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Showing posts from November, 2013

Network Congestion Symptoms

By using a network protocol analyzer such as Wireshark, a Network Administrator can determine if congestion is present on their network.  The key is looking for duplicate ACKs. Consistent duplicate ACKs are an indication that network congestion may be present. The problem is worth investigating. To manage the reliability of data between two endpoints, TCP uses ordered sequence numbers (SYN) and acknowledgements (ACKs).  For example, data is broken up into packets, and each packet is given a sequence number. (Data to be sent) = Packet A – SYN 1 , Packet B – SYN2 , Packet C – SYN3 Each packet is sent in sequential order, and as each packet arrives to its destination, the destination endpoint sends a unique acknowledgement (ACK) back to the transmitter as a way to verify the data has been received in its proper order. ACK 1 [Packet A – SYN1], ACK 2 ACK 1 [Packet B – SYN2], ACK 3 [Packet A – SYN3], If the data arrives out of order, a duplicate ACK is sent to t

Internet Usage Information and Reports

The Global Internet Phenomena Report is published twice a year by Sandvine . Archives of previous reports are also available on the site. The site also tracks trends and blogs regularly information relating to different aspects of the Internet and how its used by the masses. I highly recommend this site which can be accessed by clicking here .

Cable to Convert VGA to HDMI, or Analog to Digital

The Answer : Even though they can be purchased online, the claim that an analog (VGA) to digital (HDMI or DVI) cable in and of itself performing such a conversion simply is not true. For example,  people run into this issue when they want to connect a laptop/desktop without an HDMI port to a digital monitor port with only a DVI port or a TV screen with an HDMI port. VGA to HDMI Cable I personally have had people not heed this advice, only to be seriously disappointed after having spent the money. There are instances where this cable will work... The VGA card in the device you are using (laptop/desktop) must be able to output a digital signal. This simply is not the case for most devices. When people are selling these cables from places like eBay, at times they may state this important piece of information in  very small print. So how do you get that device connected to your new digital TV or Monitor?  You have some options... 1). You can purchase a VGA

DVI vs. HDMI vs. Component Video — Which is Better?

It's November and we are just weeks away from Black Friday, whilst we continue to spiral towards the Xmas holiday;  a countless number of home entertainment devices will be purchased between now and the end of year.  Be it a home or business, many will find themselves in the predicament of figuring out how to connect all this stuff (TVs, digital video players, gaming systems, streaming devices etc, etc) up. Many digital marriages between 'new to new' and 'new to old' devices will need to be consummated before any images are seen or audio heard. For a very clear, concise explanation regarding some of the issues/questions you most likely will encounter... Click Here!

VPN not working after upgrading to Mavericks

Issue: An End User who is an Executive at our company brought his brand new ' previously ' unsupported Mac book Air in today for assistance. The issue... he could not get it to consistently connect to our VPN. The Mac book was running the Apple Mavericks OS.  A little online searching revealed other End Users with the issue, while some a variation of the same problem. Resolution: There maybe more than one solution to this issue, depending on the variation regarding what you are experiencing.  Here is what I did ... 1). My End User is fairly tech savvy and knows how to configure VPNs in the Mavericks OS. Within the configuration setup I had him choose PPTP for the connection type, and more importantly for the VPN server address/name to use the actual IP address instead of the hostname.  This last item is what did the trick for us.  Please leave a comment if this was of help to you. If the above does not work, you might want to venture over to the following link...

Missing Network Drives - Windows 8

After upgrading my workstation from Windows 7 professional to Windows 8.1 professional, I discovered all my network drives were now missing. The short answer on how to bring them back... In my case, I as an End User belonged to the local Administrator's group on my local computer. After doing some research this is what worked for me and so many others... 1).  Remove yourself (or the end user in question) as a member of the local Administrator's group on the computer. 2).  Reboot the computer. 3).  Check to see if your mapped network drives are now present. *Note: If you don't see them right away in the File Explorer window, wait about a minute or so to allow the login script or GP policy preference to run its course. 4).  Add yourself back as a member of the local Administrator's group on the computer. 5).  Reboot once again to ensure network drives are still properly mapping upon login after adding yourself or the End User back as a local