When Cisco originally released the Catalyst 2924 switch it was manufactured with only 4MB of DRAM and no support for VLAN trunking. Due to customer demand Cisco soon released the same switch with 8MB of DRAM to support the larger IOS version 12 images, and also added hardware support on switch ports for VLAN trunking. The problem is Cisco gave them the exact same model number (WS-C2924C-XL-EN)! this little tutorial describes how to tell them apart.

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” –Socrates

It is so so HOT today! The good news… there is some light at the end of my job searching tunnel! I have two possible job leads, I have an interview this Thursday with Cable and Wireless and have an application with NTL in progress, both are respectable telecommunications companies which I have had my goals set on for a while.

The bad news… I took my CCNA exam last week and failed! You need to get 85% or above to pass, (I’m not telling you what % I got!), it was a very hard exam did not allow you to go back to review or change questions which I thought was a little unfair. I am really determined to pass this CCNA so I am back revising and will be re-taking the exam in a couple of weeks. Some great news… Claire and I have got Live-8 tickets!!! We were GIVEN them by some friends at our church. We are going on the 2nd July to see the many huge bands including Pink Floyd, Coldplay, The Cure, Keane, Madonna, REM, Scissor Sisters, Stereophonics, Sting, Travis, U2, UB40 and many more! I can’t wait!

“A glimpse of Butser” –Raymonds Bench

After some time I have added a couple more Cisco Config tutorials to JLSNet. The first tutorial briefly explains the different flavors of WAN protocol and how to set up a WAN link using a Cisco router’s Serial interface. The second tutorial describes how to configure a Cisco router for Appletalk routing. If there is anyone who would like to write any Cisco tutorials for JLSNet please email me NOW!

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” –Thomas Alva Edison

Last weekend I went camping and hiking on the Isle of Wight with Claire, Craig, Sarah, Simon and Jane, we had good fun staying on a lovely campsite called Beaper Farm, just outside of Ryde. We traveled over by hovercraft on Friday night to arrive at the campsite with a huge field almost to ourselves, we had to dice with death walking along a busy country road in the dark to get to a local Tesco’s store for supplies (beer).

On the Saturday I woke everyone up with a beautiful morning song, we had a yummy fried breakfast and then set off for a relaxing 8 mile hike around the beautiful east end of the island including a trip past an old windmill. The views were stunning and although it was a little windy the sun was bright all day, we got back to the campsite just as the sun was setting and cooked some nice pasta.

On the Sunday our original plan of a trip on the railway was foiled as we could not access the local train station (because there are NO paths or roads going to it!). So we ended up hiking with all our kit back to Ryde to have a filling lunch in a cafe and back on the hovercraft to Pompey. We all got a bit burnt with each one of us sporting red noses!

On the bank holiday Monday I went with Claire and her parents to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum near Chichester. The museum has an interesting collection of historic Sussex buildings which have been rescued, conserved and rebuilt in the scenic museum grounds. There were also demonstrations of old English industries such as blacksmithing, charcoal making, a corn mill and brick making. It was a very interesting and educational day and highly recommended.

“42″ –The answer to life, the universe, and everything (Deep Thought from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

The last few weeks… I went on my Cisco CCNA training course in London, I reminded myself how much I really HATE traveling on the Underground trains! London is a busy busy place, and for a country bumpkin like myself, it all got a bit much when thousands of people, with no consideration but them selves, push around on fixed rushed b-lines for some event far more important than anything else in life. Don’t get me wrong, London is am amazing city and it was an experience commuting with the masses, I found it fascinating seeing the varied and at times vacant expressions on peoples faces on the morning trains. I did get totally lost one day having taken the wrong bus and underground trains taking me 2 hours out of my way!

The CCNA course was brilliant! I learnt so much, I did come away at the end of the week with my brain feeling like an overloaded melon after cramming over 2 years worth of course material in 5 days! It was well worth a grand! I am now attempting to uncompress what I learnt, revising for the exam which I will be taking in a few weeks time.

“Same here. There is more CPU power in a dishwasher than in a [Cisco] 2611 these days.” –Starblazer