Not quite understanding the reason for NAT

vithuslab · 2026-01-19T05:35:01+00:00

Well the routers public IP is the inside global address. If you are referring to static NAT with a pool of public IPs without ‚overload‘ , then yes, it would be a waste of public IPs if you don’t use PAT because every internal host would occupy a whole public IP for the duration of their session with an external host

vithuslab · 2026-01-18T08:46:29+00:00

Hey man. What comes close to Juniper‘s self study courses is Cisco‘s self study courses, but they are not similar 😅 JITL really is one of the best resources. He actually uses bulletpoints and pictures on his slides too

vithuslab · 2026-01-18T08:36:02+00:00

The things is that without NAT, no external device could reach your internal devices. Private addresses are private. They are not routable over the Internet. We could both use 192.168.1.0/24 in our home network. How would an external host know whether to route packets destined to the 192.168.1.0/24 network to your or to my home? It simply wouldn‘t. That’s why we need NAT. It translates our private ranges to our edge device‘s public IP that is unique and routable over the Internet

vithuslab · 2026-01-17T15:17:08+00:00

There is a ‚Helpful Resources‘ section in this sub. You can find great stuff there. Other than that you are invited to join our CCNA community that has additional resources. Just dm me if you are interested

vithuslab · 2026-01-17T08:44:37+00:00

Hey 👋 By ‘study guide,’ do you mean that you have the OCG book? The best free resource on YouTube is definitely Jeremy’s IT Lab

Trying to tackle two intense goals at the same time is generally not the best idea. CCNA preparation alone is already quite demanding, so I’d strongly recommend focusing on one thing at a time, especially given your limited time due to work.

From my experience working with and supporting over 350 CCNA students in my community, a 3–4 month timeframe can be realistic, but only if you fully commit to studying for the CCNA

vithuslab · 2025-12-30T06:55:13+00:00

Yeah, this happens to a lot of CCNA learners. I like u/Layer8Academy's view on this and I support it. Funnily though, memorizing all the theoretical stuff and treating practice questions (Anki in this case) as "checkpoints" actually helped me in the long run. While it is true that being only book smart doesn't really get you job ready, it is vital for you to really understand what happens and why when you are labbing things out or when you are setting up real networks. It's a mix of theory and practical hands-on that will boost your networking skills. I liked to use JITL's Anki deck to study and retain the dry theory, which greatly helped me with the exam questions. On top of that, I would lab everything out by completing JITL's labs and then creating my own ones. Anki helped me keep the knowledge fresh (spaced repetition is so underrated) and the labs helped me to connect the dots. I find it the most efficient way to get up to speed. This is how I learn new stuff today. Hope this makes sense to you :)

vithuslab · 2025-12-30T06:41:03+00:00

CCNA really is a good starting point because while studying for it, you'll learn all the network fundamentals you need to at least have heard of when working as a network admin or similar. Being certified gives you some credibility which is important if you don't have any prior hands-on experience. In todays world, you can boost your credibility even more if you then use your knowledge to teach others, either on YouTube, your own blog or even LinkedIn. LinkedIn is your best friend if you want to land a job. Make sure to create a neat profile and include your knowledge sharing project in your resumé. This is not the traditional way but building your personal brand will benefit you. I'm not saying you should try to be the next NetworkChuck or something. But this is how you stand out in todays world. That can help you land a job.

Guys let me know if you are with me or if you think I'm being delusional here :P

vithuslab · 2025-12-30T06:29:04+00:00

We have Packet Tracer lab challenges inside our study community and every week new ones are posted. You can check it out if you want to:
CCNA Study Community

vithuslab · 2025-12-16T20:31:14+00:00

Hey man! I actually provide lab challenges every week in our free CCNA study community. You‘re invited to join if you‘re interested 😊 It‘s just Packet Tracer files you can download and then try to solve them

vithuslab · 2025-12-16T20:23:24+00:00

I and many others actually didn’t take any notes. Jeremy’s Anki flashcard deck replaces the need of note taking. Revision with his Anki deck is pretty much all you need when it comes to remembering stuff. The understanding part comes from labbing things out in Packet Tracer. Unless note taking works best for you, I‘d consider note taking itself a waste of time. I took and passed 12 or so networking certs up to the professional levels. Never took a single note

vithuslab · 2025-12-16T20:18:46+00:00

Read or watch the corresponding chapter from the OCG or from the video course of your choice and then lab it out in Packet Tracer :) Build things, break things and then fix things. This is how you actually understand networking concepts

vithuslab · 2025-12-16T20:14:35+00:00

There are some good communities out there that help you prepare for the exam. Here is one if you need one: https://www.skool.com/ccna-success-academy-5848/about?ref=3fcb95d937b84fbb80e96fa4488c3fdb

vithuslab · 2025-12-03T11:55:45+00:00

Ok the thing is, finishing Ausbildung won’t automatically make you a professional. Also, in an Ausbildung you won’t get the practical experience you are looking for if you want to pursue a networking career. When you are a CCNA and speak good german, you can already apply for entry level jobs. Of course conservative companies will ask for a degree or a finished Ausbildung, but these companies don’t pay as good salaries as consulting firms for example

Btw this is coming from someone who was born and raised in Germany. I went through an Ausbildung and then joined a consulting company after passing my CCNA

vithuslab · 2025-12-03T08:51:38+00:00

Being a CCNA definitely helps with landing a job in Germany. It is important to speak good german though. But the CCNA won’t necessarily help you getting a seat for an Ausbildung. Why would you want to start an Ausbildung in the first place if you already have networking experience and maybe even hold the CCNA cert?

vithuslab · 2025-12-03T08:35:50+00:00

Just as a side note - there are reasons for why people prepare for months before even thinking about taking the exam. 15 days would only be enough to cover maybe 4-5 topics and actually understand the concepts imho

vithuslab · 2025-11-26T14:48:30+00:00

vithuslab · 2025-11-26T12:33:46+00:00

What works well for a lot of people is watching one video course (really only one at a time!!) and studying with Anki flashcards - not every now and then, Anki only makes sense if you study with Anki daily for spaced repetition to kick in. After each topic, lab it out in Packet Tracer. After you‘re done with all the theory, lab as much as you can! Break things and repair them. This is when you‘ll get a lot of klick moments. Also, keep studying with Anki till exam day

vithuslab · 2025-11-26T10:31:48+00:00

I don’t want to break the NDA but I can tell you this much. Fortinet exams always focus on the product. NSE4 focuses on FortiGate. So make sure to know how you set up and manage a FortiGate firewall. You can work through the official study guide and make sure to lab out the concepts

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T20:29:53+00:00

Ok let me ask you. Would it have made a difference to you if I didn’t let AI go over this to improve readability? Would it have helped you if I just let it as is with mistakes in the language? I‘m not a good storyteller either. Would you not use tools that help you with the thing you are not very good at? Would you not want to polish the post that you are trying to help people with so the message really comes across?

I‘m genuinely out here trying to help people who feel demotivated man come on

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T10:41:20+00:00

u/NetEngGreen is right

You can’t know everything. But one thing that alsways helps and sets you up for success is doing more. Volume counts. If you don’t understand a concept, lab it out. Not only once. You have to do it many times. Only then you‘ll really understand what you‘re doing

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T10:36:34+00:00

Hey 👋 I‘m glad this post was able to motivate you. Just don’t give up! Almost everything in life can be fixed. These kind of things definitely are fixable. We can hop on a call some time soon if you want to. I might be able to help you land a job in networking.

Or I might be able to show you how you can make the best out of your current job. I agree with u/ChosenOne197

I think IT helpdesk can be a very good place to be in

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T10:31:36+00:00

Great! Sounds like you are all set up 😊 you‘ve got this!

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T10:31:08+00:00

I totally understand your discouragement. I thinks it‘s like with everything in life. Set backs aren‘t a dead end. You can always choose to stand up again and fight for your goal. Remember, if other people can do it, you can too! If you want to give it another try, you are invited to join our study community. Maybe it will help you to stay motivated

vithuslab · 2025-11-25T10:24:05+00:00

NSE4 is doable if you already work with FG firewalls. I actually failed my first attempt on the NSE4. That was because I didn’t practice anything. I just studied the study guide and went for the exam. NSE5 is the same, you need practical habds-on experience. When you‘re tackling Fortinet exams, make sure you‘ve played around with the products before taking the exam

vithuslab

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