OmniTraining

Learning to be Tolerant of Diverse Protocols

As the networking 101 series begins moving on up the stack, toward the layers involved with routing, we must pause for a moment. Some attention needs to be paid to the most misunderstood protocol: ICMP. Managers and administrators alike should understand what ICMP is really used for if they plan on making firewall policy decisions , and administrators can use ICMP knowledge to fully understand routing issues.

Networking 101: Understanding TCP, the Protocol

Don't worry, we aren't going to throw the header at you and tell you to read RFC 793. This is a gentle introduction, or demystification, if you will.

TCP is used everywhere, and understanding how TCP operates enables network and systems administrators to properly troubleshoot network communication issues. The focus of our second part on TCP will be on examining some common issues with TCP, including window scaling problems, congestion, and of course the mechanics of a TCP connection.

Last week's TCP Introduction promised that this TCP article would enlighten, entertain, and obviate all other documentation. Well the last one isn't quite possible in this much space, but let's go ahead and take a look at TCP operational issues, now that we know a little about what TCP actually is.

To understand something in the network world, and the entire IT world, means that you understand the problem it’s trying to solve. Memorizing the configuration options for a certain routing protocol won’t help you until you understand what it’s really doing. This Networking 101 issue is designed to be a gentle introduction into the world of routing issues and concepts.