Routing & Switching
Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking guides covering VLANs, trunks, routing, switching, DNS, DHCP, troubleshooting, and design tradeoffs.
EVPN/VXLAN Lab First: Build a Cisco IOS XE Fabric Before Touching Production
Plan EVPN/VXLAN tests only after confirming the exact Cisco platform and image support the required features. Validate underlay, overlay and denied paths separately, with representative hardware checks before production.
RPKI, IRR, and ROA MaxLength: Routing Hygiene for Enterprises That Own Prefixes
A routing-hygiene guide for enterprises that announce public prefixes, covering RPKI ROAs, IRR objects, ROA maxLength risk, and provider turn-up checks.
Bufferbloat for Gamers: Why More Mbps Does Not Fix Ping Spikes
A gamer-friendly bufferbloat guide explaining latency under load, SQM, CAKE/FQ-CoDel, and why more bandwidth does not always fix ping spikes.
Why Your Gigabit Ethernet Is Stuck at 100 Mbps
A practical troubleshooting flow for gigabit Ethernet links negotiating at 100 Mbps because of cables, ports, terminations, or hidden old devices.
Cat6 vs Cat6A in 2026: What to Run, What to Avoid, and When Fiber Makes Sense
A practical home cabling guide for Cat6, Cat6A, DAC, multimode fiber, single-mode fiber, PoE, and what to avoid in walls.
MoCA Explained: Wired Networking Over Your Home's Existing Coax
A practical MoCA guide for turning existing coax into Ethernet-style wired backhaul for APs, consoles, PCs, and streaming devices.
Mesh vs Wired Access Points: The Home Network Decision Tree
A practical decision tree for choosing mesh Wi-Fi, wired access points, MoCA backhaul, and PoE APs in a real home network.
Cisco Catalyst C9550 vs C9350: Choose the Right Campus Role
Map C9350 access requirements and an incumbent C9500 design to a C9550 model, then verify software, optics, licensing, failure tests, and rollback before migration.
Ubiquiti Site Magic Routing: A No-Nonsense Beginner Guide to Routes, Route Injection, and Software-Defined Wide Area Network Fabric Design
A practical Site Magic routing guide covering UniFi site-to-site VPNs, route injection, subnet overlap, firewall policy, and branch troubleshooting.
Campus Segmentation Design: From VLANs to Unified Fabric
Campus segmentation should evolve from VLAN sprawl toward a hierarchy of VRFs, virtual networks, SGTs, and group-based policy that operations teams can actually manage.