Network Fundamentals: Top Picks
Firewall Topologies
In this section we are going to talk about the different ways a firewall can be set up. Depending on your needs, you can have a very simple firewall…
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…
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…
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…
Featured Subcategories:
Netflow Articles:
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 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…
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…
Network Protocols:
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…
What is Supernetting (Route Summarization) & How…
Supernetting is the opposite of of subnetting, and is also known as route aggregation or CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing). Supernetting is a tec…
TCP Header Anaylsis - Section 6: TCP Options
The TCP Options (MSS, Window Scaling, Selective Acknowledgements, Timestamps, Nop) are located at the end of the TCP Header which is also why they ar…
TCP Header Anaylsis - Section 2: TCP Sequence & A…
This page will closely examine the Sequence and Acknowledgement numbers. The very purpose of their existence is related directly to the fact that the…
Transmission Control Protocol - Part 3: The TCP H…
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 the…
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 - 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…
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…
STP/ICMP Protocols:
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…
Spanning Tree Protocol – Part 1: Understand STP P…
One of the most used terms in network is LAN (Local Area Network). It’s a form of network that we encounter in our daily lives, at home, at work, stu…
ICMP Protocol - Part 7: Time Exceeded Message Ana…
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 be…
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…
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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 Security - Making the Most of VLANs
It's easy to see why virtual LANs have become extremely popular on networks of all sizes. In practical terms, multiple VLANs are pretty much the same as h…
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…
Comparing Traditional Flat & VLAN Networks
Designing and building a network is not a simple job. VLANs are no exception to this rule, in fact they require a more sophisticated approach because of t…
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…
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol - EIGRP
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), similar to IGRP, is a Cisco proprietary routing protocol that is used to exchange routing information…
Interior Gateway Protocol - IGRP
IGRP (Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) is a Cisco proprietary distance-vector routing protocol used in enterprise networks to exchange routing informati…
OSPF - Part 5: Analysis of OSPF Link State Update (LSU…
This article explains how OSPF uses Link State Advertisement (LSA) to exchange information about the network topology between routers. When a router recei…