FtBP: Packet Formation Part 2/8 Packets on the wire (purposely repeated)                 As we go through this series we will go over some examples to help understand the progression of a network packet throughout a network segment. We will start off simple and grow to more and more complicated packet transfers, but before we get to the wire we will need to look at how the data is packaged, and so how the packet fo... [More]

What is a Network Client?                 Whether you are administering a network, troubleshooting a problem, or designing a solution it is invaluable to understand the role that your device plays in the network. As I worked the phones at Microsoft's US Senior Escalation Center I often found confusion caused by the use of the terms "Client" and "Server". My goal in this article is to help us better understand and use... [More]

This is a foundational post.  There are a few posts which are coming that require a basic understanding of what a service is and how it is described beyond just knowing where and how to manage services.  This post is more of an abstract conceptualization of what a service is and is intended to lay the groundwork for future posts.  We can all recognize common services and we know where to go to manage these services when we want to start, stop, or otherwise modify them.  But,... [More]

This is intended to be part of a larger series on the registry.  I have always loved the registry because there is just so much potential there.  Group policy has really made that evident and now more than ever with group policy preferences.  However, there is a lot that is misunderstood in the registry – and much of it by me.  So, this will be an exercise in my own education as much as an exposition.  Let’s start with the staples of the registry.  The ... [More]