Network Switches
A bridge or router may be referred to as a switch because it uses information in the data packet to choose a path from one network segment to another. A bridge may be referred to as a layer 2 switch because it uses information from layer 2, the Data Link layer of the OSI model. More ...
IEEE 802 Standards Specify the Basics of Physical and Logical Networking
The (IEEE) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is an organization that defines standards for networking. The 802 Standards Specify the Basics of physical and logical networking. More ...
TCP/IP Utilities
TCP/IP comes with a set of command line utilities that a network technician can use to manage and troubleshoot a network. PING is used to test the ability of two hosts on a network to communicate. 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 ...
Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and Routing Convergence
A routing protocol advertises route information between routers. Dynamic routing protocols are available that allow a router's routing table to be updated as network conditions change. More ...
The OSI Session Layer
The Session layer, layer seven of the OSI model, establishes, synchronizes, maintains and terminates sessions between computers on a network. It establishes a connection ID and authenticates security. More ...
Video - Transport Layer (Layer 4) of OSI Networking Model
In this video by Kevin Wallace you learn about the Transport Layer of the OSI networking model. More ...
Comparing IPv4 and IPv6 at a Glance
When examining the details of the IPv4 and IPv6 headers, there are some important differences between the two protocols. This article summarizes some of the differences. More ...
IP version 6 (IPv6) Advantages and Implementation
The Internet has, to all intents and purposes, run out of public IP version 4 addresses. The solution to this issue is new IP version 6. This would require a parallel IPv6 based Internet to be running until all IPv4 connections have been converted. More ...
The OSI Reference Model
No real world network operating systems conform exactly to the OSI model, but it is useful as a reference when describing existing systems. It is difficult to study network devices such as routers, switches, and gateways without using the model. More ...
IPv6 Prefix Length Notation
In IPv4, the prefix (or network portion) of the address can be identified by a dotted-decimal netmask, commonly referred to as a subnet mask. IPv6 address prefixes can be represented much the same way that IPv4 address prefixes are written in CIDR notation. More ...
TCP Windowing
It would be inefficient to return an ACK message as each segment is received. The number of segments received before an ACK message is returned is called the TCP receive window size. More ...
How to Set Up FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer computer files between a client and server on a network. This article explains how to set up FTP on IIS and that FTP is not a secure protocol and some secure file transfer alternatives. More ...
What's the Difference Between a Packet and a Frame?
When speaking of the data in a network, people often call everything a packet. A more proper generic term would be protocol data unit or PDU. The specific name for a PDU depends on at what layer the data unit is in the OSI model. More ...
Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) Protocol
Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) protocol is a computer networking technology intended to simplify the creation and configuration of networks, while enabling multipath routing. It is the replacement for the older spanning tree protocols. More ...
