The Technology Firm - Articles

Understanding Incomplete ARP Entries

NETWORKING

Unlock the Power of Gmail Aliases
Whether you manage multiple online accounts, want better organization, or simply wish to reduce spam, Gmail aliases are one of the most powerful—and often overlooked—features available to Gmail users https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/unlock-power-of-gmail-aliases.html
Understanding Incomplete ARP Entries
One of the most valuable skills a network administrator can develop is the ability to interpret the information provided by network equipment. https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/07/understanding-incomplete-arp-entries.html
Wifi Troubleshooting - Get Your Clients Perspective
When Wi-Fi performance complaints start rolling in, it's tempting to focus immediately on access points, controller dashboards, and network infrastructure
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/wifi-troubleshooting-get-your-clients.html
The Case for Bench Testing
Think you're saving time by deploying equipment straight into production? Think again. Bench testing is one of the most effective ways to identify configuration issues, hardware defects, firmware problems, and interoperability challenges before they impact users and critical business operations. https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/the-case-for-bench-testing.html
When Your Access Point Becomes a Detective... Someone Pays the Price
Wireless access points can do more than just connect users to the network—they can also scan the RF environment for interference, rogue devices, and channel utilization issues. But there's a catch: every second spent scanning is a second not fully dedicated to serving client traffic.
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/the-trade-offs-of-access-point-driven.html
#WiFi #WirelessNetworking #RFScanning #NetAlly #EtherScope #NetworkEngineering #WiFiTroubleshooting #NetworkMonitoring #WirelessLAN #ITInfrastructure #TechTips #Networking
Anatomy of a Connection When I analyze a trace file with a client, I always look for the beginning of the TCP connection or application. https://www.lovemytool.com/2020/10/anatomy-of-connection.html
Free ARP Scanner for your toolbox I can never stress enough that you need to ‘get to know’ your tools for a bunch of reasons, here are a few examples..
https://www.lovemytool.com/2020/10/free-arp-scanner.html
Analyzing Multiple Trace Files- Setup I get many emails asking for assistance when you have multiple trace files. Lets start with a quick review of the benefits of having multiple trace files...
https://www.lovemytool.com/2020/09/analyzing-multiple-trace-files-setup.html
Wifi Auto Doesn't Mean Optimal - Things to look out for ..Channel chaos: your AP is fighting neighbors it can't see Auto channel selection sounds smart, but most vendors run a quick scan at boot time and picks a channel based on what'... https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/wifi-auto-doesnt-mean-optimal.html
Validating Network Performance with a Throughput Test https://www.lovemytool.com/2020/08/validating-network-performance-with.html
DHCP Detective: Looking for Sparks Before it Becomes a Fire
And #NetBeez Releases Its MCP Server
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/06/dhcp-detective-looking-for-sparks.html
Why Network Alerts Are Your First Line of Defense
One of the easiest ways to level up your network management game is by enabling alerts—yet it’s also one of the most commonly overlooked steps.
Trust, But Verify: Lab Router Failover Testing
There’s a special kind of confidence that comes from being told “it should just work”—especially when it comes to networking gear.
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/05/trust-but-verify-lab-router-failover.html
Networking Advice.. Cover up!
If you’ve ever unboxed new network gear, you’ve probably noticed all those tiny plastic caps covering ports—especially on fiber modules.
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/05/networking-advice-cover-up.html
Microsoft Powershell Desktop Network Troubleshoting Tip
If you’ve ever found yourself digging through layers of network settings just to answer a simple question like “what’s my IP?”, and #Cubro - Understanding Layer 4 Aggregation and Filtering in Network Visibility
https://www.lovemytool.com/2026/04/microsoft-powershell-desktop-network.html
Switch Reporting Mystery Solved
For those of you who have read my past articles, I have said countless times that you should "Know your tools".
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/switch-reporting-mystery-solved.html
DHCP Logs Decoded: The Tiny Tool That Packs a Networking Punch
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/dhcp-logs-decoded-tiny-tool-that-packs.html
Why ????
I have done countless videos about how important it is to supervise and check on your cabling contractors.
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/why.html
Why Should I Bother With A Site Audit
After working this contract for over a year, I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of the current equipment, installation standards, some of the exceptions and some of the chronic issues support staff face.
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/why-should-i-bother-with-site-audit.html
Baselining, No Problem
Not a week goes by without an email from someone asking me to how to create a baseline or worse, requests to review their baseline. I will explain both points before moving on.
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/baselining-no-problem.html
Troubleshooting HTTP 503 Issues
I have seen many web applications that ‘work’ but not ‘work well’. if you dig in, you may find error messages or logs. Errors can caused many different ways
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/troubleshooting-http-503-issues.html
Free Command Line timer
Command line or batch files are incredibly important to me as an analyst. https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/free-command-line-timer.html
What To Do When Your Network Decided to Ghost Itself
Your switch port is sitting there in Discarding state like it's on a bad date—totally up physically, link lights are happy, but it's refusing to pass any traffic. In modern speak (especially with Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol, aka RSTP), "discarding" is the cool new name for the old-school "blocking" state.
The Case For Nmap Ping Only Subnet Scans
Why You Should Be Ping-Happy The Case for Quick Nmap Subnet Scans Ever wonder which devices are actually alive on your network without calling up IT and asking for a census That’s where a simple Nmap ping scan comes in handy. and Top Internet Connectivity Issues and How to Fix Them #netbeez https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-case-for-nmap-ping-only-subnet-scans.html
Who Invited This access-point?
Monitoring your Wi-Fi network isn’t just for giant enterprises with blinking racks of gear—it’s just as important for small offices and home labs. Systems like Ubiquiti UniFi don’t just move packets around; they actively watch what’s happening in your wireless environment and throw up alerts when something looks fishy. That “third-party access point broadcasting the same SSID” warning is a perfect example of your network politely saying, “Uh, hey… this doesn’t look like one of ours.” https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/who-invited-this-access-point.html
WE HAVE A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE
The most frustrating thing as a user, is when you try to explain an issue and no one takes it seriously. I see this from the support side and many times that is precisely why I am called in..... and Helping IT Organizations Prevent Disruptions Before They Impact Business https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/we-have-failure-to-communicate.html
Reserving an IP on a Cudy Router Without Losing Your Mind and Impact of AI on Networking Engineers
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/reserving-ip-on-cudy-router-without.html
The Case for the Post-Install Check-In Installing new network gear can feel like crossing the finish line of a marathon
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-case-for-post-install-check-in.html
Cudy AX3000 Review - The Setup
https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/cudy-ax3000-review-setup.html
Why Your EdgeRouter Deserves Proper Name Resolution
If you’ve ever stared at your equipment logs trying to figure out which mystery IP address belongs to which device, you already know the pain

https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/why-your-edgerouter-deserves-proper.html
Screenshot or It Didn’t Happen: Why Install Notes Save Your Sanity &iperf3
There’s nothing quite like finishing a hardware install and thinking, “I’ll remember how I set this up.” Spoiler alert: you won’t https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/screenshot-or-it-didnt-happen-why.html
Lets play IP 'Whack a Mole' https://thetechfirmblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/let-play-ip-whack-mole.html Had such a weird problem the other day after the installation of a voice switch. The voice switch was manually configured with an ip address (x.x.x.2) and an old Cisco switch (model unknown) decides to grab the same ip from our dhcp server. Here's the odd part, I configured the DHCP scope to start at x.x.x.11.

CISCO

MICROSOFT

Microsoft Client Bindings - blast from the past

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