Who I Am
I’m Byrn Baker, a CCIE, service provider network engineer, and the guy who spent more money on lab gear than he’d like to admit.
I keep provider networks reliable by day. By night I build labs, break protocols, automate everything I can, and write down what I learn so I don’t forget it six months later.
What I Believe
The next generation of network engineers won’t get the apprenticeship I had. Nobody’s going to hand them an expensive network and say “learn by doing” for two years. AI is coming for the entry-level jobs. Companies want people who can be plugged in day one. People who can guide automation and architect it, not just configure a switch port.
That means the next generation needs to show up ready. And those of us who already know the work have a responsibility to make real skill-building accessible without lowering the standard.
I refuse to lower the standard.
Hard work isn’t putting in 50 hours once. It’s the decision you make every time you sit at your computer. To build a lab instead of doom-scrolling, to read configuration line by line until you understand that doing X results in Y, to put maximum effort into your craft regardless of all the fun things you forgo while doing it.
Why This Exists
I spent the money. Certs, hardware, home lab gear, and most of it just sits here now. I want you to have access to the resources I wish I’d had. Not having hardware should never be an excuse not to learn.
So I’m building a lab you can rent. Pre-loaded topologies that match my walkthroughs. FRR, which is open, free, legally yours to automate against. You read the lesson, you launch the lab, you do the work.
Take advantage of my investment. Make a small investment of your own.
The Deal
I’ll give you the sandbox, the walkthroughs, and the topologies. All I ask is that you bring the mindset. The willingness to put in the time, to learn, to become an expert in your field.
We can teach you everything else.
Romans Road
Romans 3:23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 5:12: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned
Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 5:8: God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Romans 10:9-10: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation
Romans 10:13: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
I want to be remembered for courage, for my faith. Charlie Kirk
