What is PPP, PPPoA and PPPoE?
PPP was designed to provide a connection between two devices. PPP comes with options including encryption, authentication and data compression. PPPoA is the standard for connection over an ADSL network. PPPoE is the standard for connection over an Ethernet network. More ...
VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol)
A VLAN (Virtual LAN) allows a network administrator to partition a LAN to conform to the business functions of the organization without physically modifying the network. VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) is a Cisco proprietary protocol that allows an administrator to configure VLANs on a single VTP server, easing the administration of a network. More ...
IPv6 Flow Label Field
The IPv6 Flow Label field is used to help identify all the packets within the same flow to ensure that all the packets receive the same type of handling by the IPv6 routers. More ...
IPv6 Multicast Addresses
An IPv6 multicast address defines a group of devices known as a multicast group. Unlike IPv4, there is no broadcast address in IPv6. Instead, IPv6 uses multicast. A packet sent to a multicast group always has a unicast source address. More ...
Link Aggregation
If all ports on a switch are operating at the same speed, the ports most likely to experience congestion are ports connecting to another switch or router. To help alleviate congested links between switches, you can logically combine multiple physical connections into a single logical connection. More ...
IPv6 Unicast Addresses
The 3 categories of IPv6 addresses are:Unicast identifies a single interface. A packet sent to a unicast address is delivered to the interface identified by that address. Multicast identifies a group of interfaces. A packet sent to a multicast address is delivered to all interfaces identified by that address. Anycast identifies a group of interfaces. A packet sent to an anycast address is delivered to the closest member of a group. More ...
An Introduction to the Types of VPNs
There are three types of VPNs that provide users with the functionality described above and these fall within the two categories: computer-to-network VPNs and network-to-network VPNs. More ...
Free eBook: Introduction to 802.11 Wireless
The growth of wireless mobile devices is incredible. If you're an IT professional you'll need to understand wireless technology. This free ebook by Aaron Balchunas explains everything from radio frequency to wireless authentication protocols. More ...
Evolution of the Microsoft NOS (Active Directory)
A Network operating system (NOS0) is a networked environment in which resources, such as users, groups, and computers are stored in a central repository. Microsoft's first integrated NOS environment became available in 1990 with the release of Windows NT 3.0. More ...
Video - Introducing the OSI Model
This video by Kevin Wallace introduces the OSI networking model. More ...
RADIUS Protocol
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is an application layer protocol that provides centralized Authorization, Authentication, and Accounting management for users who connect and use a network service. More ...
IPv4 Datagram Fields
If you are pursuing CompTIA Network+ certification, of if you're involved in network troubleshooting, it's important to understand the construction of an IP datagram. More ...
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Explained
In the early days of TCP/IP each device on a network had stored on its hard disk a configuration file that an administrator used to manually assign a static IP address. Today a network administrator is no longer required to maintain an IP and MAC address configuration file a server. Every device on a network is automatically assigned a unique IP address by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). More ...
OSI Transport Layer
The Transport layer (OSI layer 4) uses connection-oriented protocols to provide a reliable end-to-end connection between the source computer and the destination computer. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a transport layer protocol. More ...
PoE (Power Over Ethernet)
Say you want to mount a wireless access point (AP) on the ceiling. Although no electrical outlet is available, a switch feature called Power over Ethernet (PoE) IEEE 802.3at standard offers as much as 32.4W of power over a UTP cable. More ...
