On the Job: Network Setup and Maintenance for Student Testing

First contract position since I graduated.

Overview of Project:
PC Technicians will work on site at locations to assist with the setup and testing of client provided Cellular- connected Wireless networks and laptops and assist end user.
a. Unbox and install wireless router/access points
b. Document any damage to container or product and fill out damage report
c. Run power cords to each device and tape down cords as needed
d. Turn on Laptop and launch browser to ensure online

The 'client provided Cellular-connected Wireless' network equipment in question were Cradlepoint routers, which I had never heard of before.

It uses cell service to have an internet connection, to connect 11 laptops for student testing.

I'm not sure the client name was ever said, but it was some group in charge of testing students for a state test. I set up the network in a YMCA that had been delegated to storage after the hurricane.

The equipment was easy to set up, though there was one router that needed more hardware components replaced and solved, as it never could pick up the actual cellular signal. There were plenty of other routers to work with.

Laptops were Windows 10 Netbooks that, with a bit of finangling, connected to the appropriate router. Credentials were given through clicking the specialty browser and the testing sites were set up.

Comments

Connecting IoT Devices to a Registration Server (Packet Tracer, Cisco)

In Packet Tracer, a demo software made by Cisco Systems. It certainly has changed a lot since 2016. It's almost an Olympic feat to even get started with it now, but it does look snazzy. This is for the new CCNA, that integrates, among other things, IoT and Automation, which I've worked on here before. Instructions here . I don't know if this is an aspect of "Let's make sure people are paying attention and not simply following blindly", or an oversight - The instructions indicate a Meraki Server, when a regular one is the working option here. I have to enable the IoT service on this server. Also, we assign the server an IPv4 address from a DHCP pool instead of giving it a static one. For something that handles our IoT business, perhaps that's safer; Getting a new IPv4 address every week or so is a minimal step against an intruder, but it is a step. There are no devices associated with this new server; In an earlier lab (not shown), I attached them to 'H

Create a Simple Network (Packet Tracer) + A Walkthrough

Again; I've done this, but now there's so many new things, I'm doing it again. The truly new portions were...everything on the right side of this diagram; The cloud needed a coax connector and a copper Ethernet connector. It's all easy to install, turn off the cloud (Weird), install the modules. Getting the Cable section of Connections was an unusual struggle - The other drop down menu had nothing within. It required going into the Ethernet options and setting the Provider Network to 'cable', which is the next step AFTER the drop-downs. The rest was typical DHCP and DNS setups, mainly on the Cisco server down there. The post is rather short - How about adding a video to it? Find out what A Record means - This site says 'Maps a name to an IP address', which is DNS. So it's another name for DNS? You can change them (presumably in a local context) to associate an IP address to another name.

Securing Terraform and You Part 1 -- rego, Tfsec, and Terrascan

9/20: The open source version of Terraform is now OpenTofu Sometimes, I write articles even when things don't work. It's about showing a learning process. Using IaC means consistency, and one thing you don't want to do is have 5 open S3 buckets on AWS that anyone on the internet can reach. That's where tools such as Terrascan and Tfsec come in, where we can make our own policies and rules to be checked against our code before we init. As this was contract work, I can't show you the exact code used, but I can tell you that this blog post by Cesar Rodriguez of Cloud Security Musings was quite helpful, as well as this one by Chris Ayers . The issue is using Rego; I found a cool VS Code Extension; Terrascan Rego Editor , as well as several courses on Styra Academy; Policy Authoring and Policy Essentials . The big issue was figuring out how to tell Terrascan to follow a certain policy; I made it, put it in a directory, and ran the program while in that directory

RUN TCP/IP | Morgan Lucas' Tech Portfolio

Search This Blog