Resource Library

In this webinar, the first of two based on our Cybersecurity Foundations course, you will examine the following topics: verifying users and what they can access, ways a user can be validated to computer and network resources, how cryptography is used to protect data, symmetric and asymmetric encryption and hashes.

Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement on courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution. This white paper focuses primarily on the negotiation process, different negotiation styles, and the various elements of communication that affect the outcome, including: Negotiation Communications, Constructive Questioning, Communication Obstacles (and overcoming those obstacles), Challenging Negotiation Situations and "Traps," and, finally, completing Successful Negotiations, a.k.a. "Getting to Yes"

Need to know the difference between copper and optical fiber? Want to learn what the acronyms PBX, PC, PCI, PCIe, PCM, PDA, and PDU mean? Our "Geek Speak v3.0" can teach you all this and more. An update to our popular v2.0 "Geek Speak", this white paper will teach you more than 925 popular IT words, phrases, and acronyms.

Organizations can find significant value in adopting Agile methodologies and techniques. Agile practices can help ensure meet customer expectations, deliver products on time, and create a motivated environment that is able to quickly adapt to change. This white paper explores 12 benefits of Agile development and management, explaining why you should consider incorporating Agile methodologies into your current standards and processes.

When the hostname.domainname associated with my Small Office Home Office (SOHO) failed to update after a power outage, and a new DHCP-assigned external address was assigned to my router, I was reminded of the need for Dynamic DNS. This article will explore the implem...

As is frequently the case these days, I get a brainstorm for an article during a Cisco Security training class I conduct. This summer I taught the Securing Networks with ASA Fundamentals class, which concentrates heavily on the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM)...

No matter which IT field you're working in, there are several skills that are useful for every IT professional to know. Here, seven experienced IT professionals working in the networking, programming, project management, and security fields, share what they believe a...

As is sometimes the case, the idea for this article originated with a student question I received during one of the Securing Networks with ASA Fundamentals classes I have taught this summer. The course material mentions a simple scenario whereby IP Telephony traffic...

As any network administrator will tell you, the ASA Security appliance (as well as its forerunner, the PIX) are capable of generating massive amounts of log messages, especially when the firewall/security appliance is set to log messages at debug level to the syslog...

A feature common to IPSec Virtual Private Network implementations throughout the Cisco product line is Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). This optional additional component is now a default supplied configuration setting with the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) I...

Adding a new computer to an Active Directory domain can be a disruptive process, particularly if that computer is part of a large, high-speed deployment. Djoin.exe is a command line tool that permits the joining of a Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 computer to Active Dir...

Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) is commonly used to distribute security patches and updates for Windows operating systems and Microsoft applications. WSUS is a web application that runs within Internet Information Services (IIS) on Windows Server. When client...

I recently came across an opportunity to use a relatively new feature in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM). Suppose you are the telecom administrator at a community hospital. During business hours, the Facilities Department is staffed and team members simpl...

Occasionally as I'm teaching a Cisco training class, I get an idea for a blog post and it happened again this week. The Securing Networks with ASA Fundamentals curriculum is mostly based on the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM). While the class describes the us...

Windows Vista introduced AERO, a desktop experience that had four major elements; Windows Flip, Windows Filmstrip, AERO Glass transparency and fully realized thumbnail views on the Taskbar. Windows 7 added several new features to AERO, including AERO Snap, AERO Shake...

Private networks are under constant threat of attack, even when steps have been taken to "secure" them. The large volume of malicious codes, and their ability to evolve and adapt, requires security professionals and common computer/internet users alike to be mindful of their actions and constantly play defense. This white paper focuses on 10 common ways that malicious code can penetrate a network. Knowledge of these methods and the ability to recognize them are the first steps in preventing them from succeeding in harming your network.

The subject of this week’s post was actually prompted by a question from a former colleague.  Soon after the PIX Firewall added support for IPSec Virtual Private Networks, a command was added to the command-line, sysopt connection permit-ipsec. This command was subse...

Even in professionally managed network environments it is still possible for mistakes to happen. If an Active Directory object such as a user or computer account is accidentally deleted  network access will be lost. Worker productivity will decline until the account...

The flexibility, reduced cost, and mobility of cloud computing have made the concept a hot topic. Before implementing this method of computing, however, it is important to consider the security of the "cloud." During this webinar, we will help you understand some of the risks and benefits of cloud computing so you can decide if it is the right solution for you.

Windows 7 can be a good file server on very small workgroup networks. Although Windows 7 is limited to only 10 concurrent client connections as a file server it can do a good job making files accessible over a network. Windows 7 shares a great deal of code with Windo...

Learn how to calculate QOS Bandwidth Percent vs Bandwidth Remaining Percent using a Cisco-defined formula. Read on for answers and examples from the experts at Global Knowledge!

There are many interesting new issues that seem to have come with the addition of voice and video to the data network. Most of the engineers that are now working on VoIP networks come from either a pure data network background or a traditional phone system background...

In my last post, we learned that the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a computer networking protocol used by hosts, identified as DHCP clients, to retrieve IP address assignments and other configuration information. DHCP uses a client-server architectur...

Recently, I was asked the following question: “We plan to implement Windows 7 in our network very soon. We want to use Windows 2003 Domain Controllers for the next couple of years. Can we make the hundreds of new Group Policy setting available to Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 DCs?” This is not an unusual situation. Some organizations find they need to replace their desktop computers immediately because of age or obsolescence and others wish to upgrade to Windows 7 because of its superior security and performance. But there may be no budget or desire to upgrade to Windows 2008 or 2008 R2. Luckily, it is not difficult to adapt Server 2003 to work with Windows 7.

The flexibility, reduced cost, and mobility of cloud computing have made the concept a hot topic. Before implementing this method of computing, however, it is important to consider the security of the "cloud." In this white paper, you will learn some of the risks and benefits of cloud computing to be sure it is the right solution for you.

The definition of cloud computing depends largely on whether you are a consumer or producer. The public cloud is geared more for the individual consumer or small company, while the private cloud is geared more for a medium-to-large company. In addition, the private cloud is branching out to incorporate the ability to have some data and applications serviced from the public cloud. This white paper examines the different types of cloud computing and shows what cloud computing can offer you.

Microsoft SQL Server has evolved over the years as a scalable, robust database management system and is now competing in the VLDB (Very Large Database) space with Oracle and IBM. The market share for the product continues to grow, based on total cost of ownership and ease of use. This white paper outlines some of the important fundamentals of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 that every DBA should know.

I recently was presented with the challenge of logging ALL of the pertinent connection, disconnection, and termination messages associated with the Cisco SSL AnyConnect client without overwhelming the syslog capture display with extraneous messages. This blog will br...

Subnetting is a complicated topic that has confused students for a very long time. However, subnetting is an important topic for many different certifications with various vendors, including Cisco. In the real world environment, people are used to just punching in the numbers in many of the free subnet calculators that are readily available on the internet. For exam purposes, you still have to do this in a very fast manner since many exams are time-based and you don't have the luxury of spending those precious minutes on any single question. This Cisco training whitepaper will solve some of those age-old and complicated subnetting puzzles.

In light of the recent tragic events in Haiti, it might be a good time to review some of the requirements for a well designed Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) to be included in all of our critical network installations. As a CCNA, we are called upon to help maintai...

Internet Protocol (IP) routing protocols have one primary goal: to fill the IP routing table with the current best routes it can find. The goal is simple, but the process and options can be complicated. Routing protocols define various ways that routers chat among th...

Project procurement activities are often managed by specialists. By this I mean that the procurement department takes over responsibility for purchasing and contract management from the project manager. As a result of this separation of responsibilities, the steps and stages of procurement are often poorly understood by PMs. In this and the next few blog submissions, I will attempt to shed light on procurement activities and relate these activities to the PMI PMBOK.

Last blog we looked at how we can use Trunk groups to ease the configuration of dial-peers and digit manipulation using analog FXO ports for an E911 solution. Now let’s take a look on how it can be used for T-1 CAS configurations and ISDN channel selection. The firs...

One aspect of Unified Communications is this concept of trunk groups.  I will discuss what they are, what benefit they can provide and how to configure them for Cisco gateways. First of all the official definition of a trunk group is “A group of trunks serving the s...

There are some common misconceptions on the part of some of my students as to how VPN sessions are established from either a remote location or remote user to the ASA firewall. In particular, a “gray area” seems to be when the attributes from the tunnel group are app...

ASA and PIX software version 7.0 introduced the configuration command nat-control which didn’t exist in previous versions of code. Although training course material for both the SNAF (Securing Networks with ASA Fundamentals) and SNAA (Securing Networks with ASA Advan...

Cisco IP phones support a variety of different audio codecs. In this post, I will explain some of the differences and explain which versions of CUCM and the Cisco IP phones support the various audio codecs. Audio codecs are responsible for sampling human speech (a s...

In the previous discussion on QoS, the uses of Per-Hop Behaviors DiffServ to mark packets were identified and discussed in detail. Today’s post will identify the mechanisms to implement QoS. The five main categories of tools used to implement QoS are as follows. Cl...

No matter what book or manual you use to study for the CCNA examination, you will see various protocols and processes referencing an RFC. And, although frequently referenced, the RFCs are seldom actually included in the documentation. So, the logical question becomes...

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) includes a feature called "call throttling" that denies new call attempts when the system is in a state that may lead to delayed dial tone. The Real Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) will generate a code yellow alert when call t...