Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has finalized its landmark $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, creating a new AI-centric networking division and reshaping the competitive landscape for cloud and AI infrastructure. The deal, first announced in January 2024, closed on July 2, 2025 after overcoming significant regulatory hurdles, including a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust settlement […]
[Continue reading]
Designing a network with high availability in mind is a vital aspect of network architecture. Employing redundancy in both physical network links as well as network devices is a fundamental part of such design. Cisco’s Virtual Port Channel (vPC) is a technology that delivers a high degree of redundancy, providing mission-critical enterprise and datacenter networks […]
[Continue reading]
Think about this: You’ve added 30 new switches, 15 firewalls, and 20 routers, all believed to be policy-compliant. But a routine check, months down the line, uncovers a shocking reality: 50% are misconfigured, some are on vulnerable firmware, and one device is a critical security risk with exposed ports. That’s not bad luck; it’s a […]
[Continue reading]
Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware in late 2023 and the significant changes to the licensing model – shifting from perpetual per-socket licenses to per-core subscription-based pricing – many organizations face cost increases of 2-3 times their previous expenses. One of the roles that I have in my company is Cloud and VMware architect. Under this […]
[Continue reading]
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 […]
[Continue reading]
Imagine the following situation: You are a network engineer and your boss or a customer wants you to build a cheap and easy solution to host a publicly accessible server (such as Webserver, Email server, VPN server etc) using only a regular Cisco router. In most network designs, you will see that the usual and […]
[Continue reading]
Packet-based communication networks that operate using protocols like IP follow layered models such as the OSI and TCP/IP frameworks. These models involve the encapsulation and decapsulation of protocol data units (PDUs) through the addition and removal of headers at each layer. Two key parameters involved in this encapsulation process are the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) […]
[Continue reading]
When network devices stray from their intended configurations, it results in configuration drift. This can occur due to unauthorized changes, misconfigurations, or system updates and causes consequences like network instability, security vulnerabilities, performance degradation, and potential compliance issues. This is where ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager steps in and offers centralized control over network configurations, enabling […]
[Continue reading]
As Network Engineers we need to be versatile and troubleshooting-savvy in our work environment. In addition to having strong knowledge of networking protocols and commands on network devices (routers, switches, firewalls etc) we need also to have very good knowledge of IP and other networking related commands on end-point devices such as Windows computers, Linux […]
[Continue reading]
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 […]
[Continue reading]
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) plays a crucial role in automating the assignment of IP addresses in networks, ensuring seamless communication between devices without manual configuration. However, this ease of use also introduces vulnerabilities, making it a potential target for network attacks. To mitigate these risks, DHCP snooping is implemented as a security measure, helping […]
[Continue reading]
QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) is a new generation Internet protocol that speeds online web applications that are susceptible to delay, such as searching, video streaming etc., by reducing the round-trip time (RTT) needed to connect to a server. By replacing TCP with UDP and encrypting most of its payload, QUIC reduces the time it […]
[Continue reading]
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a key tool for many IT professionals and remote workers. It allows users to connect to other computers (mainly used on Windows OS computers) over a network connection. Knowing which port RDP uses is important for setting up secure remote access and for allowing firewall access to servers remotely. RDP […]
[Continue reading]