June 1
As announced in class, when doing the slides, from now on I won't cover material that is covered well in the O'Reilly books, unless someone specifically asks. That will make the slides go much quicker, and we'll have more time for hands-on. It also means that everyone should read the O'Reilly book before class.

Here is the table to replace the one from the slides about backups:

Copy Type	Copy Which Files?	Do What with the Archive Bit?
Normal	All Selected.	Turn it off.
Copy	All Selected.	Nothing.
Incremental	Only copy selected files which have the archive bit ON.	Turn it off.
Differential	Only copy selected files which have the archive bit ON.	Nothing.

(The archive bit for a file is turned ON by the operating system whenever a change is made to a file.)

May 3
Current goals and assignments:

• Finish the entire O'Reilly book.
• Master the checklist. We'll be working on this exclusively until everybody can do it. Then we'll repeat it at the beginning of every class.
• If possible (if you have time) read another textbook series or the Resource Kit.
• If you are familiar with the O'Reilly and the checklist, start taking the practice exams in the textbook of your choice. If you find a question that you don't understand, bring it up in class or post it to the discussion board.

I've made a new page which shows which pages on this site have new content, so after you surf around on the site a bit, you might want to bookmark that.

Feb 21 If you are putting off taking the tests because you want to be sure you get a high score - don't! The scores on the adaptive tests are completely meaningless. If you miss no questions you get a lower score than if you miss a bunch. This is because if you miss a lot, you end up getting more questions, and the score is partly determined by the number of questions you get. The only thing that matters on the adaptive tests is whether you pass or fail.

Feb 15
The JLab program now partially runs on 95/98. You can view the labs but not do them (the screenshot function still doesn't work right on 95/98).

Feb 06 For Sat Class Current assignments in order of priority:
1. If you are not familiar with NT, buy and read Teach Yourself Windows NT Visually ASAP. If you are totally new to networking, you might also find Teach Yourself Networking Visually helpful, although the explanations in the the latter book are not as clear as they could be.
2. Read the first two chapters of MCSE: the Core Exams in a Nutshell.
3. Read the Networking Essentials and NT Workstation material in the textbook of your choice. The Networking Essentials exam is not covered in this course - it is self-study. You can pass by studying the O'Reilly book, and one other text. Computer professionals should be able to pass the Networking Essentials exams with 20 hours or less of study. If you aren't already familiar with the basic concepts, it may take a bit longer.
4. Look at the NT Checklist and Labs pages. The priority for the first week is becoming thoroughly familiar with installing NT, including connecting it to a network. The GTS lab is open every day except Sunday, and students are free to experiment with the machines, including reformating the hard disk and installing any kind of application you'd like to test.

Feb 05

I've posted a fixed version of JLabs. If you have any problems getting it to run, let me know. It currently runs on NT only.

Here's the summary info about Netware connections to replace the slide from the Netware module:
Assuming you have NWLink installed on NT, and IPX on Netware you can:
1. Run Client/Server apps with the server on Netware and the client on NT
2. Run Client/Server apps with the server on NT and the client on Netware (requires NetBIOS, named pipes Windows Sockets support on the Netware client).
3. Access files and print services on Netware from NT. Requires either
  a. CSNW on the NT client or
  b. Nothing on the NT client but the NT client is access the Novell server throught GSNW on an NT server.
4. Access files and print services on NT from Netware. Requires FPSNW on an NT server.


Jan 22
1. Big news for beginners: MaranGraphics has published two new books: Teach Yourself Networking Visually and Teach Yourself Windows NT Visually. If you aren't already at an intermediate level on these subjects then get these books and bring yourself up to speed in single afternoon.

2. Reminder, all of the links on this page get a 5% commission from Amazon.com, which will be used for prizes for the winning team.

3. We are going to be doing a full install next week in each class. After next week, we won't be doing the install again, so everyone should be sure they are familiar with it by the end of this week.

Jan 12 Current assignments in order of priority:
1. If you are not familiar with NT or 95, buy and read Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 98 Visually ASAP.
2. Read the first two chapters of MCSE: the Core Exams in a Nutshell.
3. Read the Networking Essentials and NT Workstation material in the textbook of your choice. The Networking Essentials exam is not covered in this course - it is self-study. You can pass by studying the O'Reilly book and one other text. Computer professionals should be able to pass the Networking Essentials exams with 20 hours or less of study. If you aren't already familiar with the basic concepts, it may take a bit longer.
4. Look at the NT Checklist and Labs pages. The priority for the first week is becoming thoroughly familiar with installing NT, including connecting it to a network. The GTS lab is open every day except Sunday, and students are free to experiment with the machines, including reformating the hard disk and installing any kind of application you'd like to test.

Class Homepage