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So I’ve legally obtained some older computers, some HP, a Dell or two; all of them XP machines. I’ve wanted to set up a lab in my garage/shop, but I’m having a small issues getting the ball rolling, which is why I have a few questions, in the hopes of having some good, solid answers from some highly intelligent people (you).

  1. Since I only have about 3 or 4 extra computers to test with, should I get a small Netgear 8-port switch, or should I try to find an older 24-port switch? All the training I’ve had in school was with Cisco Catalyst 24-port switches , so I feel more comfortable with that, but they’re also rather pricey.

  2. Are there ways to obtain a copy of Windows Server 2008 or 2012 at a very, very low price? I’ll need something to use to set up a domain and to run Active Directory and work on batch files and logon scripts and the like.

  3. What is a good quality software that allows an admin to view other computers on the network without the users knowledge, and that can also take over control of said machines? I’ve used AB Tutor at my previous employment, which did that, but I don’t remember a price for that.

  4. What would be a good starting point, information/training-wise, to get started for more of a Network Admin role? I’ve ran the help-desk and did some network admin stuff and my previous employer, but I want to get more experience before I go for my CCENT and CCNA.

  5. If I wanted to work on imaging a group of PCs, and I’ve used Ghost and Fog, should I stick with those or should I try different software? I don’t think specializing in one specific type is bad, but I think it might hinder me a bit in development if I don’t have a broad skill set.

I might have more questions later, but this is all I can think of for now. Thanks again guys and gals for taking the time to help a brother out.

@HP @Dell_Technologies @Cisco

10 Spice ups
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  1. Depends on the speed you want and the features. If you want a managed switch I’d search eBay and invest in one with 1Gb links. Even if you don’t need the speed they should support newer features and be useful for longer.

  2. If you are still in college and check and see if they have any education discounts with Microsoft or other companies. I’d also check through your employer if they’ll let you. Otherwise you can get 180-day evals that you can legally rearm/extend up to 2-3 times.

  3. You can use VNC. Many VNC servers will allow you to either mirror the users desktop or to be invisible to the user.

  4. Learn DHCP, DNS, Active Directory (LDAP is useful too for Linux environments) and VMWare/Hyper-V. Setting up firewall rules (a basic understanding will do and will help you adapt to different software) is a good idea as well. Learn iptables since many linux based system use that and many firewall software like pfSense, Sophos UTM and others use iptables. I’d wrap it up with getting a handle on TCP/IP, IPv4, at least browse over IPv6 and learn NAT and it’s uses. Basically, learn everything you can. -_-

  5. See above. Personally I haven’t messed with FOG servers yet but that seems to be a major push in the industry for imaging.

4 Spice ups
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Look into—

3 Spice ups
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You have raised several questions which would have been better asked as a single question so that they could have been entered into different areas of spiceworks but here goes

If you want to play with vlans etc get yourself a 2nd hand 24 port switch off eBay. they are quite cheap and you can pick one up for not a lot of money just make sure it is a layer 3 switch.

You can down load trial versions of Windows OS direct from their website they have 180 day trials.

Remote desktop is built into windows and is good, but then you have VNC which is free.

Spiceworks and Google are your friends here. Start to play and raise questions as problems occur.

There are several ways of imaging a pc, clonezilla is very good and free, Acronis is excellent but a paid for solution. Get as much exposure to as many as you can

2 Spice ups
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Specifics—

  1. May be surprised at what can be found on eBay. As well as, be cautious about what can be found on eBay. Can go the Cisco route, or not, really depends on comfort level and long term goals.

  2. Dreamspark ( link ). Often offered to community college students taking CS/IT courses. Look at local colleges for its mention and availability. Else, MSFT often has trial versions available, sometimes up to 6 month trial licenses.

  3. There are huge, non-trivial legal concerns with the question. Understand and know those before even broaching the concept. Too, what exactly is sought to done? There is a SW Remote Support forum ( link ).

  4. Define “network admin”. If the person who deals with routing and switching, check the Cisco Network Academy, also commonly available at local community colleges. It is designed as a four semester course, but often compressed to two semesters. Advantage of the CC route is access to like minded students, a working physical lab, a knowledge instructor on-hand, and upon satisfactory complete a CCNA test voucher. See, https://www.netacad.com/web/about-us/academy-locator .

  5. Look into Microsoft’s MDT, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit documentation | Microsoft Learn . Can be quick to start, but a steep curve to really use the entire product framework as offered. Advantage is the framework leads to the even larger SCCM ecosystem. There are many links available (and SW threads), when searched for the keywords.

2 Spice ups
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The thing with the remote viewing and control would be strictly for monitoring use on the computer. I know at my previous employer we use AB Tutor, for remote support but also for monitoring. If a teacher thought her student was doing something they were not supposed to, i.e. playing games and such instead of class work, then we could monitor it and then lock them out of the computer. It was useful when a teacher was using a lab because one person had a difficult time watching 30 students.

I have experience with DHCP, DNS, Active Directory, some VLAN experience and was pretty good with routing tables and subnetting. Part of my school training was the first 3 sections of the Cisco Networking Academy, which was amazing. I even have the command line book still that I look through once in a while. I’m just wanting to be more than just a help desk tech.

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  1. Since you mention wanting to develop your Cisco training in question 4, I would recommend going with the more expensive manged switch and maybe even a router, if you can get one. Alternatively, you could always sim it with GNS3 .

  2. The evaluation versions can go unregistered for 120 days, I think. So, you’d have to rebuild everything 3 times a year if you go that route, but look at it as practice makes perfect.

  3. I’m going to pass on this one. I have nothing meaningful to add.

  4. Again, GNS3 allows you to work with networks of a scale that might be impractical for a lab environment. Since it is a simulation, you would also be able to try a variety of devices and device management software versions, though getting all of that can be a bit of a gray area. So, I’ll leave that to you and Google.

  5. Try WDS in Server. That’s what I use where I work. It can be troublesome at times, but it has done more good than bad here. PeteNet Live has a good write up on how to do WDS. His Server 2008 WDS series can be found on Youtube.