Byte-Size Beginner

That moment when you know there has to be something more, but you can’t quite put your finger on it… that is the moment I just had. So, a lot of us know that Ipv6 are unique addresses assigned to devices that are connected to the internet. The unique address that contains the network and the host address, I was under the assumption that the IP address was randomly generated from your internet service provider. While it does technically come from your ISP, it’s not just a ‘made on the spot’ number that they put together. There is actually a hierarchy to this! At the top of the IP address hierarchy is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and are the ones that send large amounts of addresses to Regional Internet Registries. The RIRs are then responsible for distributing them to Local internet Registries (this would be your ISP). Now that your ISP has a selection of usable IP addresses, they can then select any of the ones from their pool of addresses and provide it to the end-...

  Virtual Private Networks, they have so many more uses than what people have been recently trying to use it for (you know, the news that has swept the nation with the recent application restrictions). I see a lot of people using them as a way to get around geo locations. It was also popular with the Pokémon go app, so people could catch all the good Pokémon. But that is beside the point. It’s interesting that a lot of people I know personally, only associate VPNs with bypassing geo locations. There are a lot of uses that a VPN can be used for and offer great benefits. For instance, protecting your online privacy, encrypting data, using public wi-fi in a more secure manor, and even working remotely. Having a VPN is an extra layer of security that can help minimize or even element certain risks a user may face when working with sensitive data or even public wi-fi… lets face it, wi-fi spoofing is real, and you would not want to get tangled in that web. There are a lot of services...

  In the computer world, there are protocols for everything… it keeps things moving or flowing properly. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or as most commonly seen as TCP/IP. One would assume that it is its own separate protocol that just dictates how data is transferred. Or at least I did… it’s more then how packets of information being sent from one place to another. it is more of an umbrella term, and it encompasses various other protocols, like hypertext transfer protocol or what most people see as HTTP, or even the email protocol is categorized under the TCP/IP. Fun fact, TCP/IP was originally developed under the US Department of Defense!! It’s interesting to find out that the DoD is responsible for more than just military. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/cyber-vault/2019-04-03/cyber-brief-foundations-internet-tcpip-research-department-defense

  Every house and business has an address… Could you imagine how things would be if addresses didn’t exist… now that would be chaos; with everyone getting lost or using the ‘if you pass the railroads tracks, you went to far’ or maybe even ‘take a right at the second road, then a left at the first intersection’ *yikes*. Having an address is important when wanting to travel, or even send mail. Similarly to the addresses we use in our daily lives, computers and networks also use address… except those are called IP addresses!!! This allows data being sent over a network to know where it’s going and where it came from… it’s a virtual address. Although, what I thought was pretty cool was how there are two different types of IP addresses, Dynamic and Static.  The key differences are that dynamic changes after a period of time, are automatically assigned by the networks DHCP, and a typically more common with ISPs and home networks. Whereas a static IP address is permanent, manually ...

  In theory setting up a network seems pretty easy…and straight forward. Well, it can be if you know what you’re doing. I personally do not, and finding out how much planning it actually takes to install a business network is astonishing. Drastically different than setting up a home network. Which does make sense since it requires extensive installation. Getting the floor plans of the building you will be working in, making a plan as to where the cables will be, where they are dropping down from, and the path the cables will take from the server room to each office, what types of cabling will be used etc. Whether you want the cabling to run inside the wall, or outside…with the most important part of where the server room will be located at in the building. I was surprised to realize how much time it takes from beginning to end, and it's so much more then "just running" cables. Could you imagine how chaotic it would be to do all of this with out a plan?  The complexity a...

  Back in the day, data transfer wasn’t as easy as it is now… we now have various ways we can send data from one computer to another without the need to have a computer directly connected together: whether it be Bluetooth, cloud services, email, or sharing files locally over a network. Unfortunately, it never used to be this easy, at one point if you wanted to share data or transfer it from one computer to another you had to physically transfer the data. Meaning you would need to put the file on a storage device and then use that same storage device on the computer you wanted to add the file to. Eventually it upgraded to file or data transfers from one device to another by use of an ethernet cable What intrigues me the most regarding ethernet file transfer is how the data moves… I have always been curious… does it just slide from one end to another, or maybe it’s portrayed like you see in the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet. Unfortunately… it’s not that cool! It’s actually sen...

  Who knew that there are cables that are fire rated?! While there is a plethora of different types of cables… there are cables that are designed and or rated for different types of environments. This is designed to reduce the risks of producing toxic fumes/smoke. These cables are plenum-rated cable and PVC-rated cables, the primary difference is that plenum cables produce fewer toxic fumes and less smoke compared to a PVC cable. When installing new cables, it is important to decide which cable is better rated for your project and location. For instance, when installing a cable in a drop ceiling, using a plenum cable is your better choice as it has a protective coating that has the ability to withstand a higher temperature. This means that in the event of a fire there will be considerably fewer toxic fumes vs a PVC rated cable. On the other hand, if you need to install a general-purpose cable that is not going through an area that has active air flow (near or around HVAC) you can...