MNB Networks Training

Why did you decide to create MNB Networks Training? 

There is a number of fantastic training resources available in networking and security, including design; however, we feel that much of it is aligned to specific vendor certification tracks and products.   

Of course it is important to understand the technologies and pursue certifications in IT, but we also believe there is no real dedicated resource to learn about network and security design based on real life scenarios. 

MNB Networks want to be pioneers and lead the way in this area, to provider learners with real life skills and knowledge, whether you are just embarking on a network design career, or an experienced designer who is looking for a different point of view or approach. 

What is the main objective of MNB Networks Network Design Training site? 

We aim to build an IT network and security design community, where people join the site to consume the training content, but the wider objective is to develop students to have real world skills relating to IT network and security design. 

Our unique selling point is that we base all content on real life designs and challenges, then teach students different ways in which they can meet customer requirements whilst navigating constraints. 

What level of experience is required to join MNB Networks Training Site? 

This will range from an engineer transitioning from an operational role into a design related role, or experienced design engineers who are looking for additional mentoring and development to reach expert level in network design.  

Please see our course pages for full details on individual courses along with pricing and payment options. 

Associate Level: Our entry level annual subscription is an affordable option for engineers who have typically 1 – 3 years experience in operational roles and are considering a career in design where most content will be related to career path, characteristics and behaviours of a network designer. This is also an option for students who wish to try our site with an affordable subscription before committing to one of the higher end courses. 

Professional Level: Most of our courses are aimed at engineers who want to better understand specific of networking or security; for example LAN, WAN, SDN and DC design.  These are typically aimed at engineers with 3 – 5 years implementation experience and 1 - 3 years’ design experience. 

Expert Level: We will be offering expert level training courses later into 2021 and early 2022, where these courses will require engineers to have a minimum level of experience and criteria.  Further details on this track will be published in late 2021. 

Is there a limit on the number of students that can join the site and if so, why? 

Yes, we have taken the decision in the early stages of the site rollout to limit the amount of students across all courses to a maximum of 200.  This will help ensure that we are able to manage the community that we intend on building and that we can respond to service requests from customers with the resources we have available at present i.e. instructors and community managers.  

Aside from the above, our site is not about having as many students onboarded as possible.  The intention of the site is to engage like minded individuals, generate discussion between peers relating to the courses and non-course related discussions in our community discussion forums and develop students into more effective network designers. 

Our expectation is that anyone who signs up to our platform is serious about developing their network design skills and applying the knowledge learned to their day job wherever possible. 

Will you offer any discounts on the list price of the courses? 

We will run incentives on the site, but these are unlikely to be “flash sale”, or “price drop” promotions and will more likely be related to additional live instructor input or bundled course promos.   

Based on market research and feedback from students who have attended our live courses, we believe that the quality of our content is of a high standard and because it is always based on real life scenarios / challenges it adds significant value and knowledge that can normally be applied directly to your network design related job roles. 

In summary we try to price courses fairly and at an affordable price compared to instructor-led live courses, but also relative to the subject matter, skill level of the instructor, platform running costs and effort required by our instructors to produce the content.  

This is a new site, how much content do you have? 

We estimate that we have enough content from our live courses and webinars for approximately 10 courses being released by the end of 2021 in the professional level tier.  We also intend to produce new content for the Associate level related to career path.   

The content will grow as time goes by and we record it then upload to the site where we will announce new offerings regularly. 

Aside from full training courses we will also release “design challenges” which students can attempt on their own or by submitting assignments to the instructor for discussion. 

We are shaping the various blended learning delivery models and will update via the communities and social media platforms LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Who are your instructors? 

Malcolm Booden is the Lead Instructor at MNB Networks Training and is a seasoned Network Architect with over 20 years’ experience in the industry.  He is CCDE certified and has experience working as an engineer, consultant and architect at small, medium and large enterprises directly, but also with network integrators and ISPs. 

In order for the site to scale, Malcolm will be backed up by other instructors, who are peers and typically seasoned network or security design subject matter experts that hold expert level certification. 

We do not compromise on quality and therefore only engage additional instructors from our peer network that hold expert level certification and/or 10+ years’ experience working on complex design and implementation projects.