Free eBook: IPv6 Addressing
All the IPv4 addresses are quickly being used up. The conversion to IPv6 is now underway. In this free eBook, Aaron Balchunas describes IPv6 and how to configure it to work along side IPv4. Learn which protocols will need to be updated to work with IPv6. Learn how to configure IPv6. More ...
Introducing OpenStack
OpenStack is one of the most popular cloud computing management packages. OpenStack provides a common platform for controlling clouds of servers, storage, network, and even application resources. OpenStack is managed through a web-based interface, a command-line interface (CLI), and an application programming interface (API). More ...
Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)
A Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a subgroup within a local network. VLANs make it easy for network administrators to separate a single switched network into subnetworks to match the functional and security requirements of their network without having to make major changes in the existing network infrastructure. More ...
Representation of IPv6 Addresses
IPv6 addresses are 128 bits in length and written as a string of hexadecimal digits. At first glance, these addresses can look overwhelming. RFC 2373 and RFC 5952 provide two helpful rules for reducing the notation involved in the standard format. 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 ...
A Simple Description of the IPv6 Header and Datagram
This article provides a simple description of the IPv6 header and datagram without a lot referring back to IPv4. 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 ...
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 ...
Networking and Internet Standards Organizations
Without standards, the Internet would be chaos. The primary organization that sets communications standards for the Internet is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). 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 ...
Basic TCP/IP Networking
In this article, I'm going to describe how a network works. I am NOT not going to load you down with details. Instead, I'm just going to describe what happens when you start your client computer. How it gets access to the network. More ...
Ports and Sockets
Data transmitted over the Internet carries a 32-bit IP address that identifies its destination computer and a 16-bit number that identifies a port on that computer. The combination of the IP address and the port number is called a socket. A pair of sockets, one on the sending computer and one on the receiving computer uniquely identifies a specific connection on the Internet. More ...
Looking at the OSI 7 Layer Reference Model
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is a 7 layer reference model for how applications can communicate over a network. Don't confuse The OSI model with TCP/IP Protocol which has 4 layers and is the actual architecture used for networking. More ...
Video - The Upper Layers 5 Through 7 of the OSI Networking Model
In this video by Kevin Wallace you learn about Layers 5 Through 7 of the OSI networking model. 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 ...
