Category: Networking Topics
Cabling: The Different Cable Types Seen On Both Old And New Networks – Copper, Fiber Optic, And More
When you get into networking, you'll have to get into cables...and there sure are a LOT of different cables. On top of that, you'll have to memorize all the connector types too. But, it doesn't stop there; bandwidth, frequency, max length, and application must be memorized as well. For this post, I'd like to leave ...
Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)
Edit (7/18/2018) - This discussion focuses on Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs). It is an introduction and a difficult concept to grasp for beginners. For intermediate-learners, I'd suggest reading this post instead. Older Networks: Our LANs can get messy. On our typically older corporate networks, there were many switches that separated different organizational units of ...
Port Mirroring on Switches
Modern switches have a lot of cool, useful features that make these devices simple to manage, but perhaps, more difficult to configure. In my last post about switches, I mentioned I'd go into a little more detail about the features that switches have to offer. One of the first features I mentioned was "port mirroring." ...
Switches Are The Way to Go
A "switch" is a Layer 2 (Data Link) device that largely replaced hubs in the early days of networking. These days, it's hard to imagine any network tech installing a hub over a switch. The greatest benefit of a switch over a hub is that is has "intelligence," well, managed switches do, at least. Managed ...
Why We Don’t Use Hubs Anymore
Hubs might appear to be Layer 2 (Data Link) devices, and I wouldn't blame you if you thought of them as such; however, hubs are actually Layer 1 (Physical) devices. Hubs are, in a sense, "dumb." They are unintelligent devices that simply provide connectivity to several devices. A long time ago, we used hubs as ...
The Cybersecurity Man 