Frequently Asked Questions

Network Admin Journey is a practical networking knowledge hub and a small consulting and mentoring practice. We publish free long-form guides, interactive network tools and a learning roadmap, and we offer paid services for small and mid-sized businesses and for people building a career in networking. It all grew out of a public, documented journey from network administrator to network engineer.

Yes. Our articles, network tools and learning roadmap are free to read and use, with no account and no paywall. They are supported by our paid consulting and mentoring services rather than by locking content away. If a guide helps you, the best thanks is sharing it with someone else who is learning or telling us where it could be clearer.

Yes. Our services are delivered remotely, so we can work with clients worldwide as long as we can find workable meeting times across time zones. Prices are listed in US dollars, and our payment processors handle currency conversion where applicable. On-site work is only available by separate written agreement and depends on location.

No. We are vendor-neutral and independent. We may reference specific products, certifications or command syntax because they are widely used and useful for learning, but we do not sell hardware and we are not paid to recommend any manufacturer. Trademarks mentioned on the site belong to their respective owners.

The easiest way is the form on our contact page, or you can email us at contact@roadtoneteng.com. Tell us briefly what you need, whether that is a service question, a correction to a guide or a general enquiry, and we will reply as soon as we reasonably can, usually within a few business days.

Please do. We want our content to be accurate and useful. Send corrections or topic ideas through the contact page, ideally with a link to the article and a short note on what you found. Our editorial policy explains how we review and update content.

We currently offer six fixed-scope services: a Network Health Assessment, Small Business Network Setup, Firewall and Security Hardening, a Network Documentation and Diagram Package, a Home Lab Blueprint and Build Consultation, and a 1:1 CCNA Mentorship Program. Each has its own page with scope, timeline and deliverables, and you can compare them all on our services page.

Each service has a fixed starting price shown on its product page and on the services overview. Prices range from the Home Lab Blueprint at the low end to the Small Business Network Setup at the high end. If your environment is larger or more complex than the standard scope, we will tell you before any extra work begins and agree on any change in writing.

If you are a business and not sure where your network stands, the Network Health Assessment is usually the best first step because it gives you a prioritized list of findings. If you already know you need a new or rebuilt network, start with the Small Business Network Setup. Learners usually start with the mentorship program or the home lab blueprint.

Our services are delivered remotely by default using secure screen sharing, video calls and shared documents. Some engagements, such as the Small Business Network Setup, can include optional on-site work, but only by separate agreement covering location, travel and any additional costs. Many tasks can be done remotely with the help of someone on your premises.

No. We do not resell equipment. We can recommend suitable hardware, write a vendor-neutral bill of materials and help you compare options, but you purchase devices directly from the supplier of your choice. This keeps our advice independent and means you own your equipment and warranties outright.

In most cases, yes. We work with common business-grade routers, firewalls, switches and wireless systems. If a device is end-of-life, no longer receives security updates or simply cannot do what you need, we will explain why and suggest alternatives, but we never recommend replacement just for the sake of it.

The 1:1 CCNA Mentorship Program runs for eight weeks with live online sessions. We start with a skills assessment, build a personal study plan, and then work through exam topics with hands-on lab assignments, review sessions and troubleshooting practice. Between sessions you can send questions in writing.

No, and you should be cautious of anyone who does. Exam results depend on your preparation, practice time and performance on the day. What we can promise is a structured plan, honest feedback on your weak areas and plenty of practical lab work so you understand the material rather than memorizing it.

For most CCNA-level study you can start with free or low-cost network simulation and emulation software on a reasonably modern computer. Physical equipment is optional. The Home Lab Blueprint service helps you choose the right mix of virtual and physical gear for your goals and budget. Our guide to building a home network lab is a good free starting point.

Mentoring works best once you have covered basic concepts such as IP addressing and how a LAN works. If you are brand new, start with our free learning roadmap and guides such as Subnetting Made Simple. When you are comfortable with the fundamentals, mentoring can help you accelerate and stay accountable.

Yes, with reasonable notice. Please let us know as early as possible if you need to move a session, ideally at least 24 hours in advance. Sessions missed without notice may not be rescheduled. The exact arrangements are confirmed when we agree your session schedule at the start of the program.

Choose a service from the shop or services page, add it to your cart and complete checkout. Checkout is handled by WooCommerce. After your order is confirmed, we email you a short intake questionnaire so we can understand your environment or goals and schedule the work.

Payments are processed securely through our payment processors via the WooCommerce checkout, which may include card payments and PayPal depending on your location. We never see or store your full card details. Available methods are shown at checkout.

We aim to contact you within a few business days of your order to send the intake questionnaire and agree a start date. The stated duration of each service begins once we have received the information and any access we need. If your timing is urgent, mention it in your order notes and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet it.

Refund eligibility depends on whether work has started and how much has been delivered. Our refund policy explains the details, including cancellations before work begins and what happens if we cannot deliver as agreed. If something is not right, contact us first, because we would rather fix it.

Yes. You receive an order confirmation by email after checkout, and you can view your orders at any time in My Account. If you need specific details added for your business records, such as a company name or tax identifier, let us know when you order.

We ask only for the access needed for the agreed work, and we prefer temporary accounts with the minimum necessary privileges or supervised screen-sharing sessions. We never ask you to send passwords over plain email. When the engagement ends, we recommend that you remove our accounts and rotate any credentials that were shared.

Yes. Information about your network, including configurations, diagrams and findings, is used only to deliver the service you ordered. We do not publish client details, and any example we write about in a guide is generic or fully anonymized. See our privacy policy and terms and conditions for more detail.

We collect the information you choose to give us through forms and checkout, plus limited technical data needed to run and secure the site. Our security plugin, Wordfence, may log IP addresses to protect against attacks. The privacy policy describes what we collect, why, how long we keep it and your rights under laws such as the GDPR and CCPA/CPRA.

We use essential cookies needed for the site, cart and checkout to work. Analytics cookies are only set if you consent through the cookie banner, which is managed by CookieYes. You can change your choice at any time. Our cookie policy lists the categories in detail.

Contact us at contact@roadtoneteng.com with your request. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal data and to object to certain processing. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and some records, such as order data, may need to be kept for legal or accounting reasons.