Network Engineer - Resources - General

~Can refer other links mentioned in this article........
Salary Survey 2007

~Found this article on network world site; good in general sense as well : follow the link........
20 ways to survive a layoff

~Randomnly found the following Blog for Cisco help...Some good stuff and advices for Network freaks : Click the link :

~cisco daddy
~Networking Newbie

~ Link to course content of professional Cisco certificates: Huge Change and Huge Stuff:

CCNA
CCNP BCMSN
CCNP BSCI
CCNP ISCW
CCNP ONT

~ Link to resume database of Network Engineers:
Resumes - Network Engineers

~ Subnetting - Practice - Click Here

~ Dsniff tool people using to intrude in data link layer... security issues - Click here

~ Cisco Blog

~ How to implement 802.1x

Routing Vs Routed Protocol

ROUTING PROTOCOLS
ROUTING PROTOCOLS are the software that allow routers to dynamically advertise and learn routes, determine which routes are available and which are the most efficient routes to a destination. Routing protocols used by the Internet Protocol suite include:
* Routing Information Protocol (RIP and RIP II)
* Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
* Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS)
* Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP)
* Cisco's Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
* Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
Routing is the process of moving data from one network to another network. Within a network, all hosts are directly accessable and do not need to pass data through a default gateway. All hosts on the same network are directly connected and can communicate directly with each other.

ROUTED PROTOCOLS
ROUTED PROTOCOLS are nothing more than data being transported across the networks. Routed protocols include:
* Internet Protocol
o Telnet
o Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
o SNMP
o SMTP
* Novell IPX
* Open Standards Institute networking protocol
* DECnet
* Appletalk
* Banyan Vines
* Xerox Network System (XNS)

Outside a network, specialized devices called ROUTERS are used to perform the routing process of forwarding packets between networks. Routers are connected to the edges of two or more networks to provide connectivity between them. These devices are usually dedicated machines with specialized hardware and software to speed up the routing process. These devices send and receive routing information to each other about networks that they can and cannot reach. Routers examine all routes to a destination, determine which routes have the best metric, and insert one or more routes into the IP routing table on the router. By maintaining a current list of known routes, routers can quicky and efficiently send your information on it's way when received.
There are many companies that produce routers: Cisco, Juniper, Bay, Nortel, 3Com, Cabletron, etc. Each company's product is different in how it is configured, but most will interoperate so long as they share common physical and data link layer protocols (Cisco HDLC or PPP over serial, Ethernet etc.). Before purchasing a router for your business, always check with your Internet provider to see what equipment they use, and choose a router which will interoperate with your Internet provider's equipment.

NON-ROUTABLE PROTOCOLS
NON-ROUTABLE PROTOCOLS cannot survive being routed. Non-routable protocols presume that all computers they will ever communicate with are on the same network (to get them working in a routed environment, you must bridge the networks). Todays modern networks are not very tolerant of protocols that do not understand the concept of a multi-segment network and most of these protocols are dying or falling out of use.

* NetBEUI
* DLC
* LAT
* DRP
* MOP

RUN commands for Windows

Accessibility Controls access.cpl
Accessibility Wizard accwiz
Add Hardware Wizard hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools control admintools
Adobe Acrobat (if installed) acrobat
Adobe Designer (if installed) acrodist
Adobe Distiller (if installed) acrodist
Adobe ImageReady (if installed) imageready
Adobe Photoshop (if installed) photoshop
Automatic Updates wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard fsquirt
Calculator calc
Certificate Manager certmgr.msc
Character Map charmap
Check Disk Utility chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer clipbrd
Command Prompt cmd
Component Services dcomcnfg
Computer Management compmgmt.msc
Control Panel control
Date and Time Properties timedate.cpl
DDE Shares ddeshare
Device Manager devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility cleanmgr
Disk Defragment dfrg.msc
Disk Management diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager diskpart
Display Properties control desktop
Display Properties desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility verifier
Event Viewer eventvwr.msc
Files and Settings Transfer Tool migwiz
File Signature Verification Tool sigverif
Findfast findfast.cpl
Firefox (if installed) firefox
Folders Properties control folders
Fonts control fonts
Fonts Folder fonts
Free Cell Card Game freecell
Game Controllers joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game mshearts
Help and Support helpctr
HyperTerminal hypertrm
Iexpress Wizard iexpress
Indexing Service ciadv.msc
Internet Connection Wizard icwconn1
Internet Explorer iexplore
Internet Properties inetcpl.cpl
Internet Setup Wizard inetwiz
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS) ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed) jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel (If Installed) javaws
Keyboard Properties control keyboard
Local Security Settings secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows logoff
Malicious Software Removal Tool mrt
Microsoft Access (if installed) access.cpl
Microsoft Chat winchat
Microsoft Excel (if installed) excel
Microsoft Frontpage (if installed) frontpg
Microsoft Movie Maker moviemk
Microsoft Paint mspaint
Microsoft Powerpoint (if installed) powerpnt
Microsoft Word (if installed) winword
Microsoft Syncronization Tool mobsync
Minesweeper Game winmine
Mouse Properties control mouse
Mouse Properties main.cpl
Nero (if installed) nero
Netmeeting conf
Network Connections control netconnections
Network Connections ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard netsetup.cpl
Notepad notepad
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard osk
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) ac3filter.cpl
Outlook Express msimn
Paint pbrush
Password Properties password.cpl
Performance Monitor perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor perfmon
Phone and Modem Options telephon.cpl
Phone Dialer dialer
Pinball Game pinball
Power Configuration powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes control printers
Printers Folder printers
Private Character Editor eudcedit
Quicktime (If Installed) QuickTime.cpl
Quicktime Player (if installed) quicktimeplayer
Real Player (if installed) realplay
Regional Settings intl.cpl
Registry Editor regedit
Registry Editor regedit32
Remote Access Phonebook rasphone
Remote Desktop mstsc
Removable Storage ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks control schedtasks
Security Center wscui.cpl
Services services.msc
Shared Folders fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows shutdown
Sounds and Audio mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game spider
SQL Client Configuration cliconfg
System Configuration Editor sysedit
System Configuration Utility msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)sfc /cachesize=x
System Information msinfo32

System Properties sysdm.cpl
Task Manager taskmgr
TCP Tester tcptest
Telnet Client telnet
Tweak UI (if installed) tweakui
User Account Management nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager utilman
Windows Address Book wab
Windows Address Book Import Utility wabmig
Windows Backup Utility (if installed) ntbackup
Windows Explorer explorer
Windows Firewall firewall.cpl
Windows Magnifier magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure wmimgmt.msc
Windows Media Player wmplayer
Windows Messenger msmsgs
Windows Picture Import Wizard (need camera connected) wiaacmgr
Windows System Security Tool syskey
Windows Update Launches wupdmgr
Windows Version (to show which version of windows) winver
Windows XP Tour Wizard tourstart
Wordpad write

Top 10 Start up Networking Companies

VentureWire awarded 10 start-up technology companies that are best positioned for long-term success in the data communications industry.

• Actelis Networks, Fremont, Calif., which provides technology to boost the speed, range, and reliability of copper local loop facilities
• BitBand Technologies, Netanya, Israel, which develops and markets appliances for streaming video and audio over IP networks
• Callipso, Santa Ana, Calif., which provides VoIP services to telecommunications carriers and prepaid card providers
• DataPower Technology, Cambridge, Mass., which provides network infrastructure to improve XML performance and security
• Force10 Networks, Milpitas, Calif., which develops Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet switching and routing equipment for business
• Ikanos Communications, Fremont, Calif., which develops silicon products for broadband communications over copper wiring
• Nimcat Networks, Ottawa, Ontario, which provides embedded call processing software
• P-Cube, Sunnyvale, Calif., which provides products that enable network access providers to bill based on services and applications used on their networks
• Pedestal Networks, Fremont, Calif., which develops infrastructure to enable DSL over any local loop
• Vonage, Edison, NJ, which provides voice-over-IP services

Speed Bandwidth throughput

When the Internet took off in the mid 90s, everybody was using dial-up Internet. At that 9.6Kbps and later 14.4Kbps speeds, people were sort of crawling instead of surfing the web. And downloading large files often meant you could go for a nap and wake up and still have to stare at the download bar moving from left to right. From this “slow” environment, people started referring to their Internet experience by how fast or how slow it took to view pages and download content. So people started referring to their Internet lines by speed. Technically, it is not quite accurate. When you say you have a slow 9.6Kbps dial-up line or an ultra-fast 100Mbps broadband line, you are actually referring to the maximum amount of data (kilobytes or Megabytes) that can pass through your line per second. So it is really referring to the capacity or “bandwidth” of your line, but since having a higher capacity means you are able to get more data through in the same time period, the end result is that the time taken for your to view and download your content is shorter. For the human senses, it is simply a faster experience. That is why the words speed and bandwidth have been used interchangeably in the Internet world. When you surf the Web, data packets need to travel from your computer through the huge morass of interconnected network of data-carrying lines called the Internet to the web server hosting your content and back through the Internet to your computer. Along this entire journey, there are many different hops for your data to reach its destination and back. It’s a bit like travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Some parts of the roads are wider and your data car zips through. But if there are a lot of other data cars trying to squeeze through the same lane or if the lane is really small, then your data car will take longer to pass through that part of the journey. The number that you see on your broadband plan (i.e. 512Kbps, 100Mbps, etc.) is only referring to the “last mile” of your Internet journey. Think of it like getting from your home to the Woodlands checkpoint. But it does not tell you the condition of the roads on the rest of your journey beyond Woodlands. What is the bandwidth of the other connecting roads? Are there a lot of cars on a specific road you are traveling on? So what is really important to you is how long it will take you to reach Kuala Lumpur. For Internet users, what is important is to know your end-to-end rate of data transmission – i.e. the amount of data that actually gets transmitted from your PC, through the Internet to the web server and back in a single unit of time. This is known as throughput. When you download files, you will see a bar that shows the progress of your download and a number that shows your rate of download. This is your throughput. Your throughput is never a constant, and it fluctuates even within the same download session. It will obviously always be a lower number than your 512Kbps or 100Mbps line speed. A simple analogy is to view your line speed as the maximum throughput that your can ever achieve, while your actual surfing experience is determined by your actual throughput.

Loop Back Test

A loopback test is a test in which a signal in sent from a communications device and returned (looped back) to it as a way to determine whether the device is working right or as a way to pin down a failing node in a network. One type of loopback test is performed using a special plug, called a wrap plug, that is inserted in a port on a communications device. The effect of a wrap plug is to cause transmitted (output) data to be returned as received (input) data, simulating a complete communications circuit using a single computer.

This is primarily intended as a means of testing the transmission or transportation infrastructure.Most TCP/IP implementations support a loopback interface, which is a virtual software interface, i.e., not connected to any hardware, but fully integrated into the computer system's internal network infrastructure IPv4 address used is : 127.x.x.x

Bandwidth comparison - Cross Connects

This table demonstrates the various rates at which common connections are made to the network. A 1MB file is close to the size 100 html e-mails. 10MB is the size of a nice html text version of the Bible, or of a 2-3 minute video clip. 1GB is about a CDrom and a half worth of data.

Rate (Kbits per second)	Moving 1MByte (minutes)	Moving 10MByte (seconds)	Moving 1GByte (minutes)
9.6 [old modem, terminal]	14.22	8530	14,222 (237 hours)
28.8 [avg modem]	4.74	2840	4,744 (79 hours)
33.6 [good modem]	4.06	2430	4,063 (68 hours)
56 [modern modem max, switched]	2.44	1460	2438 (41 hours)
64 [ISDN 1b]	2.13	1280	2133 (36 hours)
128 [ISDN 2b]	1.07	640	1067 (18 hours)
256	.53	320	533 (9 hours)
512	.26	160	266 (4.4 hours)
1024 (1Mb)	.13	80	133 (2.2 hours)
1536 (1.5Mb) [DSL]	.09	53	88 (1.5 hours)
1544 (1.544Mb) [T1 (24*64Kb+)]	.09	53	88 (1.5 hours)
2048 (2Mb) [E1 (32*64Kb), Cable]		40	67
3072 (3Mb) [Fractional DS3]		30	44
4096 (4Mb) [Wireless, Cable]		20	33
10Mb [Ethernet, High Cable]		8	13
34.368Mb [E3 (16*E1+, 512*64Kb+)]		2.3	4
44.736Mb [T3 (28*T1+, 672*64Kb+), DS3]		1.7	3
100Mb [Ethernet, FDDI]		.8	1.37
155.52Mb [OC-3 (3*T3), STS-3]			.88 (52 sec)
622.08Mb [OC-12 (12*T3), STS-12]			.21 (13 sec)
2488Mbps [OC-48 (48*T3), STS-48]			.05 (3.3 sec)
10,000Mbps [OC-192]			.014 (.8 sec)
13,210Mbps [OC-255]			.010 (.62 sec)

The "+" implies that there is extra framing beyond the simple multiple circuits. Thus a T3 actually has 28T1s plus some extra databits per frame for timing and such. You can't just multiply 64Kb by 672 and get the speed, there is "elbowroom" for administration in there.