Hack the Route Start free Open app Labs / The Switchyard
Road 3 of 11
The Switchyard
Switches, loops, VLANs and multicast inside one network, IPv6, the next version of IP, and Wi-Fi.
Start this road, freeSwitching, STP & link aggregation
How switches learn, avoid loops and bundle links.
- 01 Switching: how a switch learns where everyone is A switching lab: watch a switch learn MACs, then overfill its table until it floods. Free
- 02 Spanning tree: a loop on purpose, and the protocol that breaks it Build a loop of three switches and watch spanning tree block one port. Pro
- 03 Rapid Spanning Tree: the blocked port takes over in about a second Cut a cable in a looped network; the spare port takes over in a second. Pro
- 04 Link aggregation: two cables, one link Bond two cables into one link with LACP, then cut one mid-transfer. Pro
VLANs, trunks & multicast
Many networks on one switch, carried over trunks.
- 01 VLANs: many networks on one switch Split one switch into separate networks and route between them on a stick. Pro
- 02 VLANs across switches: trunks Carry several VLANs between two switches on one trunk, voice VLAN included. Pro
- 03 Multicast: one stream, only to those who asked Send one stream to a group and see only the members that joined receive it. Pro
IPv6
The next IP: self-built addresses and running beside IPv4.
- 01 IPv6 basics: addresses that build themselves IPv6 explained: a card builds its own addresses and finds neighbours without ARP. Pro
- 02 IPv6 dual stack: IPv6 beside IPv4 Run IPv6 beside IPv4, and see why blocking ICMPv6 breaks it. Pro
- 03 IPv6 addressing: address kinds, anycast and DHCPv6 Meet every kind of IPv6 address and where each one comes from. Pro
- 04 Beyond IPv6 basics: NAT64, DNS64 and anycast Reach an IPv4-only server from an IPv6-only laptop, then share one address by anycast. Pro
Wi-Fi
How Wi-Fi joins a network, and how it is secured.