Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a protocol that routers can use to exchange network topology information. It
is characterized as an interior gateway protocol, and is typically used in small to medium-sized networks. A router
running RIP sends the contents of its routing table to each of its adjacent routers every 30 seconds. When a route
is removed from the routing table, it is flagged as unusable by the receiving routers after 180 seconds, and
removed from their tables after an additional 120 seconds.

Versions of RIP
There are two versions of RIP (the managed switch supports both):

1. RIPv1 defined in RFC 1058.

o Routes are specified by IP destination network and hop count.

o The routing table is broadcast to all stations on the attached network.

2. RIPv2 defined in RFC 1723.

o Route specification also includes subnet mask and gateway.

o The routing table is sent to a multicast address, reducing network traffic.

o Authentication is used for security.

Configuration of RIP
You can configure a given port to do the following:

 Receive packets in either or both formats.

 Send packets formatted for RIPv1 or RIPv2, or send RIPv2 packets to the RIPv1 broadcast address.

 Prevent any RIP packets from being received.

 Prevent any RIP packets from being sent.

 What is OSPF?

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is one of the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), which helps to find the best
routing path between the source and the destination router using its own shortest path first (SPF) algorithm. It is a
Link-state routing protocol that is used to distribute routing information about data packets within a large
Autonomous System.

HOW OSPF Works?

When it is configured, it listens to its neighbours in the networks, and it gathers all the link state data available.
This data is then used to make a topology map that contains all available paths in the network. This database is
saved for use, and we call it Link State Database.

Once the Link State Database is made, it is used to calculate the shortest path to subnets/networks using an
algorithm known as Shortest Path First, developed by Edsger W Dijkstra.

OSPF creates 3 tables:

 Routing Table: It contains currently working best paths that will be used to forward traffic between two neighbours.

 Neighbour Table: This contains all discovered Open Short Path First neighbours.

 Topology Table: This one contains the entire road map of the network. This road map includes all the available
Open Short Path First routers and keeps calculated data about best and alternative paths.

Advantages of OSPF

 Open Short Path First is easily scalable, meaning with a very little amount of hassle, we can scale it to use in a very

big network.

 Open Shortest Path First Protocol has full support for subnets.

 Use of Hello Packets: Open Short Path First sends small hello packets to verify link operations and ignores

transferring large tables.

 OSPF Supports route tagging: In Open Short Path first, routes can be tagged to ease interoperation with arbitrary

values.

 Routing: Open Short Path First is able to route packets based on their type of service field.
 Disadvantages of OSPF

 It is a processor-intensive protocol to use.

 Because it maintains more than one copy of routing information, it consumes more memory.

 It is a more complex protocol to understand and learn compared to other Internet Protocols.

Conclusion
Open Shortest Path First, as a routing protocol, has an important place in internet infrastructure. Finding the shortest

path easily and quickly helps reduce unnecessary network load, and the ability to find another path in case of error at

the optimal one helps increase the stability of the network.

Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) is an advanced distance-vector routing protocol that
is used on a computer network for automating routing decisions and configuration. ... EIGRP is used on a
router to share routes with other routers within the same autonomous system.

What are features of EIGRP?

 uses the Shortest Path First algorithm

 establishes neighbour adjacencies

 uses the Reliable Transport Protocol

 sends full routing table updates periodically

 broadcasts updates to all EIGRP routers

 supports equal and unequal cost load balancing

 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the postal service of the Internet. When someone drops a letter into a
mailbox, the postal service processes that piece of mail and chooses a fast, efficient route to deliver that letter
to its recipient. Similarly, when someone submits data across the Internet, BGP is responsible for looking at all
of the available paths that data could travel and picking the best route, which usually means hopping between
autonomous systems.
BGP is the protocol that makes the Internet work. It does this by enabling data routing on the Internet. When a
user in Singapore loads a website with origin servers in Argentina, BGP is the protocol that enables that
communication to happen quickly and efficiently.

Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to problem-solving, specifically for issues concerned with sudden
equipment breakdown and system or software bugs. As such, it involves a variety of techniques to diagnose
system or equipment failure and implement the appropriate corrective action.

Contact Center
A contact center is a business division within an organization that manages customer interactions. Unlike a
call center, which receives requests only by telephone, the contact center handles inbound and outbound
customer communication over multiple channels such as telephone, web, chat, email, messaging apps, social
media, text, fax, and traditional mail. Contact centers use various types of advanced technology to help
resolve customer issues quickly, to track customer engagements, and to capture interaction and performance
data. Contact centers are usually operated either by an internal department or outsourced to a third party
provider.

Session Initiated Protocol (SIP)

SIP is an application-layer control protocol that can establish, modify, and terminate multimedia sessions
(conferences) such as Internet telephony calls. SIP can also invite participants to already existing sessions,
such as multicast conferences. Media can be added to (and removed from) an existing session. SIP
transparently supports name mapping and redirection services, which supports personal mobility-users can
maintain a single externally visible identifier regardless of their network location.
The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signalling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating
real-time sessions that include voice, video and messaging applications. SIP is used for signalling and
controlling multimedia communication sessions in applications of Internet telephony for voice and video calls,
in private IP telephone systems, in instant messaging over Internet Protocol (IP) networks as well as mobile
phone calling over LTE (Volte).
How does SIP Work in VoIP Calls?

What is Linux?

Linux is an open source operating system (OS). It was originally conceived of and created as a hobby by Linus
Torvalds in 1991. Linus, while at university, sought to create an alternative, free, open source version of the
MINIX operating system, which was itself based on the principles and design of UNIX. That hobby has since
become the OS with the largest user base, the most-used OS on publicly available internet servers, and the
only OS used on the top 500 fastest supercomputers.

Perhaps the best thing about Linux is that it's open source. Linux is released under the GNU General Public
License (GPL). That means that anyone can run, study, share, and modify the software. The modified code
can also be redistributed, and even sold, but must be done so under the same license. This differs greatly
from traditional operating systems—Unix and Windows, for example—which are proprietary, locked-down, and
delivered as-is and unmodifiable.
What is PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL is a relational database. It stores data points in rows, with columns as different data attributes. A
table stores multiple related rows. The relational database is the most common type of database in use. It
differentiates itself with a focus on integrations and extensibility. It works with a lot of other technologies and
conforms to various database standards that ensures it is extensible.

In recent years, many companies have officially supported the development of the PostgreSQL project. Let’s
dig deeper into why it is gaining popularity.

Why use PostgreSQL?

An enterprise class database, PostgreSQL boasts sophisticated features such as Multi-Version Concurrency
Control (MVCC), point in time recovery, tablespaces, asynchronous replication, nested transactions, online/hot
backups, a sophisticated query planner/optimiser, and write ahead logging for fault tolerance.

PostgreSQL works on most popular operating systems – almost all Linux and UNIX distributions, Windows,
Mac OS X. Its open source nature makes it easy to upgrade or extend. In PostgreSQL, you can define your
own data types, build custom functions, and even write code in another programming language (e.g. Python)
without recompiling the database. And, of course, PostgreSQL is free!

What is VLAN?

VLAN is a custom network which is created from one or more local area networks. It enables a group of
devices available in multiple networks to be combined into one logical network. The result becomes a virtual
LAN that is administered like a physical LAN. The full form of VLAN is defined as Virtual Local Area Network.

Why would you use a VLAN?

 VLANs are cost-effective

 VLANs offer more flexibility than no virtual networking solutions

 VLANs decrease the amount of administrative oversight required by network overseers like managed
services providers (MSPs)
How VLAN works
Here is step by step details of how VLAN works:

 VLANs in networking are identified by a number.

 A Valid range is 1-4094. On a VLAN switch, you assign ports with the proper VLAN number.

 The switch then allows data which needs to be sent between various ports having the same VLAN.

 Since almost all networks are larger than a single switch, there should be a way to send traffic

between two switches.

 One simple and easy way to do this is to assign a port on each network switch with a VLAN and run a

cable between them.

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system technology that allows incoming callers to
access information via a voice response system of pre-recorded messages without having to speak to an
agent, as well as to utilize menu options via touch tone keypad selection or speech recognition to have their
call routed to specific departments or specialists.

What is a dialler?
A dialler is an automated system that places calls to customers, from an outbound call center or a blended call
center.

The aim is to reduce the cost of making phone calls by removing a lot of repetitive and error-prone work.

Diallers also improve efficiency by connecting agents directly to customers as soon as they are free.

Automated dialling means that contact center agents don’t waste time physically inputting telephone numbers.
Instead, they can spend more of each call talking to customers.
Asterisk

Asterisk an open-source framework for building communications applications. It runs

on Linux, BSD and OS X and allows you to build a PBX given sufficient Linux and telephony know-how.
Asterisk does voice over IP in four protocols and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony
equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware.

Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response, and Call
Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, IAX, SIP, H.323 (as both client and
gateway), MGCP (call manager only) and SCCP/Skinny. Check the Features section for a more complete
list.

Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice-over-IP, although it does expect a non-standard driver that
implements dummy hardware as a non-portable timing mechanism (for certain applications such as
conferencing). A single (or multiple) VOIP provider(s) can be used for outgoing and/or incoming calls (outgoing
and incoming calls can be handled through entirely different VOIP and/or telco providers)

Lastly, standalone devices are available to do a wide range of tasks including providing FXO and FXS ports
that simply plug into the LAN and register to Asterisk as an available device. If you are looking for a ready to
go solution for Windows or Linux, 3CX offers a highly-regarded product.