Five Most commonly used Networking Technologies

Five Most commonly used Networking Technologies

Thursday , May 03, 2012

A most frequently asked question I hear from CCNA & CCNP students is - What are the most used technologies in the enterprise ? Well, there could be no perfect answer to this question but I am sharing the list of most commonly used technologies from my ten years of experience. 

Lets start with the discussion of the day - 

1. Default Routing -  This is the most commonly used routing type in the industry. Every company with an Internet connection is bound to configure default routing. Even on simple broadband routers, we need to configure default gateway.

2. VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) -  Any customer who is using Cisco switches and have multiple VLANs running in his network, takes VTP as a mandated kind of protocol. They actually enjoy using automated system for VLAN propagation. 

3. Host Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) - This protocol never fails to create space for itself, whenever a network have more than one exit gateway. This is easiest to configure, works flawlessly & take no toll on performance of network equipments. (My personal favorite is GLBP). HSRP is the most widely used FHRP in the industry today.

4. IPSeC Remote Access VPN - Whether the mobile workforce is of hundred users or just of ten users. Every company wish to rise the bar of the productivity for their employees. IPSeC Remote Access VPN is the easiest way to extend the local resoureces connectivity to remote users desk available anywhere and also this is one feature most commonly available on the gateway level devices.

5. IP Service Level Agreement (IP SLA) - Have more than one internet line and cannot afford the downtime occuring due to manual switching of the ISP lines. IP SLA is the technology for you. This is most favored technology when it comes to automated link failover management and easy to configure as well.

Please suggest any other technology, which could be or should be the part of this list.