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Network Fundamentals: Top Picks

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 cri...
Network Fundamentals

LAN Network Topologies

Network topologies can take a bit of time to understand when you're all new to this kind of cool stuff, but it's very important to fully understand...
Network Fundamentals

The Importance of a Network Analyzer – Packet S...

Network Analyzers, also known as Packet Sniffers, are amongst the most popular network tools found inside any Network Engineer’s toolkit. A Network...
Network Fundamentals

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 i...

Featured Subcategories:

Netflow Articles:

Netflow

Complete Guide to Netflow: How Netflow & its Co...

This article will cover the basics of Netflow, including its use cases, Netflow supported devices, Netflow history, and variants. We’ll also dive i...
Netflow

Netflow: Monitor Bandwidth & Network Utilizatio...

Monitoring network traffic & bandwidth usage via Netflow is mandatory for any type and size network. Gaining visibility into user traffic, appl...
Netflow

NetFlow Analyzer: Free Download, Step-by-Step I...

In our previous article we explained how a Netflow Analyzer can help you gain visibility into your user traffic, application traffic and data flows...
Netflow

Netflow vs SNMP. Two Different Approaches to Ne...

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and Netflow are both popular protocols with admins, prized for their ability to give visibility over the ...

Network Protocols:

Subnetting

IP Subnetting - Part 2: Subnet Masks & Their Ef...

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 o...
TCP - UDP Protocol Analysis

Transmission Control Protocol - Part 3: The TCP...

This article shows the TCP Header and Segment. We explain where the TCP Header and Segment are located in an Ethernet frame and also briefly view t...
IP Protocol

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 wi...
Subnetting

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 ar...
Supernetting & CIDR

The Supernetting / CIDR Chart

This articles build upon our previous pages covering  what is Supernetting (Route Summarization) & How Supernets Work and Supernetting In-...
TCP - UDP Protocol Analysis

Transmission Control Protocol - Part 1: Introdu...

Understanding how each protocol fits into the OSI Model is essential for any network engineer. This page analyses how TCP is classified as a 'trans...
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 des...
IP Protocol

IP Protocol - Part 3: IP Classes, Network & Hos...

This article explains the 'Network-ID' and 'Host-ID' concept found in IP addressing and subnetting. We analyse the structure of IP addresses and ne...

STP/ICMP Protocols:

ICMP Protocol

ICMP Protocol - Part 4: Destination Unreachable...

The 'ICMP Destination unreachable' message is quite interesting, because it doesn't actually contain one message, but infact six! This means that t...
ICMP Protocol

ICMP Protocol - Part 7: Time Exceeded Message A...

The ICMP - Time Exceeded message is one which is usually created by gateways or routers. In order to fully understand this ICMP message, you must b...
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 ...
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

Spanning Tree Protocol – Part 2: Rapid STP Port...

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 b...

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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) trun...
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 ...
VLAN Networks

VLANs - Access & Trunk Links

If you've read our previous article The VLAN Concept - Introduction to VLANs  then you should feel comfortable with terms such as 'VLAN', 'Sta...
VLAN Networks

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 ...

Routing

OSPF - Part 1: Introduction, OSPF Packet Structure, ...

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a popular routing protocol developed for Internet Protocol (IP) networks by the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) worki...
Routing

OSPF - Part 2: How OSPF Protocol Works & Basic Conce...

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 ...
Routing

Distance Vector Routing Protocols

Distance Vector routing protocols use frequent broadcasts (255.255.255.255 or FF:FF:FF:FF) of their entire routing table every 30 sec. on all their inte...
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 exchan...

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 li...
Network Address Translation - NAT

The Network Address Translation Table

After that simple and informative introduction to the NAT concept, it's time to find out more about how it works and this is where the NAT table comes i...
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 ...
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...