Bits, Bytes, & Radio Waves

A Journey Through Discovery

  • CompTIA Linux+

    I am starting my journey to become CompTIA Linux+ certified! Technically, I started on February 1, but am just now writing this. I have always been curious about Linux and dabbled here and there; I just have never dived in deep enough to be proficient. I want to change that. As an end user, I…

  • Benefits of Switch Stacking and Chassis Aggregation

    Switch stacking, known as Cisco StackWise on Cisco products, is a technology that connects multiple switches into one logical switch. By using stacking technology you get a decrease in administrative overhead and less blocked ports from Spanning-tree Protocol (STP). You can add switches to gain port density and you can add them over time. This…

  • Using Local SPAN to Troubleshoot and Resolve Problems

    A Switched Port Analyzer, or SPAN, is a way that you can monitor traffic. Back when networks used hubs, all traffic was visible because a hub just repeated the traffic out every port except the one it came in on. When switches were introduced, SPAN functionality was introduced to accommodate. It is common to set…

  • ICMP Echo-Based IP SLA

    Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a commonly used utility to test Layer 3 connectivity between devices. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a target that must be met; there is no set criteria for an SLA. ICMP echo-based IP SLA is a way to monitor end-to-end response time between Cisco devices using IPv4 or…

  • Connecting to IPv6 Websites by IP

    Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) request for comments (RFC) 1883 (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1883) came out in December 1995. That’s 22 years ago! So how do you connect to an IPv6 address without using a Domain Name Server (DNS)? It’s only slightly different than Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). You do need to make sure you have an…

  • Point-to-Point Link

    Configure To configure a Point-to-Point link, you will configure the serial interface just like you would an Ethernet interface. In addition, you need to use the no shutdown command because interfaces are down by default on a router. The other difference is that you need to have a clocking mechanism in place. Clocking takes place…

This is how it all started…

I started this site with the intent to aggregate as much information as possible in one place. I use this to record lessons learned or frustrating configurations I have experienced on the job or just tinkering (learning) and just couldn’t find a better resource available. I have tried to be as thorough and accurate as possible, but technology is rapidly evolving and every environment is different. I may miss things along the way and my setup most likely differs compared to yours.

I hope you find this site has some value to you.

Welcome to Bits, Bytes, and Radio Waves! 

If you have any questions or comments (or just want to give me a shout-out), please feel free to contact me!

Aaron Rombaut

Writer & Technologist