnet C's range.

Subnet A: 128.250.213.0 /26Subnet B: 128.250.213.64 /26Subnet C: 128.250.213.128 /27Subnet D: 128.250.213.160 /27Subnet E: 128.250.213.192 /26

The correct answer is E—128.250.213.128 255.255.255.224.

6. INSTANT POLL

The voting has closed in the CertTutor.net nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "On the last exam you took, what percentage of your answers were guesses?" Here are the results from the 115 votes:

The next Instant Poll question is, "Have you used virtual machine (VM) technology to help you prepare for an exam?" Go to the CertTutor.net home page and submit your vote for a) Yes, or b) No.
http://www.certtutor.net

7. NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])

David Solomon Expert Seminars released INSIDE Windows 2000, a tutorial about Win2K internals, which had previously been released in video format and is now available in Windows Media Player format for CD-ROM and intranet server applications. Pricing is $950 per user. Contact David Solomon Expert Seminars at [email protected].
http://www.solsem.com

8. CONTACT US
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