Hands-on experience in networks, servers and business communications.
A backup whose restore has never been tested is only a hope. A practical routine for testing file, virtual machine and database restores, measuring restore time and protecting backups from ransomware.
· 3 min read
Before you sign a network and IT support contract, settle these points: scope, response time, on-site visits, backups, who owns the passwords and how the contract ends.
· 3 min read
Calls that drop after a few seconds, one-way audio or phones that keep losing registration: a troubleshooting routine for IP phones, from cabling and PoE to the phone system and NAT.
· 4 min read
Install n8n on your own computer with Docker, Docker Compose or npm: from the first run on localhost:5678 to backups, updates and fixing common errors.
· 6 min read
An enterprise network without structure becomes slow and unstable as users grow. Learn the three-tier Core, Distribution and Access model, the role of each layer, VLAN segmentation, redundancy and a sample design for a multi-building factory.
· 4 min read
To connect the buildings of a factory or campus, is fibre better or a point-to-point wireless link? A comparison of speed, stability, cost and installation time, the types of fibre (single-mode and multi-mode), and practical tips for both methods.
· 3 min read
Until you have tried a restore, you do not really know whether the backup is usable. An introduction to Veeam Backup & Replication, the 3-2-1 rule, designing backup jobs for VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines, ransomware protection and restore testing.
· 3 min read
“The network is slow” is the most common user complaint, and the cause can be anything from a faulty cable to a network loop, a saturated internet link or a server. A step-by-step method to find the real cause, with practical Windows, Cisco and MikroTik commands.
· 4 min read
Server room UPS design and backup power: UPS types (offline, line-interactive, online), sizing and runtime, VA vs watts, batteries, earthing and automatic safe shutdown.
· 4 min read
A step-by-step set-up of MikroTik’s new CAPsMAN for Wi-Fi 6 with 10 cAP ax units on RouterOS 7, with two SSIDs (staff and guest), each carried on its own VLAN from the MikroTik router through a Cisco switch to the access points: the VLAN plan, router, Cisco switch and cAP ax configuration, roaming, channel planning and common errors.
· 9 min read
Which network monitoring tool suits your organisation? A short comparison of PRTG, Zabbix, Nagios, LibreNMS, The Dude and Grafana by cost, ease of set-up, features and use cases, with a guide to choosing.
· 4 min read
Two offices, two Issabel servers and two MikroTik routers: with an encrypted EoIP tunnel and a SIP trunk, the extensions in both offices talk as if on one phone system. Building the tunnel, addressing and routing, the firewall, the Issabel trunk and outbound routes, testing and fixing common errors, step by step.
· 8 min read