When deploying excessively large Autonomous Systems or ASes in BGP, it is necessary to overcome the limitation introduced by the iBGP full mesh peerings required within the AS in question. There are two primary ways this can be achieved, using either BGP’s Route Reflector feature or BGP confederations. In this article, we’ll examine these two […]
What are BGP Confederations-Explanation and Discussion (With Cisco Example)
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the de facto routing protocol that is deployed on the Internet at large. BGP is ideal for the Internet because of its scalability. One of the many characteristics of this routing protocol that make it so scalable is what is known as BGP confederations. In this article, we’ll discuss what […]
What is BGP Route Reflector – Explanation and Discussion (with Cisco Example)
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the protocol of choice for routing on the Internet. BGP is also often used on the edge of corporate networks and is often the routing protocol of choice for large private enterprise networks. BGP needs to be extremely scalable to respond to these requirements. One of the ways that this […]
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 […]
What is a Wildcard Mask – All About Wildcard Masks Used in Networking
A wildcard mask is a bitmask used with IPv4 to specify ranges of IP addresses, which are then leveraged by various features, including access control lists and routing protocols. There’s a lot more to wildcard masks than meets the eye, and they’re a lot more powerful than you may initially think. In this article, we’ll […]
All About the “ip helper-address” Command on Cisco – Configuration and Explanation
In the world of networking, managing and configuring devices to work efficiently across complex networks is crucial for administrators. One useful and important feature in Cisco networking devices (primarily Layer 3 devices) is the IP Helper Address. The “ip helper-address” Cisco command provides a solution to forward broadcast traffic between Layer 3 network subnets, particularly […]
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 […]
Cisco Command to Test a Copper UTP Ethernet Cable on a Switch
Troubleshooting physical layer problems on UTP Ethernet cabling can sometimes be a nightmare. Dealing with patch cables is a snap, but what happens if your structured cabling has a fault, or if a newly created UTP cable results in intermittent connectivity? Further still, what if you don’t have direct access to the faulty cabling because […]
What is Cisco Meraki ? Some FAQ About Cisco Meraki You Need to Know
The company Meraki was founded in 2006 and started out as a research project called Roofnet within MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) which had the aim of providing outdoor Wireless Internet access to the City of Cambridge. In this article we will discuss the Cisco Meraki brand and answer some Frequently Asked Questions that many […]
What is Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)? Use Cases, How it is Used etc
At its core, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is a type of Network Access Control Solution that uses policy-based decision making to determine if a device is allowed access to the network and, if allowed, what level of access this device is given. Cisco ISE is a complex and feature packed Security Application that controls […]
Readers Favorite Posts – Articles Liked by our Visitors
The following articles have been embraced by our readers because they offer valuable information about various networking topics: 1) Basic Cisco Router Configuration Step-By-Step This article discusses the 7 most important and most basic steps to follow for configuring any Cisco Router. Specifically, you will learn the following: Configure Access Passwords. Configure a Hostname. Configure […]
Cisco IOS Command Line Interface (CLI) Keyboard Shortcuts
Learning to configure your Cisco devices from the Command Line Interface (CLI) is an essential step towards your Cisco networking career. This means that you need to learn how to configure the Cisco IOS operating system which runs on routers, switches and other network devices. Acquiring this hands-on experience with the Cisco IOS CLI will […]
Where to Buy Refurbished & Used Cisco Equipment (Switches, Routers etc)
Cisco devices are very reliable. I remember one day I run the command “show version” on a Cisco switch and showed me an uptime of around 8 years!! That switch was up and running for 8 years in a row without failing or being rebooted even a single time! There are thousands of Cisco devices […]