The Internet owes its existence in part to the operation of the Border Gateway Protocol or BGP. BGP is a routing protocol that uses a list of attributes to determine the best path to the intended destination. It is these attributes that give BGP the characteristics necessary to perform its highly demanding routing obligations on […]
About Lazaros Agapidis
Lazaros Agapidis is a Telecommunications and Networking Specialist with over twenty years of experience.
He works primarily with IP networks, VoIP, Wi-Fi, and 5G, has extensive experience in training professionals for Cisco certifications, and his expertise extends into telecommunications services and infrastructure from both an enterprise and a service provider perspective.
In addition to his numerous vendor certifications, Lazaros has a solid online presence as an expert in his field, having worked in both public and private sectors within North America and in Europe.
He has enjoyed sharing his practical experiences in writing as well as through engaging online training.
Follow Lazaros at LinkedIn: Lazaros Agapidis or at his Youtube Channel.
Overview of BGP ASN (Autonomous System Numbers) in Networks
The Internet is an extensively large network that requires a specialized type of routing to ensure scalability and reliability. For this reason, BGP is the protocol of choice for routing on the Internet. BGP leverages what are known as Autonomous System Numbers or ASNs to achieve routing. In this article, we’ll elaborate on ASNs, and […]
Comparison of Routed vs Routing Protocols in Networking
In networking, there is often terminology used to refer to various concepts that sound similar. This can occasionally be confusing especially to greener techs that are just coming into the field. One particular distinction that can potentially perplex less experienced networking professionals is the difference between routed and routing protocols. In this article, we’ll help […]
Comparison of Tagged vs Untagged vs Native VLANs in Ethernet Networks
A Virtual Local Area Network, or VLAN, is a logical construct that can be configured within a switch that can be used to create distinct broadcast domains, which are partitioned and isolated in a computer network at the Data Link Layer, or Layer 2 of the OSI model. A VLAN enables the segmentation of a […]
Guide to Cisco Bandwidth Command Parameter (With Configuration Example)
If you’ve been experimenting with Cisco switches and routers, and searching out their various capabilities, you may have come across an enigmatic feature on the interfaces of these devices. Specifically, you can adjust an interface’s “bandwidth” parameter to a value of your choice, within a particular range. Now if you’ve tried this strange parameter, you […]
Understanding IP Prefix Lists in TCP/IP Networks (With Cisco Examples)
Prefix lists play an important role in networking by providing an efficient and scalable method for managing routing updates in large-scale networks. As a tool for implementing route filtering, they enable network administrators to selectively control the advertisement and acceptance of IP prefixes based on specific criteria. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into what […]
The Purpose of Routing Protocols in TCP/IP Networking
Networks that are based on the TCP/IP protocol stack rely on the Internet Protocol, or IP, to deliver end-to-end connectivity from the sending host to the receiving host. As such, each node along the path that the packets travel through must have enough information to know how to route the packet to the next hop […]
Differences Between Routing, Forwarding, Switching in Networks
Terminology within networking can sometimes get confusing. Networking has many different terms that can be used in different ways depending on the context and the related technologies being discussed. Three of the most commonly used terms that can introduce some level of confusion are routing, forwarding, and switching. In this article, we’ll discuss how these […]
What is Asymmetric Routing – Causes and Problems in Networks
Asymmetric routing refers to a situation in which the path taken by data packets between two points in a network is not the same in both directions. In other words, the route that the packets follow from the source to the destination is different from the route they take when traveling back from the destination […]
How to Find IP Address From MAC Address on Cisco Devices
Troubleshooting a network requires many different investigative skills, tools, and methodologies. One procedure that is particularly useful when investigating various network problems is being able to determine the IP address of a host on the network when given only its MAC address. In this article we’ll take a look at how to find an IP […]
What is Cisco IOS – Overview and Description of Cisco’s Operating System
Cisco’s Internetworking Operating System, or IOS, is a family of network operating systems that is used on several models of the company’s routers and switches. IOS enables routing, switching, internetworking, and a variety of telecommunications functions on a whole series of Cisco network device platforms. IOS has gone through several phases of evolution, and any […]
What is OSPF NSSA (Not So Stubby Area) and How is it Configured?
In this article we will explain and discuss OSPF Not So Stubby Area (NSSA) and also how to configure this Area type on Cisco routers. OSPF is a link state dynamic routing protocol that is used by routers to share routing information. This allows routers to inform each other of the paths that should be […]
How to Configure a Loopback Interface on Cisco Router & Switch
A loopback interface is a virtual interface that can be created within a network device and behaves much the same as a physical interface. Loopback interfaces can be configured on a Cisco router or a switch and have many uses. In this article, we’ll examine what they are, how they can be configured, and how […]