Just published a new post explaining PortFast and why it's essential for reducing network startup times! Ever wonder why your laptop takes 30 seconds to get network access when you plug in? PortFast is the answer. What's your experience with PortFast in production networks? https://academy.anythingoverip.com/portfast-importance-in-rapid-pvst/?ref=skool

Hey everyone, don't forget, the launch pricing for founding members ends on the academy website this weekend. On the 1st July, the price will increase. If you want to lock in the founding member price, you need to do it by Sunday! Founding member pricing is $79 per year or $9 per month. Locked in forever, the price won't change if you lock it in before Sunday. On Monday, the pro pricing remains at $199 per year or $24 per month. The price includes ALL exams, which are also backed by a money-back guarantee. If you don't pass your real exam, you get your money back (T&C's are on the website). It will also include all Packet Tracer labs and my new exam engine, which should be launching soon. The academy.anythingoverip.com website has exploded this year. The server nearly crashed twice when I offered free access earlier this year, and again when I dropped all the exams in one go last month. I've since adjusted the hosting system and distributed the workload across more servers to take the hits when they come, and we have been stable for a long time now. As of today, we are getting over 5,000 unique visitors to the site per day, and more than 2,000 exams have been taken (start to finish), not just the practice and learning modes. Thanks for the support so far, and all the best for your studies now and in the future. As always, if there is anything I can do to help you, let me know. I'm hoping to spend more time making videos and doing more labs in July.

Hey everyone, some amazing things have happened since my last update, and a few milestones have been achieved. 1) I have now published over 600 articles on the academy website. 2) I have just finished editing half the labs for Cisco's new CLHCT course - standby for updates on that in the future, but the new version looks amazing. Cisco did a great job with the Blueprint items, and I authored the course with a colleague and good friend of mine. Cisco has published some of the new versions already, but the rest of the course should be online on Cisco U soon, and you will be able to attend the course in person, most likely in the next few months. 3) We crossed the 100-member threshold on this Skool site, which is awesome! Welcome to all the new members! 4) Our exam engine on the academy website got its 2,000th completion. That means we have now delivered more than 2,000 exams. Don't forget, pricing goes up at the end of the month, so don't miss out on lifetime membership pricing that won't change if you lock it in before then. 5) There is a 90% change I'll be at Cisco Live in Melbourne in November this year. If any of you are going to be there, it will be great to catch up in person. I was unfortunately unable to present at Cisco Live in Vegas last month due to other commitments, but I might be presenting at Cisco Live in Melbourne. 6) The lab engine that I've been building for a few months is almost ready - I think. Which means the labs and exercises will be available for you all to get your hands dirty on soon! Then moving on to more about YOU. What do you all want to see more of here and on the academy website? What material are you needing more of? What topics are you struggling with?

Just published a new article breaking down the native VLAN concept! 🔥 This is one of those CCNA topics that seems simple but has some important gotchas around trunk configuration and security. Perfect for anyone studying network access fundamentals. What native VLAN best practices do you follow in your networks? https://academy.anythingoverip.com/native-vlan-explained/?ref=skool

Just published a new post explaining the default VLAN (VLAN 1) (not to be confused with the native vlan) and why it's automatically configured on every Cisco switch! 🔌 This foundational concept trips up a lot of CCNA students, so I broke down what it is, why it exists, and what makes it special. Perfect starting point for understanding VLANs! What questions do you have about VLAN 1 or VLANs in general? https://academy.anythingoverip.com/default-vlan-explained/?ref=skool