TCP/IP Network Model
The TCP/IP Network Model is based on a four-layer reference model. All protocols that belong to the TCP/IP protocol suite, such as TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, etc., are located in …
Introduction to Ethernet
Prior to 1973, we had a network known as “sneakernet”. To get files transferred between computers, you would typically have to save the file in some form of a disk …
Increasing IP Lease Availability in DHCP
After a DHCP scope is established changes in the number of nodes that require DHCP leases may change over time. There are basically three methods to change the number of …
Load Balancing DHCP Using Split Scopes
DHCP is one of the networking services that can be very easily deployed in a fault-tolerant manner. Split-scopes are intended for scenarios where you need a highly available DHCP solution …
The DHCP Process: Negotiating a Lease
The process of obtaining an IP address from a DHCP server is fairly simple and straightforward. This basic process, while taken for granted by many network administrators, is key in …
What are Root Hints?
Root hints are DNS data stored in a DNS server. The root hints provide a list of preliminary resource records that can be used by the DNS service to locate …
What is an SOA Record in DNS?
The SOA record, or Start of Authority, specifies authoritative information about a DNS zone, including the primary name server, the email of the domain administrator, the domain serial number, and …
Best Practices When Running WINS On Your Network
There are still many organizations that maintain the Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) running on their network. This is generally because the WINS infrastructure has been in place since the …
TCP/IP Port Numbers
In computer networking, a port is a communications socket/endpoint in a computer’s operating system. A port is associated with an IP address of the host, as well as the type …
WINS NetBIOS Unique and Group Names
Microsoft networking components and NetBIOS enabled applications on computers that are configured as WINS clients will attempt to register the first 15 characters of a NetBIOS name, and the 16th …
OSI: Layer 7 – Application
The application layer is the seventh layer (layer 7) of the seven-layer OSI model. The application layer is the OSI layer closest to the end-user. This layer interacts with software …
TCP/IP NetBIOS and Host Name Resolution
This summary discusses the various methods of name resolution used by Microsoft Windows clients. On a network using TCP/IP, it is necessary to resolve NetBIOS and host names to IP …