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2012

  • 5 min read

Part 2 – The Joys of Subnetttting – VLSM!

So here we are on Part 2 of subnetting. What makes me laugh is that I really think a lot of people over think this stuff, and the fact that I mispelled subnetting! (Really? 4Ts) It's really not the complicated and it should not scare you. Another thing to mention is that usually in the real world you usually have calculators and another pair of eyes to double-check your work unlike the exam you will need to fully understand it if you would like to pass the ICND2 or the CCNA test. So let's get started! On Part 1 of my subnetting post I was spiting up networks into equal parts.

  • 4 min read

Part 1 - The Joys of Subnetting!

Since network technicians work with IP addressing, it is hugely important to understand subnetting. I remember back when I started to learn subnetting it was confusing and I wanted nothing to do with it. The thing that made me change my mind was after I understood it and how important it is. In the "Cisco world" they don't cover useless topics...right? ;) there is always a reason why they expect you to know this and it's not just for the exams. Subnetting has always had its moments with people and in this blog I'll do my best to show you what I have done to make subnetting an easier experience. Eons ago I talked about "The Wonders of Binary" which talked about how to convert these ones and zeros into decimal value and is another stepping stone into understanding the subnet world.

  • 2 min read

What is the Nexus 1000v?

I have worked with the Nexus 1000v product and wanted to share my thoughts on it. I want to explain in this blog what this product is and what it does. The Nexus 1000v can be virtual or a hardware appliance and is considered to be a virtual switch that runs in VMware. The major benefit to this product is the visibly you get when running in a virtual environment. Remember in the virtual environment the network engineer has a cloudy vision of what's going, because the built-in switch within VMware does not get that technical it just works.

  • 2 min read

HDLC vs. PPP

HDLC and PPP are considered to be in layer 2 of the OSI model. There are some differences between which will be describe in this post, If you would like to learn more about at least the basic configuration of PPP including PAP and CHAP check out the post I wrote about year ago.

  • 4 min read

Configure Router on a Stick

A while ago I talked about putting different VLANs on a switch, remember a VLAN is virtual network that although physically it may look like on the same network that does not always mean the case. By having VLANs you are segmenting the network and the only way to get to the other side is having a router. I have already configured the Cisco switch as posted in Creating VLANs but in summary I have three VLANs total VLAN 1 which is the native VLAN, VLAN 2 and VLAN 3 (which is called support. If you like to understand how create VLANs on a switch follow the post above. If you look at the network topology below you can see where Cisco came up with the name "Router on Stick" each PC is on its own network and needs the router in order for traffic to pass between the networks. Like before I have three VLANs total. VLAN 1 which is the native VLAN, VLAN 2 and VLAN 3 (which is called "Support").

  • 3 min read

The Three Tiers

Working towards the CCNA Cisco talks about a hierarchical network there are three layers to this design. Access Layer, distribution layer and the core layer. Each of them have their own set of functions and is also considered to be a best practice when the network continues to grow and for redundancy along with just a better way to manage it.