IPv6 Is a Total Nightmare — This is Why

So this is just going to be a total rant. IPv6 is, in theory, a solution to many things, including the dwindling IPv4 address space. IPv6 was officially a draft in 1997, and became a real Internet Standard in 2017. And, quite frankly, it’s one of those things that, in my opinion, just adds too much hassle for not enough benefit.

Take 2 this time. More facts. Clarified points, same worthless opinions.

QMQP: That Other Mail Transfer Protocol

Everyone (okay, everyone this is relevant to) knows what SMTP is, the standard for mail transfer. It’s even in the name, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which is how mail servers have been sending mail to other mail servers since… a while. Well, fun fact, there’s another protocol that accomplishes the same goal: QMQP, the Quick Mail Queuing Protocol.

VPN Protocols Explained

So I’ve talked a little bit about VPNs before, but I didn’t go into too many details. Here’s a look into the top 5 common VPN protocols, and how they work: SSTP, L2TP(/IPsec), IPsec, WireGuard, and PPTP.

Spanning Tree Protocol(s) Explained

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the BPDUs.

Spanning Tree Protocol, as mentioned previously, is a protocol used by switches to build out a loop-free logical topology of an Ethernet network. The protocol itself is built off of a concept called, well, a spanning tree.

How does this work? Well, that’s what I’m here to explain.

Moving From Sophos UTM 9 to pfSense

Yeah I figure why not, at the same time that I’m replacing another key piece of network infrastructure, I might as well just replace the (second) most important piece, right? So cue the music, because…

Now, this is a story, all about how my life network got flipped, turned upside down, and I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there, I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air the owner of a… just… just cut the music. Let’s begin.

The Endless Struggle of Single Sign On

So if I said the words “Lightweight Directory Access Protocol”, do you feel my pain? if you don’t, keep reading. Otherwise, you likely know exactly where this is going to be going.

And for the record: this is something that I’ve struggled with for about 8 months, and I think it’s getting close to the point where I really should just give up… but I won’t.

Ah Yes, the SIMPLE Network Management Protocol

If that title isn’t a dead giveaway, I’m not happy. But yet I will somehow manage to vent my frustrations and explain something at the same time. Today: SNMP, or, “How to gather lots of stats on remote machines,” or, “Because you thought CVS was hard to wrap your head around.”

You Don't Need a VPN

Really, you don’t. Actually, the entire concept of a “VPN” that most people know of isn’t even close to the actual definition. I refuse to call this one a rant, but know that this is me adding some facts.