Choosing a San Francisco Dental Insurance Plan

Choosing a San Francisco Dental Insurance Plan

In the United States, there are a large number of Americans who are without dental insurance. Dental insurance is often the key to obtaining professional dental care. Without it, many are unable to afford a trip to the dentist. If you are currently without dental insurance, whether your employer does not offer it or if you are unemployed, you may want to consider obtaining your own dental insurance plan.

Before you can go out and purchase a dental insurance plan, there are a number of different factors that you should consider. Where you live is one of those factors. Where you live may have an impact on the dental insurance companies in which you are able to do business with. For instance, if you live in or around the San Francisco area, you will want to consider doing business with a San Francisco dental insurance company. A San Francisco dental insurance company is defined as a company that either operates out of the area or services it.

If you are currently unfamiliar with at least one San Francisco dental insurance company, you will need to start familiarizing yourself with all of your available options. To learn about dental insurance companies in the San Francisco area, you are advised to either pick up your local phone or use to internet to do the research. Whether you use your local phone book or the internet, you should easily be able to obtain the contact information of at least one San Francisco dental insurance company.

Once you have found a dental insurance company that you would like to do business with, you will then have to decide on a San Francisco dental insurance plan. You will find that most insurance companies have a number of different available plans for you to choose from. Sometimes there are so many San Francisco dental insurance plans to choose from that you may not know which one is right for you. Before officially choosing a San Francisco dental insurance plan, you are advised to research and examine each plan.

If, after examining each San Francisco dental insurance plan that is available, you are still unable to make a decision, you may want to consider seeking assistance from a dental insurance representative. Most dental insurance representatives would be more that willing to assist you with understanding which plan is the best one for your needs. However, before that assistance can be offered, you may need to provide your insurance representative with a little bit of background on yourself, your family, or your health.

Regardless of which San Francisco dental insurance plan you choose, you can still benefit from having one. All dental insurance plans, no matter how much or how little they cover, should be able to offer you assistance. Instead of having to suffer through another toothache or pay for your own dental work, you are encouraged to at least consider obtaining dental insurance. If you have never had dental insurance, you may be surprised with just how much money you can save.

Ashton Skylar is a writer for Free Insurance Quotes 4 You.com where you will discover great information on San Francisco Dental Insurance Plan and other related information.

Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: 10 ISIS Details You Must Know!

Earning your CCNP certification and passing the BSCI exam depends on knowing the details of many Cisco technologies, ISIS chief among them. To help you prepare for exam success, here's a list of ISIS terminology and basic concepts that will help you pass this tough exam. Enjoy!

ISIS Terms:

Domain: section of the network under common administrative control

Area: logical segment of the network composed of contiguous routers and their data links

Intermediate System: A router.

End System: A host device.

The four levels of ISIS routing:

Level 0: ES-IS routing in the same subnet.

Level 1: IS-IS routing in the same area.

Level 2: IS-IS routing in the same domain.

Level 3: Inter-domain routing performed by InterDomain Routing Protocol (IDRP).

ISIS Adjacency Possibilities:

L1: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area and any L1/L2 in the same area.

L2: Can form adjacency with any L2 in any area, and with an L1/L2 in any area.

L1/L2: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area, L1/L2 in any area, and L2 in any area.

A router interface's SNPA (Subnetwork Point Of Attachment) is its highest DLCI number if it's on a Frame network, and its MAC address if the interface is on an Ethernet segment.

ISIS Hello Types:

ESH: ES Hello - Sent by End Systems to discover a router.

ISH: IS Hello - Send by Intermediate Systems to announce their presence. End Systems listen for these.

IIH: IS-to-IS Hello - Send by one IS to be heard by another IS. These hellos makes IS-IS adjacencies possible.

Best of luck on your CCNP exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNP exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Switches, QoS, And Cisco's Networking Model

QoS is a big topic on your BCMSN and CCNP exams, and for good reason. As more and more traffic flows through today's networks, accurately applying QoS to both your routers and switches becomes more important.

Note the phrase "accurately applying". You must have a plan in place before you start configuring QoS on your switches, and to create such a plan you should use Cisco's Three-layer Hierarchical Model.

This model breaks switches down into three main groups - Access, Distribution, and Core. You're familiar with these groups from your CCNA studies, and now you've got to apply this knowledge.

The QoS workload should be borne by the Access and Distribution layers, because the Core layer switches need to be left alone as much as possible to their primary purpose - switching!

Traffic should generally be classified and marked at the Access layer. This allows traffic to be assigned the desired QoS values and carry that value throughout the network.

If you choose to change CoS-DSCP mappings, this will generally be done at the Distribution layer. Since distribution layer switches will be receiving frames and packets with QoS values from the access layer switches, the appropriate "trust" and "no trust" statements should be configured on the appropriate distribution layer switches.

Any traffic received by core switches should already be classified and marked as needed. The key with core switches is to use a simple queuing setup to keep the switching process fast. Fast, fast, fast!

Real-world note - Low Latency Queuing (LLQ) is an excellent choice for core switches. The name says it all - low latency! The configuration of LLQ is not a BCMSN topic, but a quick search on the term low latency queuing will quickly bring up several Cisco LLQ configuration documents.

Knowing the three layers of Cisco's networking model and the basic QoS operation and commands is vital to passing the CCNP exams, but even more importantly, you've got to apply this knowledge carefully and accurately to make QoS work for you in today's production networks.

GoArticles: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: RIP Details You Must Know

RIP isn't exactly the most complex routing protocol on the CCNA exam, but that makes it easy to overlook some of the important details you must keep in mind in order to pass the exam! To help you review for the exam, here are just a few of those details!

RIP's default behavior is to send version 1 updates, but to accept both version 1 and 2 routing updates.

R2(config)#router rip

R2(config-router)#net 172.16.0.0

R2(config-router)#^Z

R2#show ip protocols

Routing Protocol is "rip"

Sending updates every 30 seconds, next due in 6 seconds

Invalid after 180 seconds, hold down 180, flushed after 240

Outgoing update filter list for all interfaces is

Incoming update filter list for all interfaces is

Redistributing: rip

Default version control: send version 1, receive any version

Interface Send Recv Key-chain

Serial0 1 1 2

By default, RIP v2 autosummarizes routing updates sent across classful network boundaries. To disable this behavior, run no auto-summary under the RIP process.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#router rip

R1(config-router)#version 2

R1(config-router)#no auto-summary

You do not specify a subnet mask or wildcard mask when configuring RIP - just the classful network, even if you're running RIP v2.

R1#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

R1(config)#router rip

R1(config-router)#version 2

R1(config-router)#no auto-summary

R1(config-router)#network 172.10.0.0 ?

 

Debug ip rip displays the routing updates and metrics as the advertisements are sent and requested. To see this in action without waiting for the next regularly scheduled update, run clear ip route *.

R1#debug ip rip

RIP protocol debugging is on

R1#clear ip route *

01:16:54: RIP: sending v1 update to 255.255.255.255 via Loopback1 (1.1.1.1)

01:16:54: network 2.0.0.0, metric 2

01:16:54: network 3.0.0.0, metric 2

01:16:54: network 172.16.0.0, metric 1

01:16:54: network 10.0.0.0, metric 2

01:16:54: RIP: sending v1 update to 255.255.255.255 via Serial0 (172.16.123.1)

01:16:54: subnet 172.16.123.0, metric 1

01:16:54: network 1.0.0.0, metric 1

01:16:54: network 2.0.0.0, metric 2

01:16:54: network 3.0.0.0, metric 2

01:16:54: network 10.0.0.0, metric 2

To see only the routes discovered by a routing protocol, run show ip route followed by the name of the protocol:

R1#show ip route rip

R 2.0.0.0/8 [120/1] via 172.16.123.2, 00:00:26, Serial0

R 3.0.0.0/8 [120/1] via 172.16.13.2, 00:00:09, Serial1

[120/1] via 172.16.123.3, 00:00:09, Serial0

R 10.0.0.0/8 [120/1] via 172.16.13.2, 00:00:09, Serial1

[120/1] via 172.16.123.3, 00:00:09, Serial0

[120/1] via 172.16.123.2, 00:00:26, Serial0

And don't forget - to turn off all currently running debugs, run undebug all.

R1#undebug all

All possible debugging has been turned off

Don't overlook RIP and IGRP when it comes to the CCNA exam. OSPF and EIGRP are more complex to configure, but you need to understand how distance vector protocols work in order to pass the CCNA!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Split Horizon And Hub-And-Spoke Networks

For CCNA exam success, you had better know what split horizon is, how to turn it off, and when to turn it off. Knowing when to turn split horizon off is also important in production networks, because it can cause a hub-and-spoke network to have incomplete routing tables on the spokes.

Split horizon exists for a very good reason - routing loop prevention. The rule of split horizon states that a router cannot send an advertisement for a route out the same interface that it came in on. Split horizon is on by default on all interfaces running RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP.

In this CCNA tutorial, R1 will serve, as the hub and R2 and R3 will be the spokes. We'll first configure EIGRP over the 172.16.123.0 /24 network, the network connecting the three routers.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#router eigrp 100

R1(config-router)#no auto-summary

R1(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

R2#conf t

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto-summary

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

R3#conf t

R3(config)#router eigrp 100

R3(config-router)#no auto-summary

R3(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

Running show ip eigrp neighbor on R1 shows that adjacencies to R2 and R3 are up.

R1#show ip eigrp neighbor

IP-EIGRP neighbors for process 100

H Address Interface Hold Uptime SRTT RTO Q Seq Type

(sec) (ms) Cnt Num

1 172.12.123.3 Se0/0 11 00:02:45 1 5000 0 1

0 172.12.123.2 Se0/0 161 00:03:01 1 5000 0 1 Each router will now advertise its loopback address via EIGRP.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#router eigrp 100

R1(config-router)#network 1.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2#conf t

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#network 2.2.2.0 0.0.0.255

R3#conf t

R3(config)#router eigrp 100

R3(config-router)#network 3.3.3.0 0.0.0.255

Running show ip eigrp route on each router shows that R1 has a route for both R2's and R3's loopback. R2 and R3 will only see R1's loopback address, and not each other's. Why?

R1#show ip route eigrp

2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 2.2.2.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.2, 00:03:19, Serial0/0

3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 3.3.3.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.3, 00:03:04, Serial0/0

R2#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:03:40, Serial0/0.123

R3#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:05:17, Serial0/0.31

EIGRP uses Split Horizon by default to prevent routing loops. In this lab, though, it prevents full network reachability. R2 and R3 both form neighbor relationships with R1's Serial physical interface. R2 advertises its loopback address to R1's Serial interface, as does R3. Split Horizon does not allow a route to be advertised back out the same interface it was received on. This prevents R1 from advertising R2's loopback to R3, or R3's loopback to R2.

Split Horizon must be disabled to allow full network reachability in this lab. To do so, run no ip split-horizon eigrp 100 on R1's Serial interface. When Split Horizon is disabled, that will cause the neighbor relationships to fail, and then reestablish. Run show ip route eigrp 100 on both R2 and R3. The appropriate route to the remote loopback address will now appear.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#int serial0

R1(config-if)#no ip split-horizon eigrp 100

10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed

10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed

10:02:27: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency

10:02:54: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency

R2#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123

3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 3.3.3.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123

R3#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31 2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 2.2.2.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31

Disabling split horizon should be done with care, but knowing when and where to do so shows that you truly understand how this technology works - and that's a big step on the way to earning your CCNA!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: The Four (Or Five) STP Port States

As a CCNP candidate and a CCNA, you may be tempted to skip or just browse the many details of Spanning Tree Protocol. After all, you learned all of that in your CCNA studies, right? That's right, but it never hurts to review STP for a switching exam! Besides, many of us think of the four STP port states - but officially, there's a fifth one!

Disabled isn't generally thought of as an STP port state, but Cisco does officially consider this to be an STP state. A disabled port is one that is administratively shut down.

Once the port is opened, the port will go into blocking state. As the name implies, the port can't do much in this state - no frame forwarding, no frame receiving, and therefore no learning of MAC addresses. About the only thing this port can do is accept BPDUs from neighboring switches.

A port will then go from blocking mode into listening mode. The obvious question is "listening for what?" Listening for BPDUs - and this port can now send BPDUs as well. The port still can't forward or receive data frames.

When the port goes from listening mode to learning mode, it's getting ready to send and receive frames. In learning mode, the port begins to learn MAC addresses in preparation for adding them to its MAC address table.

Finally, a port can go into forwarding mode. This allows a port to forward and receive data frames, send and receive BPDUs, and place MAC addresses in its MAC table.

To see the STP mode of a given interface, use the show spanning-tree interface command.

SW1#show spanning-tree interface fast 0/11

Vlan Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

VLAN0001 Desg FWD 19 128.11 P2p

To see these states in action, shut a port down in your CCNA / CCNP home lab and continually run the show spanning interface command. Once you see this in action on real Cisco equipment, you'll have no problem with BCMSN exam questions. Just don't practice this or any other Cisco command on a production network!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Five ISDN Details To Remember

CCNA exam success depends on mastering many technologies that are new to you, and few exam topics have more details than ISDN. ISDN isn't just for your CCNA exam studies, though. While ISDN is dismissed by many, the fact is that there are many small and mid-size networks out there that use ISDN as their backup to frame relay. Some of these companies have spoke networks that use ISDN to connect to their hub as well, so it's a great idea to know ISDN configuration and troubleshooting for your real-world career as well as passing the CCNA. With that in mind, let's take a look at five common ISDN errors and how to avoid them.

With dialer map statements, remember that the phone number you put in the dialer map is the phone number of the remote router, not the local one. Look at it this way - if you want to call a friend on your cell, you don't pick up your cell and dial your own number!

Speaking of dialer map statements, don't forget the all-important broadcast option at the end of the command:

R1(config-if)#dialer map ip 172.12.21.1 name R2 broadcast 5555555

The router will accept that command without the "broadcast" option, but routing protocol updates and hellos would not be able to travel across the line. (This command is also needed in frame relay map statements to allow broadcasts and multicasts to be transmitted.)

PAP is PPP's clear-text authentication scheme, and clear text is a really bad idea. But if you do have to configure it, don't forget that PAP requires additional configuration -the ppp pap sent-username command.

R1(config-if)#ppp pap sent-username R1 password CISCO

Must set encapsulation to PPP before using PPP subcommands

R1(config-if)#

The error message we got while configuring the sent-username command is another important reminder - by default, a BRI line is running HDLC, not PPP. Since HDLC doesn't allow us to use either PAP or CHAP, we'll need to set the link to PPP with the encapsulation ppp command.

R1(config-if)#encapsulation ppp

R1(config-if)#ppp authentication pap

R1(config-if)#ppp pap sent-username R1 password CISCO

But before we configure any of this information, we should configure the ISDN switch-type. Why? Because without the switch-type configuration, it doesn't matter that we avoid the other four errors - the line will not come up. Configure the switch-type with the "isdn switch-type" command, and then verify it with "show isdn status".

R1(config)#isdn switch-type basic-ni

R1#show isdn status

Global ISDN Switchtype = basic-ni (output of this command cut here for clarity)

If you forget this part of the configuration, the output of show isdn status wastes no time in reminding you!

R1#show isdn status

**** No Global ISDN Switchtype currently defined ****

ISDN is an important part of your CCNA studies, and this knowledge still comes in handy in production networks as well. Keep studying, notice the details, run those debugs, and you'll be a CCNA before you know it!
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com ), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, and The Ultimate CCNA and CCNP Study Packages. For a copy of his FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: CCNA Recertification Requirements

Passing the CCNA exam and earning this coveted Cisco certification is an important step in your career, but it's not the end of your responsibilities as a CCNA! When you work with computer networks, you've got to be continually learning and staying up on the latest technologies and changes in the field. Part of this responsibility is keeping your CCNA current by meeting Cisco's recertification requirements.

Cisco requires CCNAs to recertify once every three years. While most CCNAs will move on to the CCNP in that time, if you choose not to you must meet certain requirements in order to keep your CCNA valid. Cisco does this to ensure that CCNAs keep their networking knowledge current, which in turn helps the CCNA certification valuable. And that's exactly what you want, since you worked so hard to earn your certification in the first place!

As of March 2006, there are five different options for recertifying as a CCNA. You can take and pass any of the following exams to renew your CCNA - the CCNA exam itself, the ICND exam, any 642 series exam, any Cisco Qualiied Specialist exam (except the Sales Specialist exams - those don't count!), or any CCIE Written Qualification exam.

With all these options, there's an option that's just right for you. Whether you just want to renew your CCNA or pursue a Specialist, CCNP, or CCIE certification, you can easily renew your CCNA along the way. Just don't forget that keeping up with Cisco's latest recertification requirements is your responsibility, and that's easy to do - just visit Cisco's "Learning And Events" section on their website. Cisco will tell you what you need to do to keep your certification, but it's up to you to keep up with certification program changes! Once your certification expires, it?s gone, so get in the habit of visiting Cisco?s website to make sure you?re up to date on important recertification requirements.
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Route Summarization

 

Preparing to pass the BSCI exam and earn your Cisco CCNP? Route summarization is just one of the many skills you'll have to master in order to earn your CCNP. Whether it's RIP version 2, OSPF, or EIGRP, the BSCI exam will demand that you can flawlessly configure route summarization.

Route summarization isn't just important for the BSCI exam. It's a valuable skill to have in the real world as well. Correctly summarizing routes can lead to smaller routing tables that are still able to route packets accurately - what I like to call "concise and complete" routing tables.

The first skill you've got to have in order to work with route summarization is binary math more specifically, you must be able to take multiple routes and come up with both a summary route and mask to advertise to downstream routers. Given the networks 100.16.0.0 /16, 100.17.0.0 /16, 100.18.0.0 /16, and 100.19.0.0 /16, could you quickly come up with both the summary address and mask? All you need to do is break the four network numbers down into binary strings. We know the last two octets will all convert to the binary string 00000000, so in this article we'll only illustrate how to convert the first and second octet from decimal to binary.

100 16 = 01100100 00010000

100 17 = 01100100 00010001

100 18 = 01100100 00010010

100 19 = 01100100 00010011

To come up with the summary route, just work from left to right and draw a line where the four networks no longer have a bit in common. For these four networks, that point comes between the 14th and 15th bits. This leaves us with this string: 01100100 000100xx. All you need to do is convert that string back to decimal, which gives us 100 for the first octet and 16 for the second. (The two x values are bits on the right side of the line, which aren't used in calculating the summary route.) Since we know that zero is the value for the last two octets, the resulting summary network number is 100.16.0.0.

But we're not done! We now have to come up with the summary mask to advertise along with the summary route. To arrive at the summary route, write out a mask in binary with a "1" for every bit to the left of the line we drew previously, and a "0" for every bit to the right. That gives us the following string:

11111111 11111100 00000000 00000000

Converting that to dotted decimal, we arrive at the summary mask 255.252.0.0. The correct summary network and mask to advertise are 100.16.0.0 252.0.0.0.

For the BSCI exam, emphasis is put on knowing how to advertise these summary routes in RIPv2, EIGRP, and OSPF. For RIP v2 and EIGRP, route summarization happens at the interface level - it's not configured under the protocol. On the interface that should advertise the summary route, use the command "ip summary-address". Here are examples of how the above summary route would be configured on ethernet0 in both RIPv2 and EIGRP.

R1(config-if)#ip summary-address rip 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0

R1(config-if)#ip summary-address eigrp 100 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0

The main difference between the two is that the EIGRP command must specify the AS number - that's what the "100" is in the middle of the EIGRP command. Since RIPv2 does not use AS numbers, there's no additional value needed in the configuration.

For OSPF, the commands differ. If you're configuring inter-area route summarization, use the "area range" command. The number following "area" is the area containing the routes being summarized, not the area receiving the summary.

R1(config)#router ospf 1

R1(config-router)#area 1 range 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0

If you are summarizing routes that are being redistributed into OSPF, use the summary-address command under the OSPF routing process on the ASBR.

R1(config)#router ospf 1

R1(config-router)#summary-address 100.16.0.0 255.252.0.0

I speak from experience when I tell you that practice makes perfect on the BSCI exam, especially with binary and summarization questions. The great thing about these questions is that there are no grey areas with these questions - you either know how to do it or you don't. And with practice and an eye for detail, you can master these skills, pass the exam, and become a CCNP. Here's to your success on these tough Cisco certification exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Exam Tutorial: Five Debugs You Must Know

To pass the BSCI exam and move one step closer to CCNP certification success, you've got to know how and when to use debug commands to troubleshoot and verify network operations. While you should never practice debug commands on a production network, it's important to get some hands-on experience with them and not rely on "router simulators" and books to learn about them.

When it comes to RIP, "debug ip rip" is the primary debug to use. This debug will show you the contents of the routing update packets, and is vital in diagnosing RIP version mismatches and routing update authentication issues.

You know how to use the variance command to configure unequal-cost load-sharing with IGRP, but IGRP has no topology table that will give you the feasible successor metrics you need. With IGRP, you need to use the "debug ip igrp transactions" command to get these vital metrics.

Several factors are considered by OSPF-enabled routers when it comes to forming adjacencies, including hello and dead timer settings. If an adjacency doesn't form when you think it should, run "debug ip ospf adj". The reason the adjacency isn't forming is usually seen quickly with this command's output.

Let's not ignore Layer Two! If frame relay mappings are not forming according to your configuration, run "debug frame lmi". This debug will allow you to quickly diagnose and correct any LMI mismatches.

When it comes to PPP, it can be very frustrating to try to spot a problem with a password or username. Instead of staring at the configuration for 10 minutes, run "debug ppp negotiation" and send a ping over the link. This command will help you spot the router with the misconfigured username or password, not to mention saving you a lot of time!

Effectively using debugs during your CCNA and CCNP exam study will help you truly understand what's going on "behind the command" - and it will really come in handy on that day when your production network just isn't doing what you (think) you told it to do!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Route Summarization Basics

As you earn your CCNA and CCNP certification, you're going to have to get comfortable with manually summarizing routes. This isn't just another reason to learn binary math (although it's a good one!), but summarizing routes is a true real-world skill that can help your network operate more efficiently. So the question isn't just how to summarize routes, it's why.

When you summarize routes in RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, or OSPF, you're replacing a series of routes with a summary route and mask. With RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP, this actually lessens the size of the routing update packet itself - multiple routes are replaced with the summary route. For instance, the routes 8.0.0.0/8, 9.0.0.0/8, 10.0.0.0/8, and 11.0.0.0/8 can be summarized as 8.0.0.0 252.0.0.0. Only the summary address will be found in the update packet, making it concise yet complete.

Summarizing routes can also make the routing table smaller, yet still allow for complete IP connectivity when done correctly. Using the above example, the four more-specific routes will be replaced by a single summary route. Since the entire routing table is parsed before the routing process is complete, keeping the routing table as small as possible does help speed the routing process as a whole.

To prepare for success on your CCNA and CCNP exam, you've got to know how to summarize routes as well as the specific commands for doing so with OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, and IGRP - but knowing why to summarize routes is just as important as knowing how! Here are some additional tips on route summarization.

With RIP version 2 and EIGRP, manual route summarization is configured on the interface that will be advertising the summary. This is done with the route summarization command "ip summary-address."

RIP version 2 and EIGRP also both perform autosummarization on routes that are advertised across classful network boundaries. This is disabled with the protocol-level command "no auto-summary".

OSPF offers two different route summarization commands. To summarize routes from one OSPF area to another, use the "area range" command; to summarize routes learned via redistribution, use the "summary-address" command on the ASBR.

With proper planning and an understanding of binary math, you'll master route summarization quickly with some practice - and you'll be ready for success on real-world networks as well as the CCNA and CCNP exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

What To Expect At The Cisco Testing Centerwww.

Sim.com Candidates can register for the CCNA exam (640-801 exam or 640-821 INTRO or 640-811 ICND ) at Pearson VUE or Prometric testing centers.

In order to do their best, candidates should know what to expect at the testing center for the Cisco CCNA certification exam. Since testing center guidelines may vary from one center to another, we recommend that the candidates call the local testing center to check about the guidelines. Here are some points providing information on what you can expect at the exam center:

Re-certification: If you have taken a Cisco CCNA certification exam before, find out your Cisco ID and specify it before you start with your registration. This will ensure that you get proper credit for the exam and will help avoid any duplicate records.

Reach before time: We strongly suggest reaching the test center before time. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of the appointment.

Sign the logbook: You may be asked to sign-in the logbook upon arrival as well as upon departure. Do check on this.

You must carry your identification: You will be required to show a valid identification (ID), perhaps including a recent, recognizable photograph. If the supervisor questions your ID, you may be required to show another ID. You should check the testing center guidelines on identification and take all supplemental identification documents with you.

Generally Accepted Identification:

Passport

Photobearing driver's license with signature

National/Military identification card

The following MAY not be accepted as valid ID:

Credit Cards (Please check with test center)

Private identification cards

Any expired ID

Read the testing center regulation form carefully: You will be provided with a Testing Center Regulation form by the supervisor. Read the regulations carefully and comply with them during the test.

Sign the confidentiality statement: The supervisor is responsible for asking you to sign the confidentially statement at the test center indicating that you will not reveal exam questions to other students after the test.

Supervisor sets up your test computer: The supervisor will ensure that the Cisco certification test displays on screen before handing over the machine to you.

Ask for sheets for scratch work: Scratch papers will be provided to you at the testing center. These are sometimes only available on request. Ask for some blank scratch sheets to do calculations and rough work. Jot down important points and tables (such as powers of 2, binary representation tables etc) before exam starts. This can be a big time saver. Do not take the scratch paper out of the testing room on completion of exam.

Items not allowed in the testing room: The candidate is not allowed to bring in the testing room personal items such as:

Books, revision sheets or notes: The exam is closed book

Cellular phones & alarms

Food or drinks may not be allowed

Calculators

Your session may be audio and video taped: Do not attempt to talk or communicate in any form to anybody in the testing room. Your session may be taped and can lead to immediate disqualification .

On exam completion: You will be explained by the supervisor what to do when you complete the exam. If not, or if you are unclear about what you should do, ask it yourself before beginning the exam.

Do not take with you the the testing material from the testing room: Return all of your testing materials, including the scrap paper, on the completion of your exam to the supervisor.

Certified copy of the exam result: Your supervisor will give you a certified copy of the exam report on completion of the test. This will list your score indicating strengths and weaknesses in the various test areas. Ask the supervisor for the certified copy, if you do not get it.

About The Author

SemSim.com provides training resources for Cisco certification exams: CCIE, CCNP, CCNA, CCDP, CCDA. It offers FREE learning resources to students such as study guides and router simulation labs. For more information visit: http://www.SemSim.com : Making Cisco cetification easy!

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