TTCP Utility

TTCP Utility - Test TCP (TTCP) Benchmarking Tool for Measuring TCP and UDP Performance

TtcpTx .NET V1.0.0.3
The .NET forms-based TTCP transmitter C# code was cleaned up by Matthew Armatis. His revision provides a vast improvement over the preliminary implementation by TFD.
PCATTCP V2.01.01.08

Socks Puppet - Socks 5 Server

Socks Puppet - Socks 5 Server
Socks Puppet is a multithreaded socks 5 server for Windows NT/2000/XP 98/ME.

Downloads:
Socks Puppet GUI: SocksPuppet-Setup.exe
Orginal Socks Puppet here: sockspuppet.zip
Check the readme here: readme.txt

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 7.0

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 7.0
ActiveXperts Network Monitor is a network and server monitoring tool that allows administrators to monitor the network for failures and irregularities automatically. It can monitor all aspects of your LAN- and WAN servers, workstations and IP devices.For years, System Administrators, Network Operators and Helpdesk Employees have relied upon the power, flexibility and reliability of the ActiveXperts Network Monitor tool.ActiveXperts' powerful Network Monitor Engine technology has been adopted by several software companies all over the world. ActiveXperts' Network Monitoring technologies is used by thousands of companies all over the world, making ActiveXperts the leading provider of Network Monitoring solutions.The mission of the product is to maximize the reliability of your production servers and applications through the automatic detection and correction of problems and issues.The product runs as a service on the Windows 2003/2000/XP/NT platform. ActiveXperts Network Monitor supports Windows, UNIX, Linux and Novell platforms. When problems are detected, you're immediately notified by network message, e-mail or SMS message. When a failure is detected, the network monitor tool will try to correct the problem.

ADSI and Active Directory checks

ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks different kinds of Directory Services. One of them is the Active Directory Service. ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks different kinds of Directory Services, like Active Directory, NTDS (NT4 based SAM account database), and Novell NDS Directory Service to query users, groups, and so on.
You can configure ActiveXperts Network Monitor to check user accounts (locked out, disabled, etc.), computer Accounts, Groups, Group membership, Organizational Units, and so on.
For more information about ADSI checks, click here.


Anti-Virus check

The Anti-Virus check allows monitoring various popular Anti-Virus packages on workstations and servers. The following Anti-Virus software packages are supported:
McAfee VirusScan Enterprise;
Norton AntiVirus 2005;
NOD32;
Kaspersky AntiVirus Server;
Kaspersky AntiVirus Workstation;
Norman AntiVirus 5
The Anti-Virus checks are implemented as VBScript functions (ANTIVIRUS.VBS). You can make modifications to the script, to enhance your Anti-Virus checks. .
For more information about Anti-Virus check, click here.


CPU Usage check

Monitor processor(s) on Windows platforms. Alert when CPU usage reaches a certain level.
For more information about the CPU Usage check, click here.


Directory Size check

Disk space is your server's most expensive subsystem, so it's a good practice to monitor - for instance - user's Home Directories.
For more information about the Directory Size check, click here.


Disk Drive check

Monitor physical disk drives on servers running the Windows operating system. If a malfunctioning disk drive is detected on the computer, an alert is being generated.
For more information about the Disk Drive check, click here.


Disk Space check
The amount of free disk space is checked periodically, and if it drops too low you're immediately notified. It can also notify if used space gets too high.
For more information about the Disk Space check, click here.


DNS Server check
Checks if a DNS server is working well by reading a particular 'A' record on the DNS server and verifying the result.
For more information about the DNS check, click here.


Event Log check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can read Windows Event logs on local- or remote computers. It can look for specific Event Sources, Categories, Event ID's and so on. It can look for a pattern in the Description of the Event.
It can do advanced filtering in Event Logs; it can look for multiple events in the Event Log, and notify the system administrator if one of the Events occurred in a specific time interval. For instance, as a network administrator, you want an alert if there's a McAfee or Norton virus message in the Application Event Log, but only if the event is posted in the last 30 minutes.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor uses VBScript and WMI for this. It enables you to fully customize Event Log filtering, speeding up performance by checking for more than one event in each cycle.
For more information about the Event Log check, click here.


File check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can monitor file existence and file size. This is particularly useful in situation where results of scheduled batch jobs needs to be checked. In many organizations, batch jobs run at night and produce logging information; ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check this logging information and analyze it. It can check the existence, or search for patterns.
For more information about the File check, click here.


FTP check
FTP is usually run over TCP using the default port of 21. ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check the availability of FTP sites. If the FTP server is not directly accessible, you can configure ActiveXperts Network Monitor to go through a proxy to access the particular FTP server, even passing credentials for that proxy server (to be able to make use of the proxy). Additionally, you can pass credentials (username and password) to access the actual FTP site if the FTP server requires it.
For more information about the FTP check, click here.


HTTP check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check the availability of HTTP and HTTPs sites, on default ports (i.e.: 80 and 443). If the HTTP(s) server is not directly accessible, you can configure ActiveXperts Network Monitor to go through a proxy to access the particular HTTP(s) server, even passing credentials for that proxy server (to be able to make use of the proxy). Additionally, you can pass credentials (username and password) to access the actual HTTP(s) site if required. ActiveXperts Network Monitor supports web site content checking; contents of web sites can be searched for text patterns (including meta tags).
For more information about the HTTP check, click here.


Humidity check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor requires an IT Environmental Monitor device from Sensatronics to monitor relative humidity. For more information about the Humidity check, click here.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor is also capable of monitoring temperature and water leaks. For a complete overview of all environmental monitoring capabilities in ActiveXperts Network Monitor, click here.


ICMP Ping check
ICMP Ping checks a remote host for availability. Local hosts should normally respond to pings within milliseconds. However, on a very congested network it may take up to 3 seconds or longer to receive an echo packet from the remote host. If the timeout is set too low under these conditions, it will appear that the remote host is not reachable (which is almost the truth). ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks servers for availability by sending ICMP Echo commands and wait for the responds. Reachability doesn't necessarily mean that the remote host is actually functioning beyond its ability to echo packets.
For more information about the ICMP check, click here.


IMAP Mailserver check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check IMAP compliant mailservers by establishing a connection on the remote IMAP port (usually port 143) and do a handshake. By handshaking, ActiveXperts Network Monitor can verify that the remote server's IMAP protocol is working well.
For more information about the IMAP check, click here.


LDAP check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check LDAP compliant servers by establishing a connection on the remote LDAP port (usually port 389)
For more information about the LDAP check, click here.


Memory check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check the memory usage of the Operating System. It monitors the total physical memory usage. For more information about the Memory check, click here.


MS Exchange 2000/2003/2007 check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors the status of critical Exchange services, and monitors the most important performance counters. Amongst these performance counters are: performance counters of the Information Store, performance counters of mailboxes, performance counters of public folders, and performance counters of the SMTP service. If it drops too low you're immediately notified. If you want, you can extend the Exchange check by checking more services and monitoring more performance counters.
For more information about the Exchange check, click here.


MS ISA 2000/2004 check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors the status of the MS ISA Server services. It can monitor a caching-only ISA server, a firewall-only ISA server, or an integrated (caching+firewall) ISA server.
For more information about the ISA Server check, click here.


MS SQL /ADO check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor uses ADO to check availability of Microsoft SQL databases. ADO can also be used to connect and retrieve data from spreadsheet files like Excel and text or other plain format data files. For more information about the MS SQL /ADO check, click here.


MS TSE check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors the status Terminal Server (part of Windows 2003/2000) server by checking the number of active/inactive sessions.
For more information about the ISA Server check, click here.


NNTP News Server check
ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check NNTP news servers by establishing a connection on the remote TCP port (usually port 119) and do a handshake. By handshaking, ActiveXperts Network Monitor can verify that the remote server's NNTP protocol is working well.
For more information about the NNTP check, click here.


Novell NDS
ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks different kind of Directory Services. One of them is the Novell NDS. You can configure ActiveXperts Network Monitor to check User Accounts (lockout, disabled, etc.), Computer Accounts, Groups, Group Membership, Organizational Units, and so on.


NTDS
ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks different kind of Directory Services. One of them is the NTDS, also known as the NT4 SAM Database. You can configure ActiveXperts Network Monitor to check User Accounts (lockout, disabled, etc.), Computer Accounts, Groups, Group Membership, and so on.


NTP Time Server check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor uses NTP to check availability of internal and external time sources.
For more information about the NTP check, click here.


ODBC Database check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor uses ODBC to check availability of databases. Most major database systems support ODBC, such as:

Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel;
Oracle;
FoxPro;
Paradox;
SyBase;
Informix;
OpenIngres;
InterBase;
Progress;
IBM LANDP, DB2 and AS/400;
NOTE: ActiveXperts Network Monitor also provides Oracle checks based on SQLNet, like TNSPing and logon/logoff through SQLNet.

You must enter appropriate information from the ODBC Control Panel on the server where ActiveXperts Network Monitor is running on. There are some options that can only be set from the ODBC Control Panel.
For more information about the ODBC check, click here.


Oracle Database check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor uses SQL*Net to monitor Oracle servers for availability.
SQL*Net is a software layer that is required to communicate between Oracle clients and servers. It provides both client-server and server-server communications across any network.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor has two SQL*Net based checks for Oracle:
- TNSPing check;
- Logon/logoff to a database using username and password for that database.
For more information about the Oracle check, click here.


POP3 Mailserver check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check POP3 mail servers by establishing a connection on the remote TCP port (usually port 110) and do a handshake. By handshaking, ActiveXperts Network Monitor can verify that the remote server's POP3 protocol is working well.
For more information about the POP3 check, click here.


Printer check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor checks printers for availability by checking its status. Windows knows a wide range of printer status values, like: 'Running', 'In Test', 'Power Off', 'Offline', 'Power Save', and so on. If the Printer Status is not equal to Running or Power Save, then the printer is considered as malfunctioning.
For more information about the Printer check, click here.


Process check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor enables you to check processes on local- and remote computers; If a process is active, a computer is considered available. If a process is not active, it is not available.
The software can also monitor memory usage of a process. If memory usage of a process exceeds the limit, Network Monitor will generate an error.
For more information about the Process check, click here.


Scheduled Task check

With the Scheduled Task check, people can check if a scheduled task has completed successfully or not.
For more information about the Scheduled Task check, click here.


Service check

Service monitoring involves a probe that returns the status of a service. ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors services on local- and remote computers by checking if the status equals "Running". If so, the server is running fine, otherwise it's not.
For more information about the Service check, click here.


SMTP Mailserver check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check SMTP mailservers by establishing a connection on the remote TCP port (usually port 25) and do a handshake. By handshaking, ActiveXperts Network Monitor can verify that the remote server's SMTP protocol is working well.
For more information about the SMTP check, click here.


SNMP check

SNMP means: Simple Network Management Protocol. The SNMP GET message allows the Network Monitor Engine to request information about a specific variable on a remote computer or device.
For more information about the SNMP check, click here.


TCP Port check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor can check local- or remote servers by challenging a specific port. It makes a connection to it, and performs a challenge/respond (by sending a sequence of bytes to it, wait for the respond and analyzing the received information).
For more information about the TCP check, click here.


Temperature check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor requires an IT Environmental Monitor device from Sensatronics to monitor temperature. By using their server room temperature monitor in your data center design, you are taking a proactive approach in datacenter management. A managed environment can reduce IT server, storage and network outages by 50% or more.
For more information about the Temperature check, click here.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor is also capable of monitoring humidity and water leaks. For a complete overview of all environmental monitoring capabilities in ActiveXperts Network Monitor, click here.


UDP check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors UDP ports by sending an echo request to them. Works just like the ICMP check.


UNIX Shell Script (RSH) check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor can monitor UNIX and LINUX servers to see if RSH scripts produce certain stdout or stderr output.

RSH is a client process that opens connections to rsh daemons, sends a command to be executed on the remote server and retrieves its output, both stdout and stderr. The connection is made on standard port 514 (tcp port for the shell/cmd protocol). ActiveXperts Network Monitor analyzes the output and notifies in case of unexpected output.
For more information about the RSH check, click here.


Users & groups check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor monitors groups and group membership. In case of unexpected members in certain groups (for instance: unexpected Domain Admins members), it'll notify the network administrators.


VBScript check

Important feature of ActiveXperts Network Monitor is the ability to extend the set of built-in checks by writing your own monitor check rountine.
ActiveXperts has chosen VBScript as its scripting language standard because of its simple syntax, its wide acceptance and its support for ActiveX technologies.
By default, ActiveXperts Network Monitor can process up to 8 VBScript scripts simultaneously (multithreaded). Uses the powerful Visual Basic Scripting Engine provided by the Operating System. By making use of ActiveX controls, WMI and ADSI, you can write virtually any check yourself.
For more information about the custom VBScript routines, click here.


Wetness check

ActiveXperts Network Monitor requires an IT Environmental Monitor device from Sensatronics to monitor water leaks ('wetness'). For more information about the Wetness check, click here.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor is also capable of monitoring temperature and humidity. For a complete overview of all environmental monitoring capabilities in ActiveXperts Network Monitor, click here.


WMI

Microsoft has included WMI (Windows Management Interface) in their Windows 2000 and higher Operating Systems; WMI was already available for Windows ME and Windows NT4.
WMI is an interface to a broad range of hardware/software/OS related properties of a computer. You can include WMI objects inside your VBScript. In this way, virtually any check can be performed by ActiveXperts Network Monitor.

A lot of WMI samples can be found on www.activexperts.com/activmonitor/windowsmanagement.
Microsoft has also included ADSI in their Windows 2000 and higher Operating Systems. ADSI (Active Directory Service Interface) enables User, Computer, OU, and group related checking rules.
ADSI is also compliant with NT4 and Novell Operating Systems.

A lot of ADSI samples can be found on www.activexperts.com/activmonitor/windowsmanagement.

ActiveSocket Network Communications Toolkit 4.0

ActiveSocket Network Communications Toolkit 4.0
ActiveSocket is a Network Communication control for Windows developers. It features: HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, ICMP Ping, RSH, SSH, SNMP v1/v2c (Get, GetNext, Set), SNMP Traps, TCP, UDP, Telnet, IP-to-Country, NTP, Wake-On-LAN and more. The product can be installed on the follwoing platforms: Windows 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000. It supports both 32- and 64 bits Windows Operating Systems.Samples are included for: Visual Basic .NET, Visual C# .NET, Visual Basic, Visual C/C++, , ASP .NET, ASP, Java, Javascript, PHP, ColdFusion, Borland Delphi, Borland C++ Builder, HTML and more.


Icmp object
See if you can reach another computer; Determine how long it takes to bounce a packet off of another site, which tells you its distance in network terms.Learn more »

Http object
Log on to a web server, get the web pages and analyze the contents. Retrieve web headers. Use HTTP-Post. Support for Proxy servers, SSL and password protected web sites.Learn more »

Ftp/FtpFile objects
Log on to an FTP server, change the working directory and get/put files.Learn more »
DnsServer/DnsRecord objects
Query servers running a domain name service (DNS). Query DNS for specific information about hosts.Learn more »

Ntp object
Query NTP time servers and retrieve the actual date and time. Calculate offset between servers to see if your LAN time is set properly.Learn more »

Ssh object
Run a command or shell script on a remote UNIX or LINUX computer in a secure way using SSH. Use a private key file to logon. Read StdErr and StdOut of the remote shell script.Learn more »

Rsh object
Run a command or shell script on a remote UNIX or LINUX computer that runs the RSH (Remote Shell Script) daemon. Read StdErr and StdOut of the remote shell script.Learn more »

SnmpManager object
Use the following SNMP operations: Get, GetNext, Set and Trap; support for SNMP v1 and SNMP v2c.Learn more »

SnmpTrapManager object
Send and receive SNMP traps to (remote) SNMP agents. Support for SNMP v1 and SNMP v2c.Learn more »

SnmpMibBrowser object
Load a MIB database into memory and iterate over all objects and view all properties.Learn more »

Tcp object
Write your own TCP-based client/server applications; the server application listens for an incoming connection on a specific port, while the client application connects to it; Support for ASCII and binary data, bidirectional. The Tcp object can also be use to automate telnet sessions.Learn more »

Udp object
Create your UDP-based client/server applications; create UDP-based broadcast application.Learn more »

IPtoCountry object
The IPtoCountry object translates IP address to countries. Use it for web server log analysis, marketing purposes etc.Learn more »

Wake-On-LAN object
Wake up (power-up) machines on your LAN, based on their MAC address.Learn more »

DNS Pinning Explained...

DNS Pinning Explained

E2Epi - Network Performance Toolkit

E2Epi Network Performance Toolkit

The Cable Guy: TCP Receive Window Auto-Tuning

The Cable Guy: TCP Receive Window Auto-Tuning

Capacity in bits = path bandwidth in bits per second * round-trip time (RTT) in seconds

Throughput = TCP maximum receive windowsize / RTT

Web Farming with the Network Load Balancing Service in Windows Server 2003

Web Farming with the Network Load Balancing Service in Windows Server 2003

Web Farming with the Network Load Balancing Service in Windows Server 2003

Web Farming with the Network Load Balancing Service in Windows Server 2003

Turn your $60 router into a $600 router - lifehacker

Hack Attack: Turn your $60 router into a $600 router - lifehacker


One of the supported routers. I used a Linksys WRT54GL Wireless router that I picked up from Newegg, and the instructions that follow detail the upgrade process specifically for that router and its close siblings. If you're upgrading one of the other supported routers, you might want to look into instructions specific to your router. These instructions may generally work for other supported routers, but I'm not making any promises.
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 mini firmware version located here.*
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 standard firmware version located here.*

Turn Your $60 Router into a User-Friendly Super-Router with Tomato - lifehacker

Feature: Turn Your $60 Router into a User-Friendly Super-Router with Tomato - lifehacker

The Netgear Open Source Router - lifehacker

Stuff We Like: The Netgear Open Source Router
The Netgear Open Source Router is aimed specifically at running third-party, open-source firmwares like previously mentioned Tomato or DD-WRT. We've covered installing these firmwares on supported routers here and here, but Netgear's Open Source Router is unique in that it's designed specifically to support these open-source projects; Netgear has even created a community web site where enthusiasts can contribute guides and more

IP / CIDR calculation in MySQL, PHP and JavaScript

IP / CIDR calculation in MySQL, PHP and JavaScript

MySQL
inet_aton
inet_ntoa

select inet_aton('127.0.0.1');
select inet_ntoa(2130706433);
last IP = first IP + (2^(32-mask)) - 1
select inet_ntoa(inet_aton('213.144.132.248') + (pow(2, (32-29))-1));

-
Javascript

function ip2long(ip) {
    var ips = ip.split('.');
    var iplong = 0;
    with (Math) {
        iplong = ips0*pow(256,3)+ips1*pow(256,2)+ips2*pow(256,1)+ips3*pow(256,0)
    }
    return iplong;
}

function long2ip(l) {
    with (Math) {
        var ip1 = floor(l/pow(256,3));
        var ip2 = floor((l%pow(256,3))/pow(256,2));
        var ip3 = floor(((l%pow(256,3))%pow(256,2))/pow(256,1));
        var ip4 = floor((((l%pow(256,3))%pow(256,2))%pow(256,1))/pow(256,0));
    }
    return ip1 + '.' + ip2 + '.' + ip3 + '.' + ip4;
}


function lastIP(ip, mask) {
    return ip + (Math.pow(2, (32 - mask))-1);
}

-

/^\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}$/

Basic IPsec VPN Topologies and Configurations > Site-to-Site IPsec VPN Deployments

Basic IPsec VPN Topologies and Configurations - Site-to-Site IPsec VPN Deployments InformIT

Site-to-Site IPsec VPN Deployments
Site-to-Site IPsec VPN Deployments and GRE (IPsec+GRE)
Hub-and-Spoke IPsec VPN Deployments
Remote Access VPN Deployments
Summary

Printer friendly version

Attacking the Spanning Tree Protocol

Attacking the Spanning Tree Protocol
Conducting STP attacks is now within the reach of a wide population, thanks to the availability of point-and-shoot attacks tools. Fortunately, simple features widely available on a range of switches, such as BPDU-guard, provide effective measures against spanning-tree–based exploits.

From the Book
LAN Switch Security: What Hackers Know About Your Switches


Introducing Spanning Tree Protocol
Let the Games Begin!
Summary

Secure BGP Template v5.3, 27 MAY 2008 released

Secure BGP Template v5.3, 27 MAY 2008
http://www.cymru.com/Documents/secure-bgp-template.html

Secure IOS Template v5.5, 27 MAY 2008 released

Secure IOS Template v5.5 27 MAY 2008
http://www.cymru.com/Documents/secure-ios-template.html

Secure BIND Template v6.3, 27 MAY 2008 released

Secure BIND Template v6.3, 27 MAY 2008
http://www.cymru.com/Documents/secure-bind-template.html

Bogon List v4.2 27, MAY 2008 released

The Team Cymru Bogon List v4.2 27 MAY 2008

The Cable Guy - Archives

The Cable Guy - Column Archives ... Hook Up Your Network using Microsoft Technologies

April 2008 - Troubleshooting NAP Enforcement
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Network Access Protection (NAP) health policy evaluation works and how to troubleshoot the most common issues with NAP enforcement.

March 2008 - Migrating Your Intranet to IPv6 with ISATAP
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how to migrate your IPv4-only intranet to an IPv6-capable intranet with the Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol (ISATAP).

February 2008 - IEEE 802.1X Wired Authentication
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how to configure IEEE 802.1X authentication settings on wired connections for computers running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

January 2008 - DNS Enhancements in Windows Server 2008
This article from TechNet Magazine describes the new features of the Domain Name System (DNS) Server service in Windows Server 2008.

December 2007 - Network Policy Server
This article from TechNet Magazine describes the features and enhancements to Network Policy Server (NPS) in Windows Server 2008, the replacement for the Internet Authentication Service (IAS) in Windows Server 2003.

November 2007 - Wireless Single Sign-On
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Wireless Single Sign On in Windows Vista provides a more seamless logon for users and allows you to configure when to perform wireless network authentication to address domain logon issues and VLAN configurations.

October 2007 - The Authenticated Internet Protocol
This article from TechNet Magazine describes the details of the Authenticated Internet Protocol (AuthIP), an enhanced version of the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol for Internet Protocol security (IPsec)-protected communication.

September 2007 - Strong and Weak Host Models
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how the strong and weak host models for multihomed hosts work for the Next Generation TCP/IP Stack in Windows Vista.

August 2007 - IPv6 Autoconfiguration in Windows Vista
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Windows Vista performs stateful and stateless address autoconfiguration for LAN and Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol (ISATAP) tunneling interfaces.

July 2007 - IPv6 Traffic over VPN Connections
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how IPv6 traffic can be sent over virtual private network (VPN) connections that are established across the IPv4 and IPv6 Internets using Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.

June 2007 - The Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) uses the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) over secure sockets layer (SSL) for remote access VPN connections across network address translators (NATs), firewalls, and proxy servers.

May 2007 - EAPHost in Windows
This article from TechNet Magazine describes the new architecture in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 to support Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) supplicants and authentication methods.

April 2007 - Wireless Group Policy Settings for Windows Vista
This article from TechNet Magazine describes the enhanced wireless Group Policy settings that are supported by wireless clients running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

March 2007 - The DHCPv6 Protocol
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) can provide IPv6 hosts with stateful addresses or stateless configuration settings.

February 2007 - QoS Support in Windows
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Quality of Service (QoS) is supported in current and future versions of Microsoft Windows.

January 2007 - TCP Receive Window Auto-Tuning
This article from TechNet Magazine describes how Windows Vista uses TCP Receive Window Auto-Tuning to optimize TCP throughput for received data.

December 2006 - IPv6 over Point-to-Point Protocol Links
This article describes how IPv6 packets are sent over Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) links and the IPv6 Control Protocol (IPV6CP), which configures IPv6 options during the PPP connection negotiation.

November 2006 - Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution
This article describes how the new Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR) protocol in Windows Vista provides name resolution for computer names on a subnet without a Domain Name System (DNS) server.

October 2006 - Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) in TCP/IP
This article describes how ECN helps prevent packet losses on congested networks and how ECN is supported in Windows Vista.

September 2006 - Network Location Types in Windows Vista
This article describes the new network location types in Windows Vista and the default security settings for each type (Domain, Private, and Public).

August 2006 - AuthIP in Windows Vista
This article describes the Authenticated Internet Protocol (AuthIP) in Windows Vista, an enhanced version of the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol that provides simplified IPsec policy configuration and additional authentication flexibility.

July 2006 - Network Diagnostics Framework in Windows Vista
This article describes the new Network Diagnostics Framework in Windows Vista that diagnoses and corrects network connectivity problems.

June 2006 - Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Scalable Networking Pack Overview
This article describes how the Windows Server 2003 Scalable Networking Pack helps you scale your networking applications and services.

May 2006 - Configuring IPv6 with Windows Vista
This article describes how to configure Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) settings with Microsoft Windows Vista.

April 2006 - Connecting to Wireless Networks with Windows Vista
This article describes the improvements for connecting to an IEEE 802.11 wireless network with Windows Vista.

March 2006 - Policy-based QoS Architecture in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista
This article describes the architecture of the new Policy-based Quality of Service (QoS) feature in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and how it marks or throttles outgoing traffic.

February 2006 - Source and Destination Address Selection for IPv6
This article describes the IPv6 source and destination address selection algorithms and provides an example of their use.

January 2006 - The New Windows Firewall in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
This article describes the features of the new Windows Firewall in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

December 2005 - Windows TCP/IP Ephemeral, Reserved, and Blocked Port Behavior
This article describes the various types of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports that are available to Windows Sockets applications and their ranges for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

November 2005 - Performance Enhancements in the Next Generation TCP/IP Stack
This article describes the performance enhancements of the Next Generation TCP/IP stack, which include Receive Window Auto-Tuning, enhancements for wireless traffic, and improved routing path detection and recovery.

October 2005 - Changes to IPv6 in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
This article describes the new features for IPv6 and the Teredo IPv6 transition technology in the Next Generation TCP/IP stack.

September 2005 - Next Generation TCP/IP Stack in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
This article describes the Next Generation TCP/IP stack, which is a complete redesign of TCP/IP functionality for both Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and IPv6 in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

August 2005 - Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 Data Encryption and Integrity
This article describes the details of the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) implementation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Counter Mode Cipher Block Chaining-Message Authentication Code (CBC-MAC) protocol (CCMP) for encryption, decryption, and data integrity validation of 802.11 wireless frames.

July 2005 - Network Access Protection Platform Overview
This article describes the Network Access Protection (NAP) platform for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, which provides components and an infrastructure to enforce compliance with computer health requirements for network access and communication.

June 2005 - TCP/IP Packet Processing Paths
This article describes the basic architecture of the TCP/IP protocol for IP version 4, the additional components that process packets, and the packet processing path for unicast traffic sent, received, and forwarded by Windows-based computers.

May 2005 - Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) Overview
The Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)/Wireless Provisioning Services Information Element (WPS IE) Update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 is a free download that updates the wireless client components in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 to support WPA2. This article describes the features of WPA2 security and WPA2 support included with the update.

April 2005 - Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Behavior When Connected to Both Wired and Wireless Networks
This article describes how computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 behave when they have simultaneous connectivity to both wired and wireless networks.

March 2005 - Troubleshooting IPv6
This article describes the tasks and tools to gather information and test networking components when troubleshooting an arbitrary problem with IPv6 in Windows.

February 2005 - IPsec Filter Ordering
This article describes the IPsec filter list, which is the end result of applying an IPsec policy. The IPsec filter list specifies the exact set of interesting IP traffic and how the traffic is to be handled (permitted, blocked, or secured) and is ordered based on a weight value calculated by the IPsec Policy Agent component.

January 2005 - Testing Network Paths for Common Types of Traffic
This article lists a set of tools that you can use to test network paths for specific types of traffic and describes how to use the tools for the most common types of traffic that are dropped by firewalls installed in a Windows networking infrastructure.

December 2004 - New Networking Features in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
This article describes the new networking features and enhancements that are included in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 to support server services and operations.

November 2004 - Wi-Fi Protected Access Data Encryption and Integrity
This article describes the details of Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Michael in the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) standard for encryption, decryption, and data integrity validation of 802.11 wireless frames.

October 2004 - Problems with Using Network Address Translators
This article discusses the pitfalls of network address translators (NATs) when using multiparty applications, peer-to-peer applications, and Internet Protocol security (IPsec) NAT-Traversal (NAT-T).

September 2004 - Introduction to Mobile IPv6
This article explains the basics of Mobile IPv6 and how it allows an IPv6 node to remain reachable regardless of its location on an IPv6 network.

August 2004 - Wireless LAN Enhancements in Windows XP Service Pack 2
This article reviews the enhancements included in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to support Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11-based wireless local area networks (LANs).

July 2004 - Path Maximum Transmission Unit (PMTU) Black Hole Routers
PMTU black hole routers can cause problems for TCP connections by silently dropping packets that cannot be fragmented. This article describes how to detect and work around PMTU black hole routers.

June 2004 - The New Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Service Pack 2
The Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 automates the configuration of strong security for small wireless networks by using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive (UFD). Once created, you can plug the UFD into other wireless devices in the home or small office that support Windows Connect Now.

May 2004 - Network Determination Behavior for Network-Related Group Policy Settings
The networking components of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 must determine whether or not the computer is attached to a managed network containing the domain controllers of the domain to which the computer belongs or another network in order to correctly apply a set of network-related Group Policy settings, such as Windows Firewall settings.

April 2004 - Configuring Routing and Remote Access for RADIUS Authentication and Accounting
The Routing and Remote Access service in Windows Server 2003 supports both Windows and Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication and accounting providers. This article describes how to configure the Routing and Remote Access service for the RADIUS authentication and accounting providers and how to configure the Internet Authentication Service (IAS) for a RADIUS client corresponding to a Routing and Remote Access server.

March 2004 - Local Server-Less DNS Name Resolution for IPv6
Local Server-Less Domain Name System (LSLDNS), also known as multicast DNS, is a new capability in the IPv6 protocol included with Windows CE version 4.1 and later that allows nodes to resolve each other's names on a network segment without using DNS servers.

February 2004 - Windows Firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2
Windows XP SP2 includes the new Windows Firewall, which replaces the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). This article describes the new dialog boxes for Windows Firewall and describes what can be configured on each dialog box.

January 2004 - New Networking Features in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes new networking features to provide enhanced security and additional functionality for wireless users and peer-to-peer network applications. They are: the new Windows Firewall, Wireless Provisioning Services, Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking, and updates to IPv6.

December 2003 - Wireless Provisioning Services Overview
Wireless Provisioning Services (WPS) is designed to simplify, automate, and standardize initial sign-up and subscription renewal so that the user does not have to perform a different set of steps for each wireless provider to which they want to connect. This article describes the infrastructure and process when a wireless client initially connects to a public wireless hotspot that is providing access to the Internet.

November 2003 - Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking
Peer-to-peer networking enables or enhances real-time communications (RTC), collaboration, content distribution, and distributed processing. To address the need for platform-based peer-to-peer networking capabilities, Microsoft has developed and released Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking for Windows XP with SP2 and for Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1) with the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP, a free download.

October 2003 - Split Tunneling for Concurrent Access to the Internet and an Intranet
When a Windows-based VPN client makes a VPN connection, it automatically adds a new default route for the VPN connection and modifies the existing default route that points to the Internet to have a higher metric. Adding the new default route means that Internet locations except the IP address of the VPN server are not reachable for the duration of the VPN connection. This article describes how to configure split tunneling, so that both intranet and Internet locations are simultaneously reachable.

September 2003 - Default Gateway Behavior for Windows TCP/IP
Learn how to configure the setting for one or multiple default gateways. The default gateway setting, which creates the default route in the IP routing table, is a critical part of the configuration of a TCP/IP host. Without a default gateway, communication with remote destination is not possible unless additional routes are added to the IP routing table.

August 2003 - IP Address Assignment and the Routing and Remote Access Service
This article describes the IP address assignment behavior of the Routing and Remote Access service when the remote access client is configured to obtain an IP address automatically, when the remote access policies for remote access connections are configured to allow the remote access server to supply an address, and when the dial-in properties of the user account are not configured to use a static IP address.

July 2003 - Configuring Wireless Settings Using Windows Server 2003 Group Policy
To automate the configuration of wireless network settings for Windows XP with SP2, Windows XP with SP1, and Windows Server 2003 wireless client computers, Windows Server 2003 Active Directory domains support a new Wireless Network (IEEE 802.11) Policies Group Policy extension. This new extension allows you to configure wireless network settings that are part of Computer Configuration Group Policy for a domain-based Group Policy object.

June 2003 - The Reliable Multicast Protocol Component of Windows Server 2003
In order to use the Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM) on computers running Windows Server 2003, you must add the Reliable Multicast Protocol component and create PGM-enabled applications.

May 2003 - Configuring Access to Services Behind a Network Address Translator (NAT)
A NAT forwards traffic from the Internet to the private network if a specific mapping exists in the NAT's translation table. However, this behavior creates a connectivity problem when you want to make private network resources available to Internet clients. Learn how to resolve this issue by allowing traffic for services located behind the NAT computer.

April 2003 - IPv6 Features in the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP
Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking is a developer platform (which runs exclusively over IPv6) that you can use to create peer-to-peer applications for computers running Windows XP. The enhancements to IPv6 included in the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP include: IPv6 Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) and Teredo. Learn more about these features and how they work.

March 2003 - Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Overview
To provide an interim solution to the remaining issues of IEEE 802.11 security and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, a new interoperable standard known as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is being made available now from wireless vendors. This article describes the security features of WPA and the changes that need to be made to wireless equipment and wireless client software, including Windows, to support WPA.

February 2003 - Network Access Quarantine Control
A remote access computer can typically access private network resources even when its configuration does not comply with organization network policy. For example, network policies might require the use of an antivirus programs or the disabling of routing on remote access clients. This article describes Windows Server 2003 Network Access Quarantine Control, a new feature that delays normal remote access to a private network until the configuration of the remote access computer has been examined and validated by an administrator-provided script.

January 2003 - PPTP Traffic Analysis
The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is widely used for virtual private network (VPN) connections. This article describes the PPTP control connection and PPTP tunneled data and includes discussions of firewall configuration, Network Address Translator (NAT) editors, and the PPTP connection establishment, maintenance, and termination processes.

December 2002 - Microsoft 802.1X Authentication Client
Microsoft 802.1X Authentication Client is a free download that enables computers running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 to use IEEE 802.1X to authenticate network connections (including wireless). This article describes how to install and configure Microsoft 802.1X Authentication Client and obtain certificates. Microsoft 802.1X Authentication Client is included with Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4).

November 2002 - Windows XP Wireless Auto Configuration
Windows XP Wireless Auto Configuration dynamically connects to wireless networks based on the set of available networks and the set of configured preferred networks. This article describes Wireless Auto Configuration, its user interface, and how it works to automatically connect your wireless computer to the most preferred wireless network.

October 2002 - Understanding the IPv6 Routing Table
Learn about the IPv6 routing table: its structure, the types of entries, and how the route determination process works. Additionally, this article describes an example routing configuration, example IPv6 routing tables, and how the IPv6 protocol determines the next-hop address and interface for various destinations.

September 2002 - Manual Configuration for IPv6
In a few cases, an IPv6 host running Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 must be manually configured with IPv6 addresses or to act as routers. This article describes how to manually configure IPv6.

August 2002 - IPsec NAT Traversal Overview
This article examines the problems associated with using IPsec across NATs, how these problems are solved by IPsec NAT-T, and the resulting changes in the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) negotiation for Quick Mode and Main Mode.

July 2002 - PEAP with MS-CHAP Version 2 for Secure Password-based Wireless Access
Secure wireless access for small businesses is obtained through the use of Protected EAP (PEAP) with the Microsoft Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol version 2 (MS-CHAP v2) EAP type (known as PEAP with MS-CHAP v2), supported by Windows XP with SP2, Windows XP with SP1, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000 SP4.

June 2002 - IKE Negotiation for IPsec Security Associations
To ensure successful and secure communication for IPsec, the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol performs a two-phase negotiation. For the IPsec implementation in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the two phases are Main Mode and Quick Mode.

May 2002 - Microsoft L2TP/IPsec VPN Client
Microsoft L2TP/IPsec VPN Client supports the use of either certificates or pre-shared keys for IPsec main mode authentication.

April 2002 - IEEE 802.1X Authentication for Wireless and Wired Connections
Learn how Windows supports IEEE 802.1X authentication for LAN-based network adapters, including Ethernet and wireless.

March 2002 - IEEE 802.11b Wireless Networking Overview
Learn about the basic components of wireless networking and how Windows XP provides built-in support for IEEE 802.11b.

February 2002 - Overview of IP Multicast
Windows 2000 supports IP multicast. IP multicast traffic is sent to a single destination IP address but is received and processed by multiple IP hosts, regardless of their location on an IP internetwork.

January 2002 - How the Windows XP Network Bridge Works
Transparently combine multiple LAN segments to form a single network segment using Windows XP's Layer 2 and Layer 3 bridging.

December 2001 - Understanding the IP Routing Table
When an IP packet is forwarded, the IP routing table is used to determine the next-hop address and interface.

November 2001 - Managing Windows 2000 Networking Components with Netsh
Use the Netsh command-line and scripting utility to configure Windows 2000 networking components on the local computer or remote computers.

October 2001 - Demand-Dial Routing and Router-to-Router VPNs in Windows 2000
Learn how to deploy demand-dial routing for the router-to-router VPN connection.

September 2001 - Managed Remote Access with the Connection Manager Components of Windows 2000
Connection Manager (CM) is the solution for issues associated with configuring dial-up or VPN connections for an enterprise and for outsourced dial configurations.

August 2001 - Layer Two Tunneling Protocol in Windows 2000
Secure your connection using the L2TP protocol with IPsec encryption.

July 2001 - Using IPv6 Today
By using the transition technologies of 6to4 and ISATAP, IPv6/IPv4 nodes can communicate across private IPv4 intranets and the Internet through IPv4-encapsulated IPv6 traffic.

June 2001 - Configuring the Routing and Remote Access Service in Windows 2000
Simplify remote access, virtual private network, or routing configuration by using the Routing and Remote Access Server Setup Wizard in Windows 2000 Server.

May 2001 - Exploring Peer-to-Peer IPsec in Windows 2000
Protect traffic between computers (using IPsec policy) and learn how to use IPsec for port blocking.

April 2001 - DNS Dynamic Update in Windows 2000
The solution to keeping DNS current in a DHCP environment is DNS dynamic updates.

March 2001 - Windows 2000 Network Address Translator (NAT)
Leverage the use of a single connection to the Internet for multiple computers, using NAT.

February 2001 - Managing Network Services Through Directory-Enabled Networking
DEN management focuses on managing the physical infrastructure, network services, and the desktop in an IT environment.

January 2001 - Planning and Installing a Windows 2000 Remote Access VPN Server
Take steps to plan and set up a remote access VPN server so that individual computers can connect to your organization's intranet.

December 2000 - Quick Look at DNS Namespace Planning
Take a quick look at how to design a DNS namespace.