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What DHCP does DHCP, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, is the system that hands out network settings automatically. Every device on a network needs a few things to function: its own IP address, so other devices can find it; the address of the router that leads out to the internet; and the address of a DNS … Read more
What a VPN actually does VPN stands for virtual private network, and the idea is right there in the name. It builds a private, encrypted tunnel across a network you do not control, usually the public internet, so that two points can talk as though they were sitting on the same protected local network. Anything … Read more
What SNMP actually does SNMP, the Simple Network Management Protocol, is the shared language that lets one system keep tabs on all the others. Almost everything on a modern network speaks it: switches, routers, servers, printers, even the battery backup humming away under a desk. The idea is refreshingly simple. Each device runs a small program … Read more
So what is Spanning Tree Protocol? Spanning Tree Protocol, usually shortened to STP, is the system that keeps the network of switches inside a building from forming loops. A loop is simply more than one path between the same two points, and on a local network a loop is surprisingly dangerous. It was invented by … Read more
So what is BGP? BGP stands for Border Gateway Protocol. In plain terms, it’s the standardised system the internet uses to exchange routing and reachability information between large networks. That’s the textbook definition, and it really is the heart of it, so let’s unpack it. The internet isn’t a single network. It’s tens of thousands of separate … Read more
First, what a trunk is To see why DTP matters, you need the idea of a trunk, and for that you need VLANs. A VLAN, or virtual LAN, is a way of slicing one physical network into several logical ones. The guest wifi, the staff computers, the card terminals and the security cameras can all … Read more
What it actually does A firewall sits at the boundary between two networks, usually between yours and the internet, and decides what is allowed to cross. Every piece of traffic trying to get in or out is checked against a set of rules, and anything that does not match is dropped. A sensible firewall runs on a … Read more
The internet’s address book Computers do not find each other by name. They find each other by number, an IP address, a string like 172.217.16.196 that means nothing to a person and everything to a machine. DNS is the system that translates between the two, turning the orbit-computer-solutions.com you type into the numbered address your … Read more
The switch: the office’s internal post room A switch connects the devices inside your network to each other. The computers, printers, phones, servers and wifi access points all plug into it, and its job is to move data between them quickly and only to the right place. When your laptop sends a document to the printer down … Read more
