Network provides practical guides on business automation
Routers, Switches and Network Devices: A Complete Guide Modern computer networks depend on several types of devices working together. Routers, switches, wireless access points, firewalls, gateways, modems, and other network components each perform different functions, but their roles frequently overlap…
VLAN Explained: Access Ports, Trunk Ports, 802.1Q Tagging, Native VLAN and Inter-VLAN Routing A single Ethernet switch can connect dozens or hundreds of devices, but connecting every device to the same physical switch does not mean every device must belong…
MAC Address Table Explained: How Switches Learn MAC Addresses, Forward Frames, Flood Traffic and Age Entries Ethernet switches can forward millions of frames without knowing IP addresses, DNS names, URLs, or applications. Their fundamental forwarding decision is much simpler: Which…
ARP Explained: How Address Resolution Protocol Works, ARP Tables, Gratuitous ARP and Troubleshooting When a computer wants to communicate with another IPv4 device on the same Ethernet network, knowing the destination IP address is not enough. Ethernet switches forward frames…
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Explained: Root Bridge, BPDUs, Port Roles, RSTP and Layer 2 Loops Redundant links are essential in modern Ethernet networks. If one switch or cable fails, another path should ideally keep users, servers, wireless access points, and…
VLAN Explained: Access Ports, Trunk Ports, 802.1Q, Native VLAN and Inter-VLAN Routing A modern Ethernet network can contain hundreds or thousands of connected devices without placing every endpoint inside one enormous Layer 2 broadcast domain. One of the technologies…
Router vs Switch: Key Differences, Layer 2 vs Layer 3, VLANs and Real Network Examples Routers and switches are two of the most important devices in computer networking, but the traditional explanation—“a switch connects devices while a router connects networks”—is…
DHCP Troubleshooting Guide: Fix IP Address, Lease, APIPA, Gateway and DNS Problems A computer connects to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, but there is no Internet access. You check its network configuration and discover an address such as: 169.254.47.21 Or the device…
nftables Advanced Firewall Architecture: Building a Scalable Production Linux Firewall A Linux firewall often starts with a few simple rules: allow SSH, permit web traffic, accept established connections, and drop everything else. That approach works for a small server, but…