NSTUK Technical Training

Through our Partner Company, Network Systems Training (UK) Limited , we are able to offer a range of technical training courses specialising in Networking, Telecommunications and Datacommunications. These courses are available both as Public Scheduled Courses or 'Onsite' to suit your individual needs. Network Systems Training (UK) Limited have specialist professional training instructors with 'Real World' experience who can add value to your Technical Team. Individuals as well as Corporate Organisations are catered all catered for.
It is our aim to ensure that our customers that attend training courses are satisfied with the training they receive. We like them to achieve maximum benefit from the Learning Experience and to ensure this we do the following:

1. Class sizes are kept to a minimum (usually 4-8 delegates).
2. Practical courses use real equipment, not virtual equipment. This ensures that delegates get the 'hands on' experience necessary to guarantee their effectiveness when returning to their place of work.
3. Given the appropriate amount of notice, our instructors can normally 'fine tune' a course offering to suit a particular clients needs.
4. Our courses that are specifically designed with certification in mind come with post course support from the instructor who delivered. For a limited period of time, previous attendees can email their instructor for help and advice in achieving their aim.

Our Training Consultants

Our Training Consultants have extensive industry experience as Senior Technical Trainers, Lead Engineers and Senior Project Managers with well known employers such as Cable and Wireless, NTL, Marconi, ECI Telecom and many more.
In addition to Professional Technical experience, our Trainers also have the training experience and in most cases, professional training and/or educational qualifications such as Bachelor of Education, CIPD to name just two.
Our Training Consultants have experience teaching and training in the public sector for schools, colleges, military and government bodies and departments and extensively within the private sector for major telecommunications and cable companies.

Courses on Offer

Listed below is a selection of what NSTUK has to offer:
Cisco Networking (ICND)
TCP/IP & LAN Technologies
Hands-On TCP/IP
Introduction to Cisco Routers
Voice over IP Fundamentals
Hands-On Voice over IP
Introduction to SIP
Hands-On SIP
Introduction to Internet Protocol
Introduction to Data Networking
Introduction to Telecommunications
Telecommunications Now and the Future
Routing and Switching
MPLS Fundamentals
Cisco Aironet Wireless Fundamentals
CWDM / DWDM Equipment Training
The Fundamentals of Fibre Optics
SDH Equipment Training
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Fundamentals
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Overview


For further information visit http://www.ipexpress.co.uk/info/training or contact enquiries@nstuk.com

What are the Advantages of Instructor-Led Technical Training?

What do you look for in a Technical Training Course? Of course you want to make sure that the training course meets your own or your staff’s technical objectives. Is the training to lead to some form of certification, or is it just the technical skills you require? Whatever your objectives, you only have a few choices on the format of the training, with the main contenders being Instructor-Led Technical Training courses or maybe an online training course.

I personally have been involved in Network Training and Telecoms training for a number of years and have a lot of experience of Instructor-Led Training.

Online training courses normally expect the delegates to log on via the Internet before having access to a number of training resources. The quality of e-learning courses varies an awful lot, as does the quality of the training material itself. Some e-learning vendors offer a comprehensive range of training materials including good visual aids and access to a tutor for questions and explanations. Before you embark on this type of learning experience, you need to have confidence in not only the quality of the course materials, but also on the quality and availability of a qualified or experienced tutor. Also, after completion of the training course, do you continue to have access to training resources and or a tutor? This can be critical when planning to continue to progress at your chosen discipline.

Another important aspect of online training courses is the question of access to technical equipment, and this is particularly important for Network Training Courses.  For example, if your chosen subject is some form of data communications, data networking or telecommunications, how will you access the appropriate equipment so that you can put into practice what you have learned? If you are going to pay good money on an e-learning course then you need to ensure that the practical aspects of the training course are sufficient to meet your learning objectives. Some online training vendors will give you access to remote labs, where you can log on to practical simulators, whereas others will give you remote access to actual live hardware.

What about Instructor-Led Technical Training, often referred to as Classroom Training? The main benefits of this type of training are in the fact that you have face to face interaction with a Tutor, who should be able to answer your questions there and then. Obviously the tutor or trainer needs to be an expert in the subject and just as important is the fact that he or she must have the ability to convey the subject matter in a professional and effective manner.

Some Instructor-Led Technical Training courses utilise remote labs so the training environment only requires each delegate to have access to the Internet to be able to configure and interrogate the technical equipment. Once again the remote labs may use simulators and some offer access to real live equipment. This is ok for a lot of delegates but I always feel that beginners certainly need to get a real feel for the equipment, so live equipment in the classroom can be a real benefit. Once again, Network Training really benefits in having real equipment in the classroom. The benefit of remote labs is more a benefit for the vendor than the delegate generally, as it means the training course can be run from any location provided Internet access is available. Being able to physically see how equipment is connected together, observe status and warning lights and have a real hands-on feel certainly outweigh the benefits of remote access in my opinion.

Having real equipment in the classroom allows the trainer to simulate a wider range of faults and scenarios and offers the delegate the chance to troubleshoot problems using a variety of methods instead of just relying on a Command Line Interface. For the training vendor this type of training does pose logistical problems, as it means transporting the equipment to the training venue and there is always a danger of physical damage.

I personally think the advantages of Instructor Led Technical Training outweigh any advantages of online training, although I concede that e-learning does suit some delegates. Think carefully before you commit to a training package and consider all the alternatives before making a decision. Price is always a big consideration, but the quality and effectiveness of the training course should also be high on your agenda.

This article on Instructor-Led Technical Training was written by David Christie, MD at NSTUK Ltd, Website http://www.nstuk.com . Additional resources to be found at http://www.ipexpress.co.uk/info/Training

What is VoIP and Where Can I Find VoIP Training in the UK?

VoIP is an abbreviation for Voice over Internet Protocol and it is a number of technologies that allow telephony to be conducted over an IP network instead of using the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). VoIP has been around for something like 17 years or so,ever since the Israeli company Vocaltech first released their software-based Internet phone. 

So how does VoIP operate? 

In order to explain VoIP we will just look at a very brief explanation of traditional telephony.

In the traditional telecommunications world a fixed line telephone user is connected to a local telephone exchange by a pair of copper wires, which enable both analogue voice signals (speech) to be passed from the user, through a network of telecoms switches to the intended recipient in another area of the network. In order for this to happen the telecommunications network must have a number of components in place as well as a number of basic procedures. Firstly the user must be able to communicate with the Local Exchange (LEX) and signal its intent to connect to another user. A signalling protocol known as CAS (Channel Associated Signalling) is used for this purpose using telephone numbers that are broken down rather like postal codes. The telecommunications network must convey this signalling information in order to connect to a remote receiver. Telecommunications networks us something known as CCS (Common Channel Signalling) to do this. Finally, once the signalling CAS and CCS has resulted in the recipients phone ringing at the remote end, a circuit is set up through the network to pass the speech which is digitised prior to entering the network using a common Codec (Coder / Decoder). We refer to this method of communications as Circuit Switching, where the digitised speech is passed over a telecommunications circuit between telecoms switches where the circuit is created in advance of the flow of voice media.

True Voice over IP utilises a packet switched network using the Internet Protocol and associated protocols within the TCP/IP protocol suite. The analogue speech from the talker is first digitised using one of a number of industry recognised codecs and then broken up into small chunks which are then packetized ready for transmission using IP. The digitised speech is routed towards the recipient by means of IP Addressing and Routing Protocols in the same manner that other data such as HTTP and FTP are routed.

Just like traditional telecommunications, a signalling protocol is needed to allow the sender to indicate which remote ip phone should receive the call. In the late 1990s there were two signalling protocols competing for role. These two protocols were the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) H.323 protocol suite and the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). H.323 lost the battle and SIP has become the dominant signalling protocol for VoIP. IP Addresses and Telephone numbers need to be linked together and SiP actually uses URLs in a similar manner to which the HTTP protocol uses URLs. This allows SIP to use the services of DNS (Domain Name Service), and therefore is routable across the Internet.

Just like traditional telephony can use PBX (Private Branch Exchanges) to provide local telephony services to an office or organisation, VoIP has spawned the introduction of IP PBXs to carry out the sale role. The IP PBX can have a trunk connection via a telecommunications network to allow VoIP calls to be routed across the existing telecoms networks. Gateways are used to interface the VoIP area of the network with the telecoms area of the network which can translate not only the signalling between different formats, but also media formats where the codec formats might differ.

VoIP has had an impact in the telecommunications world by being one factor in the reduction of telephone charges for consumers.

It is important for company and organisation telephony engineers, who are used to managing, troubleshooting and supporting traditional telephony in the workplace to receive training on VoIP and SIP when the company or organisation decides to switch to this maturing technology.

There are many training organisations offering VoIP training courses in the UK, and doing a search in Google or one of the many other search engines will produce many training provider websites offering Voice over IP and SIP training.

Perpetual Solutions training consultancy are based in London and have 9 different VoIP training courses for delivery as either Public Scheduled or available for onsite training worldwide. Some of their training courses are:

Understanding Voice over IP (2 days)

Hands-On Voice over IP (5 days)

Voice over IP using SIP (3 days)

Voice over IP Foundations (5 days

In the North of England, Network Systems Training (UK) Ltd have a number of VoIP training courses for delivery including:

Voice over IP Fundamentals (2 days)

VoIP with SIP (3 days)

Practical Voice over IP (5 days)

This article on VoIP and Voice over IP Training was written by David Christie, MD at NSTUK Ltd, Website http://www.nstuk.com . NSTUK Ltd offer a range of Data Networking Instructor-Led Training Courses including VoIP and SIP, and deliver those courses within the UK and throughout the World. Other training resources can be found at http://www.ipexpress.co.uk/info/Training

How Do I Design an Effective Training Course or Training Programme?

Good research, meticulous preparation, good quality presentation material and a training instructor with the right skills and personality are only a few of the key components that make up a good, effective training course. Some trainers are very good at presenting training courses, but if you are a trainer and about to embark on designing and preparing your own training course, you must follow a well prepared plan and see it through without compromising.

A lot of trainers or training consultants think they know exactly what clients require when it comes to designing a training course. Although the training consultant might be an expert in his field, it does not mean that he or she fully understands a client’s needs. One of the first tasks to be completed by a trainer deciding to write a training course is to research not only the subject matter, but also potential clients, which basically amounts to market research. When a large company or organisation embarks upon a large training program then normally they will or should conduct some form of Training Needs Analysis (TNA), to determine the specific needs of the particular group or groups that need to be skilled in a number of disciplines. This TNA can be broken down into some specific steps:

1.            The organisation must conduct some form of scoping study to essentially provide a overview of the reasons behind the need for the training course or training programme. Could it be the introduction of new hardware, new software or maybe a change in the way the company or organisation supports clients or partners. Within some areas of TNA methodology it is sometimes referred to as an Operational Task Statement, and identifies all the deliverable attributes.

2.            A detailed list of the tasks that need to be performed following the completion of the training programme need to be identified. This may include sub-groups of tasks to be performed by different groups within the company or organisation. Individual tasks need to be assigned some form of importance criteria so as to be able to differentiate between absolutely essential tasks and those with a lesser importance.

3.            What skills do the existing staff or delegates already have and what new skills will they need. Differences are often referred to as Training Gaps and these are going to form the basis of any training programme subsequently delivered.

4.            What options do you have for delivering the key competencies previously identified? All options should be considered and analysed, and when this is conducted by a specific organisation, the advantages and disadvantages of each option must be clearly presented.

5.            A final report should detail all the findings from stages 1 – 4 and present senior management within an organisation with all the facts and recommendations which will include a recommended implementation plan.

Now those 5 steps outline in brief are how an organisation might approach a project to introduce new equipment or practices, but a similar approach must be undertaken even when designing a training course to be offered for public consumption. One of the main differences being that you probably don’t have access to the management or specific, individual staff who will receive the training. This should not mean that you just make assumptions on what individuals or organisations may require. What I am saying here is that you should get as much advice and constructive criticism at each stage of the course development, particularly when setting the course aims and objectives. Don’t feel tempted to deviate from the objectives once they have been set, without further consultation with your potential audience.

Once those objectives have been set then the hard work of producing the training material begins and regardless of the media used, try and ensure a professional and consistent look, which should be informative, eye catching and free from error. If your training course is on a topic that is subject to change then ensure that the training material is updated at regular intervals, which will help ensure its longevity.

This article on how to design an effective training course or programme was written by David Christie, MD at NSTUK Ltd, Website http://www.nstuk.com . Other training resources can be found at http://www.ipexpress.co.uk/info/Training

Data Network Training Newcastle

In these testing economic times every penny spent by business has to produce results, nothing can be wasted. Every business will have a training budget, even if it is not an agreed fixed amount per annum. Small businesses rarely have the luxury of a training budget, and only invest in training when there is a specific need. The problem with this is that often a small business owner or employee will be tasked with finding the right training and this often starts with an Internet search. It becomes a minefield to plough through all the training providers that come in the top positions in the search engines and often a small company will not get the training they require, but rather a package that is recommended to them. Sometimes it turns out to be the right stuff, but often it can be money wasted, or money that would have been better spent elsewhere in the business.

NSTUK Ltd, a small training provider based in the Northeast of England pride themselve on being able to identify the training needs of small businesses when it comes to data network or telecommunications training. We dont just recommend one of our existing training courses, although all our training courses offer great value whilst delivering quality. We believe in consultation to come up with a training package that is bespoke and designed exactly for the needs of that small business. We will work with owners and managers to achieve a near perfect match between training needs and training delivery.

We will often have to rewrite an existing training course, or produce a completely new package and the important thing is that we dont pass on all the development costs to the customer. We have a lot of experience in creating bespoke training packages and will aim to keep the costs to the client at a level that is affordable, whilst the training is aimed at being effective.

NSTUK Ltd have delivered technical training courses worldwide for many prestigious clients and we aim to use that expertise to provide cost effective technical training for local business in and around the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne area.

If you are a small business in the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne area and have a need to build and or maintain your own data networking or Telecoms systems then a small amount of training will enable a member of staff to perform this task without the need to outsource and therefore incur ongoing costs.

If you have a requirement for data network, TCP/IP, Voice over IP or any other Telecommunications or Data Networking tasks but dont have the skills to perform those tasks, give us a call and we will give you a free consultation with a view to finding a cost effective solution for you.

Please contact david.christie@nstuk.com or call 01670 712585

NSTUK Ltd are are now planning a series of introductory practical networking courses focusing on the basic principles of data networking for beginners. The courses are aimed at young people wanting to enter the world of IT, and in partcular data networking. The courses are to be scheduled to be run in the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne area, starting with a 2 x Hands TCP/IP courses in July 2012.

This course focuses on the theoretical principles and practical application of TCP/IP using computers, Switches and Routers. Students will get a grounding in basic networking and device configuration and general troubleshooting. It is planned that these courses will be followed up with some workshops in the near future to ensure that skills are maintained.

Courses will be for 4-10 students who will  be provided with workbooks for the course and 6 months email support following completion.

For details, contact david.christie@nstuk.com .

VoIP with SIP Training in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

NSTUK Ltd are planning a series of Public Scheduled training courses in the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, starting with a Hands-On VoIP with SIP training course to be held at the end of April.

This course focuses on the theoretical principles and practical application of VoIP using the IETF protocol SIP. This is not a vendor specific course, but rather a generic course where delegates will configure a SIP Soft Phone, SIP Telephone Adapter and Windows based IP PBX.

The course will be limited to 8 places, so if you are interested in an introductory VoIP course using SIP then contact david.christie@nstuk.com for more details.

Networking Technologies

This 2-Day Overview on LAN / WAN Networking and Systems introduces the basic fundamentals of Networking with LANs and WANs and includes information on the key elements in a Modern Networking System. Delegates will be introduced to the function and workings of Modern Networks including an Introduction to Cloud Computing.

The Internet Protocol Suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, forms the basis for the Internet and the next generation of networking and telecommunications services.  Not only is it being used for pure data services such as Electronic Mail and Web-Based services but it is now also used as the core for mobile phone networks and Next Generation Services. 

It is now important for any staff involved in the transportation of data over networks to understand how the many hardware and software elements in a network interact and compliment each other in order to provide a secure environment for the storage and transportation of data.

On completion of this course delegates will be able to:

-          Explain the function of a Data Network.

-          Differentiate between LAN and WAN services.

-          Have an appreciation of Secure Wireless Network Technology.

-          Understand the fundamentals of Client / Server Operation.

-          Understand the terms ‘Thick and Thin Clients.

-          Have an appreciation of Remote Access Technologies (Risks and Mitigation).

-          Explain the purpose and function of a Firewall.

-          Have an appreciation Network Security Features.

-          Appreciate Hacking and its prevention

-          Understand the purpose of Cloud Networks.

-          Understand the basic of Storage Media and RAID Systems.

-          Describe Virtual Server Technology.

-          Explain the Term ‘Blade Technology’.

-          Describe Backup Power Systems and Data Systems

-          Be familiar with some common Monitoring Tools.

Prerequisites:

Delegates are not required to have a formal technical background.

This course includes the following modules:

Introduction to TCP/IP Networks

·             What is LAN?

·             Ethernet

·             What is a WAN?

·             What is a SAN?

·             What is a WLAN?

·             Common WAN Technologies

·             TCP/IP Protocol Architecture (Brief)

·             TCP/IP Networking Components

Introduction to Wireless Technologies and Security

·             How does a Wireless Network operate.

·             What Wireless Standards are commonly in use?

·             Wireless Security Standards

·             WPA and WPA2

·             TKIP and EAP

Client / Server Networking

·             Client Server Model

·             Comparison with Peer to Peer Networking

·             Advantages of a Client Server Network

·             Disadvantages of a Client Server Network

Thick and Thin Clients

·             Thin Client Definition

·             Thick Client Definition

·             Advantages and Disadvantages

Remote Access Technologies

·             Cable

·             DSL

·             VPNs

·             SSL

Firewalls

·             What is the purpose of a Firewall?

·             Packet Filters

·             Application Layer Firewalls

·             Nat Functionality

Network Security Features

·             Firewalls

·             IDS

·             Strong Authentication

·             Antivirus

·             Physical Security

Cloud Networks

·             Overview

·             Deployment

·             Security

Storage Media and RAID Systems

·             Tape Storage

·             Disk Storage

·             SAN (Storage Area Network)

·             Blade Servers

·             Virtual Servers

·             RAID

Backup Power and Data Systems

·             UPS

·             Emergency Power Systems

·             Live Data Backup

Monitoring Tools

·             SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

·             HP Network Node Manager (NNMi)

·             Cisco Works

·             IBM Tivoli

For more information contact:  enquiries@nstuk.com    Tel: 0845 519 7752

Voice over IP with SIP

Introduction to Voice over IP (VoIP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)

This course has been designed to provide delegates with knowledge of the fundamental principles of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). The open standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is described, its function explained and how it fits in with existing network models. A comparison is also made with the ITU H.323 standard. Vendor Specific systems such as Cisco CallManager is included in the course as well as reference to Asterisk Open Source systems.

The course focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of VoIP, concentrating on SIP, and is intended as an introduction to VoIP software and hardware. Following delivery of the course, the delegates will have a fundamental knowledge of the subject, which will stand them in good stead for further advanced Voice over IP training. This course includes practical modules which allow students to configure VoIP Phones, Softphones, a software IP PBX, and to size a VoIP solution

Prerequisites

·         Some basic knowledge of networking and voice.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this class, participants will be able to:

·         Understand the reasons for the development of voice over data networks.

·         Have an appreciation of factors affecting voice quality.

·         Understand the IETF protocols developed to allow real-time media to be transported across data networks.

·         Determine the function of the real-time protocols and where in the TCP/IP protocol stack they operate.  

·         Understand the basic functions of the IETF Session Initiation Protocol and compare it’s operation to that of H.323.

·         Have a basic understanding of Cisco VoIP hardware.

·         Have a basic understanding of Asterisk open source architecture.

·         Understand the importance of Quality of Service when setting up VoIP systems.

·         Understand the fundamentals of IP Multicasting.

·         Analyze SIP callflows and understand the basic format of SIP messages.

·         Set up a simple Site-to-Site SIP solution using an IP PBX.

Who Should Attend

·         Network technicians, Network Engineers,Technical Managers and Support Staff who need a basic technical  understanding off Voice over IP with SIP.

 Course Outline

·         Introduction to Voice over Internet Protocol.

·         Voice Quality Issues.

·         Protocols – Transport and Network Layers

·         Protocols – Application Layer

·         How Routing Protocols fit in

·         SIP – Session Initiation Protocol.

·         Comparison of SIP with H.323 standard.

·         Cisco VoIP Hardware Components

·         Asterisk Open Source Architecture.

·         QoS - Quality of Service.

·         Practical exercises on configuring and analyzing VoIP and SIP.

Class Length

·         3 days

This course can be delivered as a Public Scheduled course, or on a customers own premises. In the case of an onsite course, the customer will be asked to supply basic PCs or Laptops for student use, and NSTUK will provide the networking equipment and IP PBX.

Delegates will be provided with a course workbook, a copy of the course in PDF format and any other relevant training material.

Support in the form of email will be given for a minimum of 4 months following completion of the training course.

This VoIP training course can be delivered anywhere in the UK or abroad. The next Public Scheduled offering will be in the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne area in mid April.

Contact:  david.christie@nstuk.com for further details or call +44 7834 324680

Systems Training Introduction

Over the past fifteen years our instructors have successfully designed, developed and delivered technical training solutions for Government and Military, large ISP’s and Educational institutes.

We offer technical training solutions that enable the largest organisations to dynamically adapt their business to understand individual customers and prospects, and manage them intelligently to maximise their profitability.

We design and implement training solutions that deliver performance related expertise to our clients, helping them maintain a competitiveness and up-to-date communications infrastructure.

We deliver public scheduled and onsite training in the area of Data Communications and Telecommunications. Everything from Fibre Optic training to Voice over IP (VoIP) with SIP.

Our speciality is in designing bespoke Systems Training courses to meet individual customer needs or adapting existing training courses.

We can even offer to conduct Training Needs Analysis (TNA), to analyze and design training courses that deliver exactly what your staff need. Through interviews and analysis of existing training, skills and qualifications your staff already have, we are able to provide in depth reports and recommendations on what type and depth of training is required to make your staff more proficient and efficient in the workplace.

Throughout the coming weeks, look out for our posts on numerous training courses, course schedules and course content.

David Christie (MD at NSTUK Ltd)

Contact david.christie@nstuk.com