Network infrastructure
Network hardware and physical appliances, such as routers, switches, gateways, hubs and bridges, serve as the vital foundation of network infrastructure. Common network protocols and more emergent network software also play major roles in any architecture. While networking has shifted to software-centric principles, see how traditional network infrastructure keeps pace.
Top Stories
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Opinion
19 May 2025
How AIOps enables next-generation networking
As networks grow more complex, management becomes more difficult. AIOps can help network administrators transition to and manage next-generation networks. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 May 2025
BGP routing: A configuration and troubleshooting tutorial
BGP is the internet's core routing protocol, enabling communication between ISPs and large networks. This guide covers its functionality, configuration and troubleshooting essentials. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Oct 2015
Persuading management to support the IT buying process
What steps should you take to get your network buying needs approved by top management? One piece of advice: Learn what your manager needs. Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2015
Brocade makes the enterprise wireless network more open
Brocade has partnered with two more Wi-Fi vendors to offer enterprise customers a more flexible wireless network. Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2015
HP rallies partners around OpenSwitch as Cisco replacement
The HP-led OpenSwitch community is likely to attract the interest of large enterprises with Web-scale data centers. Continue Reading
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News
06 Oct 2015
Cisco Mobility Express aims to make wireless easier
In this week's blogs, analysts discuss Cisco Mobility Express and examine whether enterprise networks can really handle an explosion of Internet of Things devices. Continue Reading
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Buyer's Guide
05 Oct 2015
Wireless LAN technology: A buyer's guide
This SearchNetworking buyer's guide explores wireless LAN technology to help you buy the right wireless LAN equipment for your enterprise. Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2015
Cisco to open SDN framework to nonpartner products
Cisco is preparing to open up ACI, the company's SDN framework, to nonpartner products that provide Layer 4-7 network services. Continue Reading
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News
30 Sep 2015
SDN/NFV end-games, paths forward remain in flux
In this week's blogs round-up, an analyst predicts that SDN/NFV will see decisive changes in 2016, while a blogger says open source SDN projects are gaining steam. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 Sep 2015
What's the best way to handle end-of-sale devices on your network?
A majority of organizations have end-of-sale and end-of-life devices on their networks. What's the best way to ensure your equipment is up to date? Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2015
HP adds Pica8 to broaden use of Altoline SDN switch
HP agrees to resell the Pica8 network operating system on the Altoline SDN switch. Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2015
Comcast to offer enterprise network management services
Comcast enters the market for enterprise network management services as more large companies opt to have other businesses handle networking chores in data centers. Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2015
Latest Brocade ODL controller, apps ease use of open source in cloud
Brocade has released an ODL controller upgrade and apps for building private and public clouds based on OpenDaylight and OpenStack. Continue Reading
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News
01 Sep 2015
Wi-Fi update 802.11ac set to take over in 2016
Research firm IDC expects the latest Wi-Fi update 802.11ac to account for the majority of access point shipments and revenue in 2016. Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2015
VMware updates SDN platform for data center networking
VMware releases a new version of its SDN platform. Network administrators are expected to welcome the latest NSX features. Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2015
Xirrus unveils high-capacity 802.11ac Wave 2 access point
Xirrus plans to release in October an 802.11ac Wave 2 access point. The device is expected to fill a niche in the wireless market. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Aug 2015
NIA: Saisei's FlowCommand SDN appliance secures network flows
Saisei, our latest Network Innovation Award winner, uses its FlowCommand virtual SDN appliance to control network flows and prevent individual users from hogging bandwidth. Continue Reading
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News
21 Aug 2015
Container IT gets boost with Docker enhancement
In this week's SN blogs, analysts discuss Docker, the real value of an industry certification and the capabilities of a new Linux project aimed at virtualized environments. Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2015
Big Switch SDN fabric gets better OpenStack, VMware support
The Big Switch SDN fabric upgrade improves OpenStack and vSphere support for cloud providers and high-scale data centers. Continue Reading
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News
13 Aug 2015
Analysts: SDN wouldn't have prevented United Airlines network outage
Some speculate that SDN could prevent a network outage like the one that brought United Airlines to a screeching halt. Others, however, say the industry needs an SDN reality check. Continue Reading
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News
12 Aug 2015
Google Fiber targets San Antonio for fiber optic cable rollout
Google Fiber plans to lay 4,000 miles of fiber optic cable in the San Antonio area; FCC voted to revise IP transition rules. Continue Reading
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Opinion
12 Aug 2015
SDN monitoring means new transitions for engineers
SDN network management means tools are transforming from listening mode to active mode. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2015
ICYMI: Brocade assists CERN with open SDN
Brocade teams up with CERN openlab to create an SDN strategy for the "new IP," while Fujitsu offers Midokura's software in its OpenStack cloud architecture. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2015
News recap: FCC OKs $48.5 billion AT&T-DirecTV deal
After a year of review, the FCC approved the AT&T-DirecTV acquisition. Additionally, the FCC might add mobile speeds to its broadband review. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jul 2015
Juniper rise could be good news for enterprise tech buyers
Juniper Networks is selling to more enterprises, a trend that could heat up the competition for the wallets of tech buyers. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jul 2015
ICYMI: Masergy expands cloud marketplace with Microsoft Azure
Masergy has added the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to its cloud marketplace, while Sonus demonstrated that its SDN controller can be used with Skype for Business. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jul 2015
SN blogs: Hybrid approach to corporate WAN merits study
This week, analysts examine the advantage of hybrid WANs and discuss the emergence of Microsoft as a viable MDM provider. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2015
News recap: Wi-Fi Aware to connect nearby smartphones
New Wi-Fi Aware will enable smartphones within close proximity to communicate with each other; a new program will provide Internet access to public housing residents. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2015
Plexxi aims low-latency switch at emerging workloads
Plexxi launched a low-latency switch that's suitable for high-frequency financial trading. The Switch 2 Series is also aimed at analytics applications and cloud data centers. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2015
IEEE group advocates random MAC addresses for Wi-Fi security
An IEEE group advocates random MAC addresses for increased Wi-Fi security, while networking pros say enterprise security isn't strong enough for moving applications to the cloud. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2015
Extreme adds muscle to Wi-Fi appliances
Extreme Networks introduces Wi-Fi appliances that can manage considerably more access points than previous versions. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jan 2015
Ethernet switch market to hit $25 billion; Verizon feels mobile carrier war
In telecom news, the Ethernet switch market is expected to reach $25 billion, while Verizon's Q4 report shows the impact of mobile carrier competition. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Oct 2014
Three ways to measure wireless network performance
Trying to find ways to assess your wireless network performance? Here are some tools that can help. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Oct 2014
With MPLS-TP and SDN, a simpler dynamic control plane
MPLS-TP transforms carrier networks for packet switching, but SDN could take it a step further. Combining the technologies, engineers could reduce complexity in the dynamic control plane and gain flexible service creation. Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2014
VMware NSX locks network security down with micro-segmentation
At VMworld 2014, VMware highlighted the network security benefits of NSX, with micro-segmentation that makes every VM an island. Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2014
F5 BIG-IQ meets VMware NSX for L4-7 orchestration
Cloud architects can now automate the instantiation of F5 network services on VMware NSX networks through new F5 BIG-IP integration with NSX. Continue Reading
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Answer
10 Jul 2014
Will MPLS traffic engineering technology help you?
MPLS traffic engineering can improve VPN performance to ensure data travels the most efficient path. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Jul 2014
GENEVE primer: The answer to network virtualization interoperability?
The GENEVE network encapsulation protocol is more flexible than VXLAN and NVGRE. Will it bring interoperability to network virtualization overlays? Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Jul 2014
Don't ignore this great wireless training resource
Online wireless support communities are a great resource for IT professionals who need their questions answered quickly. Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 Apr 2014
Identify this network convergence nomenclature: You could be a winner
As the admin and platform owner of a project, Patrick Hubbard has to monitor everything, and he coined a new term that describes that responsibility. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Feb 2014
Hyper-V networking: The three virtual switches that fuel connectivity
In this Hyper-V networking primer, learn about the three virtual switches behind Microsoft virtualization connectivity. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Aug 2013
Are there alternatives to the OpenFlow protocol?
Jason Edelman explains OpenFlow protocol alternatives and what's important in determining which southbound protocol will work for you. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Jun 2013
compatibility
In the world of IT, compatibility refers to the ability of software and hardware from different sources to work together without having to be altered to do so. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2013
News briefs: Red Hat OpenShift Online goes live; Lenovo pushes cloud
This week, Red Hat's OpenShift Online rolls out for commercial use, Lenovo enters the cloud market and NTT deploys VMware network virtualization. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Jun 2013
What is Ethernet-dedicated Internet?
Ethernet-dedicated Internet is a continuous, high-bandwidth way for enterprises to connect their LANs to the public Internet and to streamline the performance of their WAN. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2013
Interop Conference 2013
Your home for all the news at Interop Conference 2013. Cloud computing, SDN, big data, virtualization, data center networking and more from New York City. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Apr 2013
Primer: A new generation of programmable ASICs
Programmable application-specific integrated circuits allow the data plane of switches to support new technologies, like software-defined networking. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Mar 2013
How to plan for a campus core switch refresh: Basic requirements
Network architects and engineers discuss the features and functions they look for when planning a campus core upgrade. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Mar 2013
Centralized vs. decentralized SDN architecture: Which works for you?
Two SDN architecture models -- centralized and decentralized -- have much in common, but key differences center on the use of the OpenFlow protocol. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Jan 2013
Networking 2012: Top ten news stories of the year
The top ten networking news stories of 2012 reflect the tectonic shift in network technology, including software-defined networking and BYOD Wi-Fi. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
19 Dec 2012
Networking 2012: Top ten news stories of the year
The top ten networking news stories of 2012 reflect the tectonic shift in network technology, including software-defined networking and BYOD Wi-Fi. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Nov 2012
Will we ever need 400 Gigabit Ethernet enterprise networks?
With 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet so new, what could possibly drive the need for 400 Gigabit Ethernet in the enterprise? Hint: It’s not just the WAN. Continue Reading
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Report
18 May 2012
Interop 2012: Conference Coverage recap
Check out our news, views and video from Interop 2012 in Las Vegas, which covered new service offerings, product announcements and networking trends. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Aug 2010
Using virtual appliances and desktop virtualization
IT organizations are implementing desktop virtualization and virtual appliances for virtual WAN optimization and virtual application delivery, but there are challenges to overcome along the way. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Dec 2009
Avaya-Nortel acquisition: Infamous end; questionable beginning
The Avaya-Nortel acquisition was one of the more notable top networking stories of 2009, marking the end of a legacy player and a questionable beginning for Avaya as it struggles with whether to integrate the Nortel data networking portfolio. Continue Reading
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Answer
04 Feb 2009
Difference between circuit-switching and packet-switching in examples
What is the difference between a circuit switching and packet switching? Our networking fundamentals expert gives examples of packet switching and circuit switching in this response. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Jul 2007
Optical networks: Core network design best practices
Core optical network design must take into consideration network requirements specific to the core, including a high degree of aggregation, low reconfigurability, and large geographic scope, while confronting such challenges as router adjacency, service interconnection and overall management. Continue Reading
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Answer
20 Apr 2007
What equipment do I use to connect two LANs in different cities? What are the steps?
How do you connect two LANS from different cities? VPN expert Sampath Ramaswami notes the steps to be taken, in this Q&A. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Feb 2007
Cisco wireless access point configuration from scratch
Learn what the Cisco 1242 wireless access point can do for you and how to configure one from scratch. This tip covers basic security settings, enabling the wireless radios, and how to make a successful connection. The 1242AG is a powerful business-grade wireless AP with lots of features. Continue Reading
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Answer
25 Nov 2006
Half duplex vs. full duplex Ethernet 10BASE-T topologies
Ever wonder why half duplex Ethernet 10BASE-T topologies have a slower data transmission rate than full duplex Ethernet 10BASE-Ttopologies? Find out in this expert response by Lindi Horton. Continue Reading
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Answer
25 Nov 2006
What are the fundamental principles of CDMA?
In this Q&A, our expert, Lindi Horton gives us an explanation of what CDMA is and what some of its fundamental principles are. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Nov 2006
IP addressing and subnetting: Calculate a subnet mask using the subnet's formula
IP addressing and subnetting are an important part of networks. Learn how the subnet's formula works and why it's important to know how to calculate the subnet mask "longhand." Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Aug 2006
Duplex mismatch
What is duplex, and what is the difference between half and full duplex? What is a duplex mismatch? How can autonegotiation help or hurt your network? How can you resolve duplex conflicts? In this tip, David Davis helps networking engineers and newcomers understand the issues behind one of the most troublesome problems plaguing today's networks. Continue Reading
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Definition
07 Aug 2006
Kbps (kilobits per second)
In the U.S., Kbps stands for kilobits per second (thousands of bits per second) and is a measure of bandwidth (the amount of data that can flow in a given time) on a data transmission medium. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Apr 2006
Wi-Fi vulnerability assessment checklist
Vulnerability assessments can help you find and fix WLAN weaknesses before attackers take advantage of them. But where do you start? What should you look for? Have you covered all the bases? This checklist will help to answer these questions. Continue Reading
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Definition
21 Sep 2005
well-known port numbers
The well-known port numbers are the port numbers that are reserved for assignment by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for use by the application end points that communicate using the Internet's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Continue Reading
- Answer 20 Jul 2005
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Tip
17 Mar 2005
Focus Windows port scanning with the netscan command
How to use the netscan command to focus Windows port scanning. Continue Reading
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Answer
11 Jan 2005
Can you assign an IP address ending in .0 or .255?
Learn how to assign an IP address ending in .0 or .255 from networking fundamentals expert Chris Partsenidis in this Q&A. Continue Reading
- Answer 22 Nov 2004
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Tutorial
07 Oct 2004
Routing First-Step: IP header format
Routing and Internet addressing are two important concepts involved in networking. Routing First-Step covers the basics of routing in clear, easy-to-understand language. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
26 Jul 2004
Five critical planning steps for wireless LANs, Step 5: Manageability -- Switching to WLAN switches
This article explains how WLAN switches will help to alleviate manageability issues. Continue Reading
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