The Toll Men

The proliferation of high speed Internet access coupled with the flexibility and lower cost of calls using VoIP phone has made this burgeoning technology very attractive to prospective customers. Internet telephony is now one of the rapidly-growing applications on the Net with around four million VoIP users in the UK alone, not including business subscriptions.

The initial step that should be taken when considering getting an account is to look into the available VoIP providers and the range of services they provide. Once the provider and service have been selected the next stage is setting up your account. This is a simple process but do keep in mind that you should check your service offers a local number. Some VoIP providers don’t cover every phone exchange in which case you are likely to be offered a number from the nearest exchange thats available.

Having a non-local number may not seem like something to consider when VoIP is used for outgoing calls, it will be an issue to your family and friends when they make long distance (or national rate) calls to converse with you even though they may live in the same town. There are some VoIP providers that only offer non-geographic numbers, using codes such as 0870, 0845 or 056. In the case of non-geographic numbers some limitations exist: Calls to 0870 and 0845 numbers are not allowed from most landline, mobile and VoIP providers’ all-inclusive call packages. In the case of 056 numbers, it is not possible to call them from outside the UK at present.

Consideration should be given to ensuring you have access to a landline as a backup. The reason for this is that if there is a power cut you are likely to lose your internet connection - because the router and ADSL modem need power - and your VoIP access too, because the VoIP hardware needs to be connected to the mains. There are some types of VoIP equipment that offer a emergency option that will connect emergency calls, and all calls if there should be a power failure, to a landline. You should check this feature with your provider if you feel that you need to have this option included in your service.

Some VoIP service providers offer services that allow you to pay for calls as you go while others offer a service that charges a single, all-inclusive fee. Plans offering unlimited local and national calls are also available for small businesses and for residential users. In the case of businesses additional features such as a free fax service are often included. There is a plan out there to suit you!

Just contact the VoIP company of your choice and they will set up an account for you. The average person should be up and running with VoIP in about half an hour. Join the VoIP revolution!

Until fairly recently, gaming notebooks were typically built to spec by special manufacturers. They were low volume sellers and big revenue generating laptops. Surely I would positively say everyone desired one though. They the the most advanced technology and simply the best laptop computers. Having said that the vast number of us most likely didn’t buy laptop computers of this kind because of the price. As the international computer companies recognize the potential revenues in gaming laptops, the business is transforming.

Just think about how much profit these manufacturers could be generating particularly when using their economies of scale. With laptop computers being classed like consumer electronics this is a great profit stream for them. Why would anyone buy laptop computers like this? Well big manufacturers have the marketing spend to educate them on that. I suppose littler system builders are extremely distressed about this. Now consumers will have much more options it makes it difficult for the small resellers. In my view if anyone’s prepared to part with a lot of cash the established brand always comes out victorious.

The hype being produced regarding the latest branded gaming laptop computers is making people perceive them to be the best laptop computers in history. I guess that local retailers may yet have an opportunity. Being able to purchase exactly what components they desire is a major bonus for many potential buyers who are considering purchasing a gaming laptop computer. Educated in the technology, these kinds of people are savvy to what details to check for. In deciding between speed and aesthetics, these consumers typically favour the former.

For the buyer, this has plenty of advantages. I can predict some price wars taking place in this sector later. I mention that with a high degree of uncertainty however. I think technology is becoming increasingly advanced however the latest laptop computers should typically remain at premium prices. Global companies have associated themselves with the gaming laptops sector and only time will tell what happens.

You can see the impact of this right now. Just check out how low priced the gaming laptops are at http://www.rizeon.com

The textbook definition of “administrative distance” is simple enough: “the measurement of a protocol’s believability”. It’s not enough to know the definition, however you’ve got to know when AD comes into the picture and when it does not.

When a packet needs to be routed, the router looks in its routing table for the next-hop IP address the packet should take to get to the destination. There may be more than one matching path, in which case the router will look for the “longest match”. The route that has the longest match - the route with the most bits in the mask set to “1″ - will be the route that is used.

Consider the following three routes from a fictional Cisco router:

I 172.17.0.0 /24 via 172.1.1.1

O 172.17.0.0 /25 via 173.1.1.1

R 172.17.0.0 /26 via 174.1.1.1

This router has three possible next-hop IP addresses that it can send packets destined for the network 172.17.0.0. The masks are of different lengths, meaning that the route with the longest match (again, the route with the most bits set to “1″) will be used. In this example, the RIP route will be used, since it has the longest match with a mask of /26. The administrative distances do not matter.

AD does matter when the masks are the same length, as shown here:

I 172.17.0.0 /24 via 172.1.1.1

O 172.17.0.0 /24 via 173.1.1.1

R 172.17.0.0 /24 via 174.1.1.1

The longest match rule always precedes the use of AD, but here there is a three-way tie regarding the masks. They’re all /24 (or 255.255.255.0 in dotted decimal). AD will be used to break this tie.

As mentioned, AD is a measurement of a protocol’s believability. It is important to keep in mind that the lowest AD will be preferred. And while the routing table will show you the ADs of the respective protocols, it’s a very good idea to know these ADs before taking the CCNA or CCNP:

Connected route: 0

Static Route: 1

EIGRP Summary: 5

External BGP: 20

EIGRP (Internal): 90

IGRP: 100

OSPF: 110

ISIS : 115

RIP: 120

EIGRP (External) : 170

Unknown: 255 (A router will not believe a source with an AD of 255, and such routes will not be placed into the routing table.)

The three protocols we looked at in the comparison were RIP, IGRP, and OSPF. While your first instinct may be that the OSPF route would be the most believable, IGRP actually has a lower AD than the other two and would be the route installed in the routing table.

Since IGRP does not support variable-length subnet masking and OSPF does, you may never see this scenario outside of an exam question. But if you do see it in the exam room or in a production network, you’ll understand how an IGRP route could be preferred over an OSPF route.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, send a request to chris@thebryantadvantage.com today !

JP Morgan Chase & Co. will begin issuing contactless “blink” cards to millions of MasterCard and Visa credit cardholders next month.

A “blink” card looks like a regular credit card, but is embedded with an RFID chip that allows the bearer to wave the card at an RFID-enabled terminal rather than swipe it or hand it to a cashier.

If you already wave cards at toll collection booths and gas station pumps, the “blink” card may be an easy transition for you. I envy you that. I have yet to find anything about RFID that is an easy transition for me.

I’m actually less concerned about the security of “blink” cards than I am about many other RFID applications. The selected interface protocol supports a read range of only a few inches, so any would-be identity pirate would have to be stationed between my hand and the reader in order to steal my information. I’m confident that even if I’m temporarily overwhelmed by the joy of saving ten seconds during checkout, I would notice them there.

Chase’s initial plan is to link “blink” cards only to credit card accounts, not debit or bank cards. I don’t know if this decision is motivated by consumer interest or Chase’s self-interest. Either way, it provides a layer of personal security. If a crafty digital thief does manage to slip in when I’m blinking, they will be plundering my Chase credit card account, not my personal bank account.

The June fleet of “blink” cards is slated for Chase account members in two undisclosed cities. Chase is keeping the undisclosed target cities undisclosed for undisclosed reasons.

I can’t help but note that Merriam-Webster defines “blink” as:

1 to look with half-shut eyes
2 to shine dimly or intermittently
3 to look with too little concern

Sally Bacchetta - Freelance Writer/Sales Trainer

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning freelance writer and sales trainer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including RFID, selling skills, motivation, and pharmaceutical sales.

You can contact her at sb14580@yahoo.com and read her latest articles on her website.

The article describes electromagnetic propagation and how RF
engineering concepts can be applied specifically to 802.11 Wi-Fi
WLANs. The popular formulae often applied to wireless networking
are explained in clear, concise terms, with the math and physics
being included. These include free space path loss, Fresnel zone
calculation, and even an introduction to the Maxwell wave
equations. The official title of the paper is, “I’m Going to Let
My Chauffeur Answer That.”, an allusion to a humorous story
explained in the paper. The full text of the paper is available
on the Connect802 website, in the Literature section at:
www.Connect802.com/literature

Watches are classic. They are an essential part of every
wardrobe, but they must also possess style and functionality to
the wearer. For years, watches have been extremely popular gift
ideas while remaining a constant self-indulging accessory.

In 1881, Kintaro Hattori opened a clock shop in Tokyo, which
established a foundation for modern clock and watch making in
Japan. This new brand was titled Seikosha. The store was the
direct ancestor of the current Seiko Corporation, Tokyo, which
is the parent company of Seiko Corporation of America. Eleven
years later, Hattori opened a clock factory with ten employees.
Two months after it is inception, the first dozen clocks were
produced. In 1895, the production of pocketwatches began.
Following that trend, the company began to produce alarm clocks
in 1899, which was followed by the introduction of table and
musical clocks in 1902. In 1912, Hattori began considering ideas
regarding the production of a Japanese wristwatch. The following
year, his company began working on the first Seikosha wristwatch
to ever be made in Japan. In 1924, the Seiko brand was
officially created. After 43 years of the company’s existence,
the first Seiko wristwatch was made.

Since that time, there have been many modern advancements to the
world of watches. But, throughout the changing times, Seiko has
remained a powerhouse in the timepiece industry. In 1956, they
produced the first self-winding wristwatch made in Japan. In
1964, Seiko released the world’s first quartz chronometers and
became the official timer of the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo.
In 1968, they introduced the world’s first quartz wall clock.
The following year, in 1969, Seiko released the first quartz
watch. Also that year, Tiffany & Co. began selling the Seiko
Astron 35SQ, which was encased in solid 18kt yellow gold. During
the next several years, Seiko introduced many firsts to the
world of watches, including the first multi-function digital
watch and the first LCD quartz watch with six-digit digital
display.

Seiko has served as the official timer for various athletic
competitions and events. Among the collections offered by Seiko
include the Tressia, La Grand Sport and Elite Collections, which
includes the Sportura, Arctura and Coutura. Their line of
technology timepieces include the Kinetic Perpetual, Kinetic
Chronograph, Kinetic Auto Relay, Kinetic, Analog Digital,
Chronograph, Flight Computer and Perpetual Calendar. The
majority of Seiko timepieces are designed to be water resistant.
The U.S. warranty for Seiko watches, which are sold by Seiko
Corporation of America, is three years. The warranty for clocks
is one year. Certain restrictions and exclusions may apply, so
be sure to read your warranty information closely when
purchasing any new timepiece and always retain a copy of all
such warranties.

As with any timepiece, caring for your watch will promote a
longer life for the product. If the battery is in need of
changing, be sure to have this done immediately. Seiko advices
that customers contact an authorized Seiko dealer for battery
and other minor repairs. If the timepiece needs further repair
or replacement parts not serviced by an authorized dealer,
customers may return the watch to the address on their warranty
card for proper handling. If the watch is under warranty, the
repairs should be done at no cost. If the warranty has expired,
however, the customer will be responsible for the cost of
repairs and replacements.

In the previous ISDN article, we looked at how and why one router dials another using ISDN. Just as important is knowing what keeps the link up once it is dialed.

Why? Because ISDN acts as a phone call between two routers, and it’s billed that way to your client. The two routers that are connected by this phone call may be located in different area codes, so now we’re talking about a long distance phone call.

If your ISDN link does not have a reason to disconnect, the connection could theoretically last for days or weeks before someone realizes what’s going on. This is particularly true when the ISDN link is used as a backup for another connection type, as is commonly the case with Frame Relay. When the Frame Relay goes down, the backup ISDN link comes up when the Frame Relay link comes back not billed for all that time.

To understand why an ISDN link stays up when it’s not needed, we have to understand why it stays up period. Cisco’s ISDN interfaces use the idle-timeout to determine when an ISDN link should be torn down. By default, this value is two minutes, and it also uses the concept of interesting traffic.

Once interesting traffic brings the link up, by default all traffic can cross the link. However, only interesting traffic resets the idle-timeout. If no interesting traffic crosses the link for two minutes, the idle-timer hits zero and the link comes down.

If the protocol running over the ISDN link is RIP version 2 or EIGRP, the most efficient way to prevent the routing updates from keeping the line up is expressly prohibiting their multicast routing update address in the access-list that is defining interesting traffic. Do not prevent them from crossing the link entirely, or the protocol obviously won’t work correctly.

With OSPF, Cisco offers the ip ospf demand-circuit interface-level command. The OSPF adjacency will form over the ISDN link, but once formed, the Hello packets will be suppressed. However, the adjacency will not be lost. A check of the adjacency table with show ip ospf adjacency will show the adjacency remains at Full, even though Hellos are no longer being sent across the link. The ISDN link can drop without the adjacency being lost. When the link is needed, the adjacency is still in place and data can be sent without waiting for OSPF to go through the usual steps of forming an adjacency.

This OSPF command is vital for Cisco certification candidates at every level, but is particularly important for CCNA candidates. Learn this command now, get used to the fact that the adjacency stays up even though Hellos are suppressed, and add this valuable command to your Cisco toolkit.

One myth about ISDN is that Cisco Discovery Packets keep an ISDN link up. CDP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that runs between directly connected Cisco devices. There is a school of thought that CDP packets have to be disabled on a BRI interface in order to prevent the link from staying up or dialing when it’s not really needed. I’ve worked with ISDN for years in the field and in the lab, and I’ve never seen CDP bring up an ISDN link. Try it yourself the next time you’re working on a practice rack!

Keep studying!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available. Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933!