Network Fundamentals: Top Picks
Hubs & Repeaters
Network hubs were once the primary method of interconnecting network devices to create a local area network (LAN). Hubs were inexpensive, easy to ins…
Controlling Broadcasts and Multicasts
The first step in controlling broadcast and multicast traffic is to identify which devices are involved in a broadcast or multicast storm. The follow…
Measuring Network Performance: Test Network Throu…
Measuring network performance has always been a difficult and unclear task, mainly because most engineers and administrators are unsure which approac…
Introduction To Networking
A network is simply a group of two or more Personal Computers linked together. Many types of networks exist, but the most common types of networks ar…
Featured Subcategories:
Netflow Articles:
Netflow: Monitor Bandwidth & Network Utilization…
Monitoring network traffic & bandwidth usage via Netflow is mandatory for any type and size network. Gaining visibility into user traffic, applic…
Netflow vs SNMP. Two Different Approaches to Netw…
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and Netflow are both popular protocols with admins, prized for their ability to give visibility over the ne…
Bandwidth Detective: Uncover Hidden Traffic and E…
In this article, we explore the core principles of bandwidth management and examine how modern network monitoring technologies can assist in maintain…
Complete Guide to Netflow: How Netflow & its Comp…
This article will cover the basics of Netflow, including its use cases, Netflow supported devices, Netflow history, and variants. We’ll also dive int…
Network Protocols:
IP Subnetting - Part 5: Subnetting Guidelines
There is always that day when you are called upon to provide a solution to a network problem. The number of problems that can occur in a network are…
IP Protocol - Part 3: IP Classes, Network & Host…
This article explains the 'Network-ID' and 'Host-ID' concept found in IP addressing and subnetting. We analyse the structure of IP addresses and netw…
The DNS Protocol - Part 1: Introduction
If you ever wondered where DNS came from, this is your chance to find out ! The quick summary on DNS's history will also help you understand why DNS…
IP Protocol - Part 2: The Internet Protocol (IP)…
This article examines the Internet Protocol (IP) and its position within the OSI Model. We take a look at the IP Header and all fields contained with…
UDP Protocol - Header
This article covers the UDP protocol. We examine the structure of the UDP header, the protocols that use UDP as a transport plus a lot more.
Some co…
The Supernetting / CIDR Chart
This articles build upon our previous pages covering what is Supernetting (Route Summarization) & How Supernets Work and Supernetting In-De…
TCP Header Anaylsis - Section 3: TCP Header Lengt…
The third field under close examination is the TCP Header length. There really isn't that much to say about the Header length other than to explain w…
IP Protocol - Part 1: Binary & The Internet Proto…
To understand the Internet Protocol, we need to learn and understand Binary. It is very important to know and understand Binary because part of the I…
STP/ICMP Protocols:
ICMP Protocol - Part 5: Source Quench Message Ana…
The ICMP - Source Quench message is one that can be generated by either a gateway or host. You won't see any such message pop up on your workstation…
Spanning Tree Protocol – Part 2: Rapid STP Port C…
Spanning Tree Protocol, Rapid STP port costs and port states are an essential part of the STP algorithm that affect how STP decides to forward or blo…
Spanning Tree Protocol – Part 3: Bridge ID, Prior…
In this article we will examine the Spanning Tree Bridge ID structure, explain why it has increments of 4096, how VLAN information is embedded (for P…
ICMP Protocol - Part 1: Introduction
The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), is a very popular protocol and actually part of an Internet Protocol (IP) implementation. Because IP wa…
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VLAN InterSwitch Link (ISL) Protocol Analysis
Deciding whether to use ISL or IEEE 802.1q to power your trunk links can be quite confusing if you cannot identify the advantages and disadvantages of eac…
VTP Introduction & Modes
The invention of VLANs was very much welcomed by all engineers and administrators, allowing them to extend, redesign and segment their existing network wi…
VLANs - IEEE 802.1q Trunk Link Protocol Analysis
While the VLAN Tagging article briefly covered the IEEE 802.1q protocol this article will continue building upon it by further analyzing the IEEE 802.1q T…
VTP Protocol - In-Depth Analysis
The previous article introduced the VTP protocol, we examined how it can be used within a network, to help manage VLANs and ease the administrative overhe…
Routing Information Protocol - RIP
Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a distance-vector routing protocol that is commonly used in small to medium-sized networks. It is one of the o…
OSPF - Part 1: Introduction, OSPF Packet Structure, OS…
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a popular routing protocol developed for Internet Protocol (IP) networks by the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) working…
OSPF - Part 4: OSPF Neighbor States – OSPF Neighbor Fo…
This is the third article of our OSPF series which analyzes the different OSPF States routers go through during the OSPF discovery and neighbor forming pr…
Introduction to Routing Protocols
Distance Vector, Link State RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF
Routing protocols were created for routers. These protocols have been designed to allow the exchange…