Distance Vector vs. Link State vs. Hybrid Routing
Routers direct traffic between networks or subnetworks to transport a packet to its destination. Distance Vector routing uses the hop count as its routing metric. Link State routing use statistics like distance, link speed, and traffic to calculate the cost of different routes through the Internet. More ...
VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) Basics
"A VLAN is a LOGICAL network where devices might be on separate PHYSICAL networks. The purpose of implementing a VLAN is to improve the performance of a network or apply security features. More ...
The Complete Guide to Fiber Optic Connectors
There have been over 100 different fiber optic connectors developed over the years but a select few have stood the test of time and beat out their competition. In this article we talk about the most common. More ...
Difference Between Unmanaged, Web Smart and Managed Switch
A network switch is used to route data over a communication network. There are four major types of a switches. It can either be an unmanaged switch, a managed switch, a smart switch or an enterprise managed switch. Each kind of switch has its own strengths and weaknesses. More ...
Transparent Bridging and MAC Address Filtering
A bridge uses a database to send frames across network segments. The database is a list of nodes MAC addresses and their locations on the network. To send a frame between two segments a bridge reads a frame's destination MAC address and decides to either forward or filter. More ...
Bluetooth Basics
Bluetooth wireless technology is a specification for a wireless connection that provides links between mobile computers, mobile phones, other portable handheld devices, and connectivity to the Internet. More ...
Overview of How DNS (Domain Name System) Works
This article presents a high-level overview of how DNS works. it focuses on the hostname-to-IP-address translation service. More ...
An introduction to Linux Network Routing
Routing is where routers select the paths for packets to travel from their source to their destination. The process performed by a router directs forwarding by the use of of routing tables. More ...
Understanding Optical Fiber Types
Two major types of optical fibers exist for communication systems: multimode and single mode. Multimode fiber can carry many modes of light rays, while single mode fiber can only carry one mode of light ray. More ...
Ethernet Network
In 1973 Xerox invented Ethernet to solve the problem of transferring data between computers. In the early 1980s Xerox turned over control of the Standard to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE subcommittee 802.3 sets the standard for Ethernet. More ...
VPN (Virtual Private Network) headend or Concentrator
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) uses 'tunneling', a process by which secure, encrypted packets are sent over a publicly shared network. More ...
Network Interface Cards (NIC)
Every entity on a network, a PC, printer, router, etc., that needs to communicate with other devices must have a NIC if it is to communicate over the network. NIC functionality is now often integrated into the motherboard chipset or implemented with a dedicated Ethernet chip on the motherboard. More ...
Cisco Switching Fundamentals
Newer switches now use ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) for high speed hardware switching of packets. This results in much faster performance than packets processed in software. More ...
