Network Fundamentals: Top Picks
Network Fundamentals
Network Broadcast
The term "Broadcast" is used very frequently in the networking world . You will see it in most networking books and articles, or see it happening on…
Network Fundamentals
Network Switches & Bridges
Network Switches are the evolution of Hubs and Repeaters, and enable the creation of networks by connecting multiple devices together. They are criti…
Network Fundamentals
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…
Network Fundamentals
Next-Gen Firewalls & Topologies. Designing & Buil…
Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) and DMZ zones are two critical components of network security that work hand in hand to protect an organization's n…
Featured Subcategories:
Netflow Articles:
Netflow
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
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…
Netflow
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…
Netflow
NetFlow Analyzer: Free Download, Step-by-Step Ins…
In our previous article we explained how a Netflow Analyzer can help you gain visibility into your user traffic, application traffic and data flows w…
Network Protocols:
TCP - UDP Protocol Analysis
Transmission Control Protocol - Part 1: Introduct…
Understanding how each protocol fits into the OSI Model is essential for any network engineer. This page analyses how TCP is classified as a 'transpo…
IP Protocol
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…
Subnetting
IP Subnetting - Part 2: Subnet Masks & Their Effe…
There are a few different ways to approach subnetting and it can get confusing because of the complexity of some subnets and the flexibility they off…
IP Protocol
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…
TCP - UDP Protocol Analysis
Transmission Control Protocol - Part 2: Quick Ove…
As previously mentioned on a number of occasions, TCP is one of the two protocols that lives at the Transport layer and is used to carry data from on…
Domain Name System (DNS)
The DNS Protocol - Part 3: DNS Query Message Form…
This section will deal with the analysis of the DNS packets by examining how DNS messages are formatted and the options and variables they contain. T…
Subnetting
IP Subnetting - Part 4: Routing Between Subnets
Routing and Communication between subnets is the main topic here. This article analyses communications between subnets. We provide examples on differ…
Subnetting
IP Subnet Calculator
This free online Subnet Calculator provides a fast and easy way to calculate all aspects of any IP Address and Subnet Mask. Simply enter your desir…
STP/ICMP Protocols:
ICMP Protocol
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…
ICMP Protocol
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…
ICMP Protocol
ICMP Protocol - Part 4: Destination Unreachable M…
The 'ICMP Destination unreachable' message is quite interesting, because it doesn't actually contain one message, but infact six! This means that the…
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
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…
Wi-Fi Key Generator
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VLAN Networks
InterVLAN Routing - Routing between VLAN Networks
This article deals with the popular topic of InterVLAN routing, which is used to allow routing & communication between VLAN networks. Our article anal…
VLAN Networks
VLAN Tagging - Understanding VLANs Ethernet Frames
We mentioned that Trunk Links are designed to pass frames (packets) from all VLANs, allowing us to connect multiple switches together and independently co…
VLAN Networks
VTP Pruning
VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) pruning is a feature that is used in Cisco switches to reduce unnecessary traffic in VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) trunks…
VLAN Networks
Static VLANs
VLANs are usually created by the network administrator, assigning each port of every switch to a VLAN. Depending on the network infrastructure and securit…
Routing
OSPF - Part 2: How OSPF Protocol Works & Basic Concept…
This article covers basic OSPF concepts and operation. We explain how OSPF works, how OSPF tables are built on an OSPF-enabled router and their purpose (N…
Routing
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…
Routing
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…
Routing
OSPF - Part 3: OSPF Adjacency & Neighbor Forming Proce…
This is the thrid article of our 6-part OSPF series (see below) that describes how OSPF routers perform neighbor relationship and adjacency. We’ll examine…
Network Address Translation - NAT
Network Address Translation (NAT) Concepts
Before we dive into the deep waters of NAT, we need to make sure we understand exactly what NAT does. So let me give you the background of NAT, why it's h…
Network Address Translation - NAT
Network Address Translation (NAT) Overload - Part 1
NAT Overload is the most common NAT method used throughout all networks that connect to the Internet. This is because of the way it functions and the limi…
Network Address Translation - NAT
Static NAT - Part 2
The previous page (Static NAT - Part 1) helped us understand what exactly happens with Static NAT and how it works, and we saw a few examples of how to us…
Network Address Translation - NAT
Dynamic NAT - Part 1
Dynamic NAT is the second NAT mode we're going to talk about. Dynamic NAT, like Static NAT, is not that common in smaller networks but you'll find it used…





