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LANs Local Area Networks

• OpenFlow protocol primer: Looking under the hood

  We know the OpenFlow protocol can be used to abstract the network control plane from underlying physical infrastructure, but how exactly does the protocol work? Continue Reading

• Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP)

  Network access protection (NAP), introduced with Windows Server 2008, is Microsoft’s approach to controlling access to a network based on a determination of each device’s health. Continue Reading

• A DevOps primer for network engineers

  DevOps is a movement promoting better collaboration between developers and system administrators. In this primer, we explore how it might affect networking pros. Continue Reading

• Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)

  Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a simple protocol that encapsulates packets in order to route other protocols over IP networks, as defined by RFC 2784. Continue Reading

• darknet

  A darknet is a routed allocation of IP address space that is not discoverable by any usual means. Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
  • URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
  • SD-WAN (software-defined WAN)
  • IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6)

  • fiber optics (optical fiber)
  • nslookup
  • VPN (virtual private network)
  • software-defined networking (SDN)

  View All Definitions

• dynamic multipoint VPN (DMVPN)

  A dynamic multipoint virtual private network (DMVPN) is a secure network that exchanges data between sites without needing to pass traffic through an organization's headquarter VPN server or router.Continue Reading

• context-aware network access control

  Context-aware network access control (CANAC) is an approach to managing the security of a proprietary network by granting access to network resources according to contextual-based security policies.Continue Reading

• Cisco Integrated Service Routers Generation 2 (ISR G2)

  ISR G2 is a second generation Integrated Services Router (ISR) from Cisco Systems, Inc.Continue Reading

• Network auditing tools for war driving: Video and quiz

  Test your knowledge of network auditing tools by viewing this video and taking the quiz that follows. Know how to best tackle network access points and get a chance to be rewarded.Continue Reading

• Wireless wide area networks: A primer on WWAN technology and uses

  A wireless wide area network (WWAN) has several possibilities for uses and comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Learn about the WWAN in this primer.Continue Reading

• Hotspot 2.0 primer: Another step toward Wi-Fi/cellular integration

  Hotspot 2.0 and the IEEE 802.11u protocol could allow mobile device users to securely roam between Wi-Fi and cellular networks without stopping to authenticate.Continue Reading

• Common AS/400 FTP questions answered

  WAN engineers may have questions regarding AS/400 FTP. In this FAQ, get answers on some of the most common questions, such as how to make your AS/400 visible to an FTP server.Continue Reading

• NVGRE standard primer: More VLANs and isolated tenants in the cloud

  Microsoft's NVGRE standard offers competition to VMware's VXLAN standard, promising to create more VLANs that stretch across Layers 2 and 3 for multi-tenant cloud networks.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization benefits and challenges: A primer

  Storage virtualization benefits abound, but along with the ability to implement dynamic storage provisioning for the cloud come some complications…including latency.Continue Reading

• VXLAN standard primer: Extended VLANs, long-distance VM migration

  The VXLAN standard aims to solve the long-distance VM migration dilemma by enabling extended VLANs across geographically dispersed data centers for a multi-tenant cloud network.Continue Reading