IT Knowledgebase Articles

In the first article in this series, I outlined three steps that I think are essential to the Exchange 2007 migration process. In this article, I want to continue the discussion by providing you with some more steps in my migration best practices. Step 4: Focus on the Clients Your users aren’t going to get…

Any time that I think about server migrations, I always have to cringe a little bit. I’m not anti-progress or anything, it’s just that my memory always reflects the way that we used to do migration at a company that I worked at in the early 1990s. Although it was a large, enterprise environment there…

The following article details the steps for removing Microsoft Word document passwords using the our recommended download for Office document password removal. These instructions are valid for all versions of Microsoft Office including Office 2007. Note: Use this article if you’re looking for Excel password recovery. Step 1: Install the Word Password Recovery Download To…

Perhaps you are thinking that you could care less about some routing protocol called BGP. Could it possibly have anything to do with your every day life? The answer is yes. BGP is the routing protocol of the Internet. BGP is how all Internet routers route your email and web requests across the Internet. Without…

Just like any important server on your network, Cisco routers and switches need to be periodically backed up. You don’t want your router to crash one day, get a replacement, and spend days trying to recreate the configuration file. To prevent this, make sure you backup your configurations with TFTP. Let’s find out how to…

Getting the basic networking tasks done right is the key to any PC Ethernet network, and David Davis shows you how to get off on the right foot.

How to Setup VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) on Cisco Switches In our last article about VLAN’s (Read ore about it on the What is a VLAN? How to Setup a VLAN on a Cisco Switch article), we learned about how VLAN’s provide greater performance and security for your LAN. Unfortunately, if you have more than…

If you are used to working with home networking gear you are used to an integrated device that “does it all”. On a home network, you may have one box that is a cable/DSL modem, router, firewall, switch, and wireless access point all in one. It is amazing all the functions they can fit into…

Recently, a fellow Cisco administrator told me about a tool he had used to reset a password on a router. He had forgotten the line vty password and the enable password. He could not log in to the router. He did, however, know the SNMP Read/Write password. Using a freeware tool dubbed “Cisco SNMP Tool”…

Preventing network loops with Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) 802.1d Have you ever had a loop in your LAN?  You don’t want one and neither do your users.  A loop in your LAN can bring down the whole network.  You can avoid a loop by using Spanning Tree protocol (STP).  Let’s find out what Spanning Tree is,…