“Packet Routing” is the primary operation in TCP/IP networks that establishes communication from a source device located on one network to a destination device located on another network. Image Credit Within the OSI model, routing is a Layer 3 process which groups Internet Protocol (IP) data into Packets that are put inside of Frames (Layer […]
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A computer network is made up of software and hardware components that allow one device to communicate with another. Hardware provides the set of instructions that utilizes the networking equipment for data transmission, whereas software specifies the sequence of commands (communication protocol) that uses the hardware equipment for data transmission. A basic data transfer is […]
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In recent years Cisco have been focused on building their cloud and software defined networking portfolio through the acquisition of smaller companies such as Viptela and OpenDNS among others. In this article we will focus on Cisco Umbrella, explain what it is, discuss how it can protect your network etc. A Brief History of Cisco […]
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The ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance) is a network security product that is a part of Cisco’s Advanced Network Firewall portfolio. A network Firewall is a hardware or software device that sits usually at the edge of a network and provides security by allowing or denying traffic based upon a set of pre-configured rules. In large […]
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The OSPF (Open Short Path First) dynamic routing protocol is probably the most popular and most used IGP routing protocol in TCP/IP networks. Because OSPF is supported by all networking vendors, it does not have the restrictions of proprietary protocols like Cisco EIGRP for example (in terms of multi-vendor environments etc). The new Cisco CCNA […]
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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 […]
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What if I told you that there are over 700 practical Cisco networking tutorials waiting for you on a single website that can help you learn hundreds of different Cisco networking topics? The resource I’m talking about above is NetworkLessons.com and is probably one of the few online education portals with so many practical lessons on Cisco […]
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The firewall is the cornerstone of security in computer networks and I.T in general. In this website I have been talking extensively about the Cisco ASA firewall which is a classic example of a hardware network firewall. However, there are some other types of firewalls used in large enterprises, SMB or even home networks. Some […]
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I’ve been working with small and large networks for almost two decades. I can say that I have pretty much seen it all. There are so many different types of network devices that you can write a whole book about. In this article I will describe briefly the most common network device types that you […]
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One of the most useful troubleshooting features of Cisco ASA firewalls is to use the “packet-tracer” command to trace and simulate how a packet will traverse through the ASA appliance in order to identify possible problems (such as why a packet is blocked etc). The packet tracing feature was introduced in Cisco ASA firewall version […]
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In the market of networking devices, you can find both wireless routers (just like the WiFi devices we have in our homes) and wired routers which can be great performers in both small home networks and in business environments as well. In this article I have researched some great wired router models for both home […]
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Usually, commercial and enterprise grade network routers (such as Cisco, Juniper, HPE etc) run on their own proprietary operating system (OS) software which runs only on the specific vendor’s hardware devices. However, the Open Source community has developed some great Router OS software that can power commodity hardware such as x86 computers or regular SOHO […]
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The purpose of HSRP (Hot Standby Routing Protocol) is to check interfaces and other connectivity parameters, and if the interface is down then a failover takes place from Active HSRP Router to standby HSRP router. There is no direct correlation between HSRP and IPSEC. However, we can use HSRP to provide VPN tunnel failover, as […]
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