Blog
News, guides, and product updates from Obelinf.
How to Track ISP Circuit IDs, Demarcs, and Terminations Across Providers
A working procedure for circuit records: the fields to capture, API calls to write them, the commands that verify a handoff, and the queries that find incomplete circuits before the next outage.
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VLAN Membership at the Port Level: Access, Trunk, Tagged, and Untagged Explained
A VLAN is a broadcast domain, but the port decides who joins it. Learn how access, trunk, and hybrid ports handle tagged and untagged frames, why the native VLAN matters, and how to verify membership.
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What Is a LAN? LAN vs WAN, Ports, and How They Connect
A plain explanation of a LAN: what a local area network is, how it differs from a WAN, what LAN and WAN ports on a router mean, and how LANs scale from a home to a campus.
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What Is a Network Interface Card (NIC)?
A network interface card explained: what a NIC does, MAC addresses, speeds and ports, onboard versus add-in cards, virtual NICs, and how to document every interface you own.
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What Is DHCP? How Devices Get an IP Address Automatically
DHCP explained for beginners: the DORA exchange, lease lifetimes, options, relay agents, reservations, and how DHCP fits next to DNS and IPAM.
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What Is Ethernet? A Plain Explanation of the Wired Standard
Ethernet explained in plain terms: what the standard defines, how frames and MAC addresses work, what an Ethernet port is, and how Ethernet compares with Wi-Fi.
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What Is ICMP? Ping, Traceroute, and the Messages Behind Them
ICMP explained: the control messages behind ping and traceroute, the message types that matter, and how ICMP interacts with firewalls and packet loss.
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What Is PoE? Power Over Ethernet and PoE Switches Explained
PoE explained: how Power over Ethernet powers access points, cameras, and phones over one cable, the 802.3af, at, and bt standards, and how to plan a switch power budget.
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What Is TFTP and When Is It Still Used?
TFTP explained: how the trivial file transfer works over UDP, why switches and provisioning still use it, and where its lack of authentication becomes a risk.
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Introducing Wireless Links to Obelinf
Obelinf now models point to point wireless links between two wireless interfaces, alongside wireless interface types, access point and station roles, and a native SSID to VLAN link. Document the bridges that were living in a spreadsheet.
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Guest WiFi and WiFi Security: SSID Security Models
Choose the right security model for every SSID, from WPA2 and WPA3 to open networks with captive portals, then document it so the wireless network matches what you intended.
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How to Document a Wireless Network: SSIDs and Groups
A practical guide to documenting wireless networks: what to record for every SSID, how to group them by site and purpose, and how to keep the records from drifting.
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