Passionately focused on understanding networks deeply and practically

I'm a high school student determined to build a strong career in network engineering. My learning isn't just theoretical—it's deeply practical and hands-on, oriented toward real-world scenarios encountered by ISPs and data centers.

I take my homelab seriously—not as a hobby, but as a genuine learning environment. I simulate realistic scenarios: hardware failures, redundancy tests, and inter-VLAN routing. My goal isn't just to configure, but to deeply understand the underlying principles of how networks behave.

My lab environment isn't designed to look pretty—it's optimized for learning. Devices get reset, configurations regularly change, and documentation is key:

• Routers & Switches: MikroTik CCR2004-1G-12S+2XS, CRS326-24S+2Q+RM, Brocade FastIron LS648-STK
• Servers: Dell PowerEdge R610, R710 for Linux networking tools

Every device and configuration serves a purpose—helping me learn and test new concepts, protocols, and troubleshooting methods.

I started early, and I'm determined to leverage this head-start effectively. My aim is to become the kind of network engineer you trust with critical infrastructure—someone who doesn't just "configure," but fully understands the impact of every decision.

I'm particularly interested in:

• ISP backbone and advanced routing (OSPF, BGP, MPLS)
• Data center networking: redundancy, failover, load balancing
• Deep, foundational understanding of network operations

I document everything—not just successes but especially failures—so I can clearly track what I've learned and what needs deeper exploration.

I plan to start my certification journey with CompTIA Network+, then move on to MikroTik certifications (MTCNA and MTCRE), and eventually pursue the Cisco CCNA certification. My future educational goal is a Bachelor's degree in Computer Network Engineering.

Check out my primary networking lab repository:

• routing-in-the-stars – Hands-on networking scenarios, protocol testing, and detailed documentation
  
• Staszic360 - Virutal tour of my high school

Feel free to reach out to discuss networking topics, lab setups, or educational paths:

• Telegram: @Andrtexh
• Reddit: u/Acensxandrea