AutoSecure, Combines various Security command in one Cisco CLI Command

Today i Got through this AUTOSECURE Cisco CLI Command (One in almost all Basic Security commands) and want to share with you, may be some of you already know this but I am sure not 100% of you know it.

So here it is, by using a single command-line interface (CLI), the AutoSecure feature allows a user to perform the following functions:

• Disable common IP services that can be exploited for network attacks
• Enable IP services and features that can aid in the defense of a network when under attack.

This feature also simplifies the security configuration of a router and hardens the router configuration.

Benefits of AutoSecure

Simplified Router Security Configuration

AutoSecure is valuable to you without special Security Operations Applications because it allows you to quickly secure your network without thorough knowledge of all the Cisco IOS features.

What is Y in VTY Acronium (Telnet)

VTY stands for Virtual TeletYpe

Virtual Teletype (Telnet) is used to allow a Telnet connection to the router, which will then work like a console port. You must have an active interface on the router for Telnet to connect to the router.

The Virtual Teletype (VTY) lines are used to configure Telnet access to a Cisco router.

Here is an example of an administrator’s attempt to Telnet to a router that does not have the VTY lines configured:

What is Transparent Bridging

A Confusing term for Network Beginners

Like switches, a transparent bridge forwards frames based on a table of MAC addresses and outgoing ports on the device. Along the way, the packet is not altered in any way and is invisible (or transparent) to the sending and receiving devices. That is, a packet would never have the switch as its source or destination address. A transparent bridge is almost always Ethernet. A layer-2 switch, such as the Catalyst, is a transparent bridge. So, the term transparent bridge and switch can be used interchangeably.

Tips for speeding up your web browsing

Found some good tips for speeding up your web browsing experience, these will certainly help you if you have low speed internet connections

Use a fast browser
There are three main Web browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google’s Chrome. Every browser have some good features so Net users often select the browsers for their ease of use.

You can try all of the three at the same time but Google Chrome is top on the list nowadays. The great and unique feature of Google Chrome that I liked most is that it provides you to enter search strings in the URL address bar. With this feature, you don’t have to add yet another toolbar, thereby slowing down the browser even further.

Wi-Fi Certified, Cisco Partnered for Worldwide Interoperable HotSpots

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Products

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, a new program for testing products to the 802.11 industry standards for interoperability, security, easy installation, and reliability. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo is an assurance that the Wi-Fi Alliance has tested a product in numerous configurations and with a diverse sampling of other devices to ensure compatibility with other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment that operates in the same frequency band. The Wi-Fi Alliance network of independent test labs conducts interoperability testing programs to ensure that wireless devices work together and support secure connections.

What is new in FIREFOX 4.0

After google's Chrome 10.0 and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9.0, here is Mozilla Firfox 4.0 in the battle ground...

Here are some quick tips of how to use Firfox to Browse the Web

Setting your home page
Setting your home page in Firefox is easy. Just drag the site's icon to the Home button. For more about your home page and to set what tabs show when you open Firefox.

Reset Cisco Switches/Routers to its Default Factory Settings

I got a Layer 3 (c3550) Switch for my practice for CCIE labs. It is a used one, and when I started configuring the switch, I found previous configurations stored in it. 

Definitely I didn't want these configurations and wanted that the switch should be with the Factory default configurations so here is how I erased all the configurations, i.e (Old Interfaces Configs, Vlans).

To reset the switch to factory default, issue the erase startup-config or write erase command. This command does not clear the boot variables, such as config-register and boot system settings.

CLI Command for Quick Snapshot of Average Traffice Volume on up Interfaces

You should assess the utilization or bandwidth used over various connections in the network. This is especially true of switch-to-switch links—if they are heavily used, you might want to plan for expansion. You also might want to get an idea of the total traffic being passed to and from individual server or user connections.
You can do this by using a network or protocol analyzer that is set up to monitor specific switch interfaces. However, you can get a quick snapshot of average traffic volumes with the show interfaces command. A switch maintains a running 5-minute average of traffic rates into and out of each interface. The output from show interfaces displays this information along with a host of other interface statistics.
 

Macro Command at Cisco CLI

You sometimes need to make configuration changes to several groups or ranges of ports at the same time. You can define a macro that contains a list of interfaces or ranges of interfaces or both. Then, you can invoke the interface-range macro just before configuring the port settings.

This applies the port settings to each interface that is identified by the macro. The steps for defining and applying this macro are as follows:

Step 1 Define the macro name and specify as many lists and ranges of interfaces as needed. The command syntax is open ended but follows the list and range syntax of the interface range commands defined previously:

Switch(config)# define interface-range macro-name type module/number

Step 2 Invoke the macro called macro-name just as you would with a regular interface, just before entering any interface-configuration commands:

Cisco Binary Game for Mobile Devices

A fun way to learn binary numbers for networking. Before long, you’ll be converting eight-digit binary numbers to decimals in your head!

Differences between Layer 2, 3, 4 Switching / Multilayer Switching / Layer 3 Routing

Differences between layer 2, 3, 4 Switching, Multilayer switching and Routing has been given below according to the function/operation of devices

Layer 2 Switching

Devices that forward frames at Layer 2 involve the following functions:

• MAC addresses are learned from the incoming frames’ source addresses.
• A table of MAC addresses and their associated bridge and switch ports is built and maintained.
• Broadcast and multicast frames are flooded out to all ports (except the one that received the frame).
• Frames destined for unknown locations are flooded out to all ports (except the one that received the frame).
• Bridges and switches communicate with each other using the Spanning Tree Protocol to eliminate bridging loops. 

 

gns3 on Microsoft Windows or Linux ubuntu

Luckily I got a layer 3 switch c3550, and two routers 1841 and 3640, this will certainly give me a good hands on experience of Cisco routers and switches and also practice labs for CCIE Written and Lab.

But I wanted to share my experience of playing with gns3 on different operating systems, during my studies of CCNP. I practiced almost all labs on gns3 simulator (note:- some of the switching command are not supported on gns3). I installed gns3

IP Monitor tool

IP Monitor is a network monitoring software that allows you to verify the network connectivity of IP hosts on the Internet and LAN. The program periodically pings, or checks TCP ports on user specified computers (workstations, servers) or other network devices (routers). It is able to monitor IP and show notifications when the states of some computers change. You can also view and access shared folders, open web and ftp, ping, trace rout and sending messages. IP Monitor can generate status log files.

What is Android?

Developed by the Open Handset Alliance, Android brings Internet-style innovation and openness to mobile phones.
Android™ delivers a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications.

Open
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It was built to be truly open. For example, an application can call upon any of the phone's core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that was designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android is open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the

What’s new in Internet Explorer 9?

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) will be launched on Monday, March 14, and will be available for download from Microsoft's Servers.

Lets have a look on the new features and improvement in the IE9.

The improvements to Internet Explorer are as much about what you don't see as what you do see. Internet Explorer 9 has a streamlined design, fewer dialog boxes to click through, more intuitive navigation, and many new features that speed up your web browsing experience. Features like Pinned Sites let you pin your favorite website directly to the taskbar for one-click access. Other features, like hardware acceleration, deliver an

Trick to faster preparation for your Next Certification

A psychological factor, that i realized while preparing for the CCNA and CCNP was that as soon I had passed a cisco Exam i was registering for next Exam.
I completed my CCNP R&S certification in Oct-2010 and gave target myself of six month of achieving CCIE written & lab in a year, but till today i have hardly completed 10% preparation for CCIE Written.
For a week, I am thinking for registering myself  CCIE written exam, i am almost to complete the revision of CCNP Switching course. So the trick is working for me just by thinking of registering for exam.
Don't know you guys agree to me, may be I am lazy, but some how it pushes me to spare much time for studies and achieve the goal of CCIE R&S.

Reason to set idlepc value in GNS3 / What does idlepc Value mean in GNS3

Most of us set idlepc value in GNS3 but do not really know the actual reason of setting it or what it does with CPU to stop its continuous process…

Here is the brief explanation that why idlepc value is set in GNS3

When an IOS image is launched using Dynamips/GNS3 your PC will not be able to differentiate between the router’s ‘real work’ and idle routines and so the router instance will use as much resource as possible, this becomes obvious when your CPU hits 100%. ‘IdlePC’ is a value set locally that tells your computer when the router is idle or not and therefore when software needs to compute routines.

Multilayer Switching Exceptions - Packets that Need further Processing

There are some packets that are not forwarded directly by Multi layer switches, but are required further processing. To forward packets using the simultaneous decision processes, the packet must be “Multi Layer Switch-ready” and must require no additional decisions. For example, CEF can directly forward most IP packets between hosts. This occurs when the source and destination addresses (both MAC and IP) are known already and no other IP parameters must be manipulated.

Other packets cannot be directly forwarded by CEF and must be handled in more detail. This is done by a quick inspection during the forwarding decisions. If a packet meets criteria such as the following, it is flagged for further processing and sent to the switch CPU for process switching:

• ARP requests and replies

Internet BROWSER WARS, IE Losing Influence

Microsoft IE browser losing influence as Web application traffic explodes 
Internet Explorer use is dropping and Web application traffic is surging according to one study of how employees at about 2,000 companies made use of the Internet over the past year.

Use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser dropped from 76.6% in January 2010 to 64.75% by December of the same year. The Apple Safari and Google Chrome browsers, each at about 1.5%, gained about 1% by the end of 2010, and Mozilla Firefox, which started 2010 at 9.62%, had dropped to 8.74% by year-end according to the "State of the Web - Q4 2010". The study is the security vendor's annual analysis of patterns associated with millions of Web-based transactions from many thousands of individuals using the security-as-a-service cloud each day.