Posted on in networking
You may already know that the IEEE 802.1D specification recommends a maximum network diameter of 7 hops. What you may not know is that the number 7 is derived from a series of calculations based on various timers being tuned to their default values. If you are designing a …
Posted on in Networking
If you've spent any amount of time in Cisco networking with Catalyst switches, you've probably run across a port that is in err-disabled state. The most likely place to find this is in the output of show interfaces status. A switch port can end be error disabled if the software …
Posted on in Networking
Most network administrators should be familiar with Spanning Tree Protocol (STP; IEEE 802.1D). <acronym title="Spanning Tree Protocol">STP</acronym> is tasked with ensuring there are no loops in a bridged network. Unfortunately, STP is an older protocol and doesn't quite mesh with today's high speed networks. Here are …
Posted on in Networking
<acronym title="UniDirectional Link Detection">UDLD</acronym> is a Cisco protocol designed to detect and disable unidirectional links in Ethernet (fiber or twisted-pair). In the case of a radio-based Metro Ethernet ring, UDLD goes the extra mile in preventing Spanning-Tree loops and user service interruption.
In this simple network of …
