Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

If you’ve ever been in charge of IP address assignment, you’ve come across the terms classful and classless addressing. If you haven’t, the main difference between classful and classless addressing is in the subnet length: classful addressing uses fixed-length subnet masks, but classless uses variable length subnet masks (VLSM).

The TCP/IP protocol sometimes shows its age. It was invented in an era when networks were very slow and packet loss was high. So one of the main considerations in early protocol design was reliability. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) has built-in mechanisms for reliability that include validating a checksum on every packet, as well as detection and retransmission of dropped or out-of-order packets.

Is that a bird’s nest or is it spaghetti? Have you ever asked that question when looking into a IT wiring closet? At some point in your tenure as a network manager, you’ve likely been asked to inventory a network and create a network topology diagram.

For new networkers, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) can be an intimidating topic. Many old-timers speak of spanning-tree in ominous tones, recounting the time when a “spanning-tree loop” brought down the network. Some managers strictly forbid anyone from changing anything related to the spanning tree, fearing a resulting service interruption. Some of the fear surrounding spanning trees is likely based on bad experiences, but some are based on ignorance—at least partly.

Let me start by saying that spanning tree is a Good Thing. It saves you from loops, which will completely shut down a network. But it has to be configured properly to work properly. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a client call me, desperate with a terribly broken network, and I’ve responded, “Sounds like a spanning tree problem.” There are many ways things can go wrong with spanning tree. In this article, I’ve collected six of the recurring themes.

With numerous options available for network monitoring, finding the right fit for your business can be a daunting task. It’s essential to sift through the noise and focus on what truly matters: a solution that meets your organization’s specific needs. PeerSpot, an enterprise buying intelligence platform, offers valuable insights into how various solutions, including Auvik Network Monitoring, perform in the real world.

SaaS is everywhere. And that’s often a good thing (hello, productivity!). However, plenty of shadow IT statistics demonstrate why that’s not always the case and clarify the need for SaaS Ops. For example, Security Magazine found that 31% of ex-employees still have access to their old employer’s SaaS tools. That stat’s cybersecurity and compliance implications are enough to make a CISO shudder!

Today’s IT teams are facing a greater demand for services than ever before, and often doing so with increasingly limited resources. This inevitably leads to one of the most common yet challenging decisions corporate IT leaders must face throughout their career: should we keep this in-house, or should we outsource it? Understanding the nuances of the MSP vs internal IT debate is the first step to making an informed choice for your business.

Imagine your company’s network is like a busy city’s road system. Just like roads have traffic moving back and forth, your network has data packets traveling to and from destinations. But when the roads get too crowded, or a suspicious vehicle makes its way onto the highway, it can cause traffic jams and security incidents that impact the organization. That’s where NetFlow analyzers come in. In this article, we’ll break down the basics of NetFlow analyzers.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital connectivity, businesses face a relentless demand for faster, more reliable networks. Whether it’s the surge in remote work, the proliferation of devices that can connect to the internet, or the exponential growth of data-intensive applications, the strain on network infrastructure is ever-growing. In this era where every byte counts, network capacity planning emerges as a critical strategy for organizations seeking to stay ahead in the digital race.