Are you ready for some networking theory? Let’s talk about the OSI Model!
I know, I know! Try to control your excitement on this! I
know it’s difficult (major sarcasm inserted here).
But really, seriously, if you want a job or career in the field
of computer networking you’re going to have to know all about the OSI model.
I get asked the question quite a bit: Are Networking Careers Worth Pursuing?
For several years, it was always a curiosity to me why network engineer future prospects or really anyone wanting to go into the I/T Networking field would question this and think this.
But as I began talking to other experts in the field of networking about this topic, it became clear to me WHY the question gets asked so much…
What is a VLAN and how does it work?
You seldom see a network of any size these days that does not have multiple, multiple connections coming into it from external networks (or the internet), and servers and wireless networks and any number of devices all of them interconnected together on that network and/or through it or to it.
Scarily enough, it’s not unheard of to HAVE all of these connections and devices on a SINGLE broadcast domain on your network, but this type of setup is very highly not recommended!
If you DO put all devices on the same broadcast domain, you’re asking for trouble – You could have traffic issues, collisions that never stop and most importantly you’d be putting your network at severe risk of security issues for multiple reasons (that we get more into detail with on the “New to Networking” Course).
For a correct ethernet frame format explanation, you have to understand that EVERY technology used on a network breaks the data transmitted between computers down into smaller pieces of data called “Frames”
The network interface card (NICs) on a network computer system function at Layer 2 of the OSI Model (the Data Link Layer).
And they function on this layer to encapsulate that data from the higher levels of the OSI Model into frames to allow transmission or communication on the Physical Layer (the network cables, the radio waves if you’re dealing with wireless, etc.) – all the network media being used).
[Read more…] about An Ethernet Frame Format ExplanationSo the question is often asked: What is a MAC address?
An interface to a network from a computer or server or printer (or really anything that connects to a network) that interface enables that computing device to send and receive data across the network.
It’s typically referred to as the “network interface” All modern computing devices have a network interface either wired to connect to an Ethernet network using Ethernet cables like these or wireless to connect to a wireless Access Point (AP).
When looking at the list of components that make up the real lifeblood of a network you have to begin by talking about the network adapter (or the NIC).
NIC stands for Network Interface Card. It’s the lowest cost most necessary component to have in order for computers, servers, printers, copiers and any other devices to allow them to actually connect to a network.
[Read more…] about The NIC
