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Cisco Networking Tutorials for Beginners and Experts

My name is Harris Andrea and I would like to extend a warm welcome to you.

About me in a few words.

Let me tell you a story. When I was in my last year in University (in the late 90’s) I had to take some courses around TCP/IP and computer networking.

That was the time that something clicked in my mind. I don’t know if it was my professor’s teaching skills and enthusiasm about the subject, but after finishing those courses I knew that IP networking was the field I wanted to explore more in my professional career.

After graduating, I started working in a relatively small but high-caliber technology company that was a Cisco Gold Partner.

I was absorbing experience and information like a sponge. I got involved in all sorts of projects in designing and implementing networks based mainly on Cisco products and other high-profile vendors. That job was like a second University degree for me but in a more practical way.

After working there for almost 5 years, I moved on and got a new job in a big Internet Service Provider (ISP) where I’m still working until today.

During all these years in my new job I have been responsible for operating, supporting and designing huge networks that contain carrier-grade routers and switches, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, management and monitoring systems, security infrastructure devices and anything that can be found in an ISP environment.

About this Website

About 15 years ago, I decided to create a blog to share my experience in the form of Cisco networking tutorials, configuration examples, guides, tips, industry news etc for both beginners and experts. This is how this blog was born.

If you want to receive Cisco tutorials, configuration guides and other networking and security related topics from me, subscribe below to join over 18,000 other professionals that receive my emails.

If you want to explore my blog, scroll until the end of this post to see my latest articles or click on a category to the right for all the topics I have written related to Cisco technologies, network and information security, general networking etc.

By subscribing below I will send you also three Cisco cheat sheet PDF files about the following:

• Cisco Routers Commands Cheat Sheet.
• Cisco Switches Commands Cheat Sheet.
• Cisco ASA Firewall Commands Cheat Sheet.

Download Free Cisco Commands Cheat Sheets

Enter your Email below to Download our Free Cisco Commands Cheat Sheets for Routers, Switches and ASA Firewalls.

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My Books

This blog has also been the home of my three books which have been embraced by thousands of professionals. They are available in both digital format (PDF) from this website and also as hard-copy books from Amazon so check them out below:

My Books in Digital Format:

ccna lab bookCCNA 200-301 Labs and Guide Book
DOWNLOAD LABS HERE

 

cisco asa firewall fundamentals ebookConfiguration Tutorial For
Cisco ASA 5500 and 5500-X Firewalls

(Covers Newest v9.x)
DOWNLOAD EBOOK HERE

 

cisco vpn configuration guide

VPN Configuration Guide For
Cisco Routers and ASA Firewalls

With FREE ASA 5505 Configuration Tutorial Bonus

DOWNLOAD EBOOK HERE

 

My Books in hard-copy format from Amazon

Cisco ASA Firewall Fundamentals – 3rd Edition

Cisco VPN Configuration Guide

Closing Remarks

I’m here to help you as much as possible, that’s why I always try to answer every comment and email that I receive. Don’t hesitate to contact me or leave a comment under my posts on this website and I’ll try to address and answer your questions if I can.

ccna certification ccnp certification ccsp certification

Filed Under: General Networking

Comparison of EIGRP vs OSPF Routing Protocols

ospf vs eigrp comparison

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Enhanced Interior Gateway Protocol (EIGRP) are two of the most popular Internal Gateway Protocols (IGPs) employed in today’s modern IP networks.  Both are mature protocols, having been around for decades, and are extremely reliable, flexible, and highly configurable.  And yet, they are surprisingly dissimilar in their architecture, implementation, and […]

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Filed Under: General Networking

12 Best Computer Networking Books for Beginners & Experts

computer networking textbooks

I have read tens of books (both in ebook format and also hard copy textbooks) in my networking professional career over the last 18 years. In fact, all of my preparation for my Cisco and other IT certifications was based on book studying (in addition to hands-on practice of course). Personally, I believe that having […]

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Filed Under: General Networking, Product Reviews

How to Setup Cisco Meraki WiFi Access Point Devices (With Pictures)

setting up cisco meraki ap

In this tutorial we will describe how to setup a Cisco Meraki WiFi Access Point (AP) together with several other useful details, so let’s get started. A Meraki access point is different to a Cisco AireOS Access point because it doesn’t need a separate Wireless LAN Controller or an embedded controller such as Mobility Express […]

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Filed Under: Cisco Wireless

10 Best Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA) Software Tools

network traffic analysis tools

If you’ve ever wondered why your company’s network seems to slow down at times, or how efficiently your employees are using their networked devices, then it’s time you implement a network analysis strategy. Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA) tools can help you find bottlenecks in traffic, analyze what types of network traffic is being used within […]

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Filed Under: Software

11 Best Alternatives to Putty as SSH and Telnet Clients (For Connecting Remotely to Devices)

ssh clients similar to putty

PuTTY is a free terminal emulation tool that’s been available for 20 years. Originally released for Microsoft Windows, this versatile remote administration tool can be used to access workstations, servers, network devices etc using various protocols such as secure shell connection (SSH), Telnet, Rlogin etc. While it continues to be popular for accessing network devices […]

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Filed Under: Software

11 Free TFTP Server Software for Windows Computers (Useful in Cisco Networks)

trivial file transfer protocol tools

I first got acquainted with TFTP at the beginning of my networking career. The first use-case of TFTP protocol is when I first upgraded the IOS firmware of a Cisco router using a little software utility called “TFTPD32”. Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) software provide a key service to many network and system administrators for […]

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Filed Under: Software

10 Networking Companies Like Cisco (Competitors)

competitors to cisco

Every network engineer is familiar with Cisco, and with its multiple brand acquisitions, it’s even become a household name for consumers in addition to business professionals. Cisco isn’t the only major player in the hardware and TCP/IP networking game, however. This technology giant has at least a dozen formidable competitors, many of which have developed […]

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Filed Under: General Networking

Cisco Switch Layer2 Layer3 Design and Configuration

Layer2 and Layer3 switches are the foundation of any network. After all, any network devices (routers, firewalls, computers, servers etc) have to be connected to a switch. Sooner or later, as a network engineer you will be faced with the task of deploying a switch network for a customer or for your own company. Therefore, learning […]

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Filed Under: Cisco Switches

12 Best SFTP Server Software for Windows (Free & Paid)

sftp server for windows

With the rise of distributed networks, finding a secure way to transfer files and data is essential. That’s where software products like Secure File Transfer Protocol, better known as SFTP, comes in. File Transfer Protocol has been around since 1971; the encrypted version was developed in 1994. This popular file transfer communication protocol is able […]

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Filed Under: Software

Description of Switchport Mode Access vs Trunk Modes on Cisco Switches

switchport mode access vs trunk

In this article, we will discuss a couple of core concepts of network switching which are about Access and Trunk ports and how to configure them using “switchport mode access” and “switchport mode trunk” commands on Cisco switches We will also delve into what a VLAN is, why they’re used and how all of this […]

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Filed Under: Cisco Switches

Comparison of VLAN vs Subnet in TCP/IP Computer Networks

vlan and subnets in networks

A few decades ago, flat networks were the norm. I remember in my very first job as a network engineer, most of our clients’ networks consisted of a single broadcast domain (VLAN) and a huge single flat Layer 3 network (usually in the 10.0.0.0 range). As time passed by and networks started to become bigger […]

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Filed Under: General Networking

Configuring Connection Limits on Cisco ASA Firewalls – Protect from DoS

cisco asa devices

The Cisco ASA firewall offers excellent protection for Denial of Service attacks, such as SYN floods, TCP excessive connection attacks etc. Using the new Policy Framework functionality, the ASA administrator can configure granular controls for TCP Connection limits and timeouts. For example, we can control and limit the maximum number of simultaneous TCP and UDP connections […]

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Filed Under: Cisco ASA Firewall Configuration

Configuring AAA Authentication-Authorization-Accounting on Cisco ASA Firewall (TACACS+, RADIUS)

cisco asa aaa

When it comes to authentication services in networking and IT systems in general, the best practice is to have a centralized authentication system which contains the user account credentials in a secure way and controls all authentication and authorization. This is why Active Directory in Microsoft environments is such a useful and powerful authentication scheme. […]

[Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cisco ASA Firewall Configuration

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About Networks Training

We Provide Technical Tutorials and Configuration Examples about TCP/IP Networks with focus on Cisco Products and Technologies. This blog entails my own thoughts and ideas, which may not represent the thoughts of Cisco Systems Inc. This blog is NOT affiliated or endorsed by Cisco Systems Inc. All product names, logos and artwork are copyrights/trademarks of their respective owners.

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