Demystifying Commonly Misused IT Terms

black and gray laptop computer turned on doing computer codes

In the fast-paced realm of technology, jargon, and buzzwords often take center stage. Yet, amidst the whirlwind of innovation, some terms are misused or misunderstood, leading to confusion rather than clarity. Let’s untangle a few of these commonly misused IT terms and shed light on their accurate definitions. 1. Cloud Computing vs. The Cloud Misconception: … Read more

Understanding BGP Attribute Local Preference

Interconnection

Local Preference is a BGP attribute that is pivotal in influencing route selection within an autonomous system (AS). Each BGP router within an AS assigns a Local Preference value to incoming BGP routes. This value indicates the preference for routes and helps determine which route will be chosen as the best path for outbound traffic. … Read more

The Benefits of Running Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) in Your Network

1. Dynamic Routing and Scalability BGP’s ability to handle large and diverse networks makes it an ideal choice for scaling operations. It dynamically learns and adapts to changes in network topology, enabling efficient routing decisions in complex and evolving environments. Whether managing a small enterprise network or a global ISP, BGP’s scalability accommodates diverse network … Read more

iBGP vs eBGP: Understanding the Differences

Interconnection

In the intricate world of routing protocols, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) stands as a pillar, facilitating the exchange of routing information between different networks on the internet. Within BGP, two fundamental variations exist: Internal BGP (iBGP) and External BGP (eBGP). Both serve distinct purposes in managing routing within and between Autonomous Systems (ASes). Internal … Read more

Understanding the BGP No-Export Attribute

The “no-export” attribute in BGP is a configuration option applied to specific routes to restrict their propagation beyond an autonomous system’s (AS) boundaries. In the realm of BGP, ASes are individual networks or a collection of IP prefixes under a single administrative domain, and BGP facilitates the exchange of routing information between these ASes. How … Read more

Understanding the BGP Origin Code Attribute

Interconnection

Understanding the BGP Origin Code Attribute The BGP Origin Code is a mandatory attribute attached to BGP routes, indicating the origin of a particular route in the BGP table. It specifies how a route was introduced into BGP and provides crucial information about its source. There are three possible origin codes: Significance of the Origin … Read more

The Little Packet that could. A journey of a network packet through the Internet.

Blue computer wires

In the vast and interconnected landscape of the digital world, data packets are the unsung heroes that power our online experiences. These small, seemingly unremarkable data units are like the “Little Engine That Could,” tirelessly chugging along to ensure our emails, videos, and messages reach their intended destinations. In this blog post, we embark on … Read more

What is a networking packet?

As we use the internet to send and receive data, it is crucial to understand the underlying mechanics that allow this to happen. One of the most fundamental components of this process is the packet. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at packets, how they are used on the internet, and why … Read more

A tool to find out if BGP is lying to you

APNIC has a bog article on detecting “bgp lies”. https://blog.apnic.net/2021/05/24/a-tool-to-detect-bgp-lies/Do you ever wonder whether you can really trust other networks, such as your provider(s) and peers? More precisely, wouldn’t you like to be able to tell if the traffic you send always flows through the paths received in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)? Could it be that, … Read more

Common ISP outage causes

Over the years I have been able to narrow the most common reasons a service provider goes down or has an outage. This is, by no means, an extensive list.   Let’s jump in. Layer1 outages Physical layer outages are the easiest and where you should always start. If you have had any kind of formal … Read more