Network Types in Windows

Public Network

A public network is the default network type. If no network type is selected, Windows will configure Windows Firewall using the public network type rules. In a public network, Windows Firewall rules will be the most restrictive. The firewall will block most apps from connecting from the Internet and disable some features like file and printer sharing, network discovery, automatic setup of network devices, etc.

You should use this type of network when you have only one computer and do not want to communicate with any other network device.

Private Network

A private network can be a home network or a work network. This type of network will enable most networking features of Windows 10 like file sharing, network device setup, network discovery, etc.

Use this network type if you trust the network you are connecting to.

Domain Network

The domain network is automatically detected when your computer is a member of an Active Directory (AD) domain network. Windows should automatically detect this type of network and configure Windows Firewall accordingly. This type of network gives more control to the network administrator and the admin can apply different network security configurations using Active Directory group policies.

What Network Type Should I Set?

You are already aware of the different network types/profiles and which profile is suitable for different situations. If your PC is connected to an Active Directory, we suggest you configure it to Domain type.

However, if you are on a public network that is free to use for everyone, we strongly recommend that you configure the network type to Public, as then the Firewall restricts unwanted traffic, making your system more secure.

If you feel that you are secure on your home or work network, then it may be okay to set the type as Private. However, some users would prefer configuring them as Public too, just to be on the safe side.

What is the Ping Command?

Ping is a very simple and universal software with a command-line interface. Network administrators can use it for checking various aspects of the network. The ping command uses a protocol called ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol). You need a target. Then you send a package and wait for the echo reply. With this command you get statistics about the packages – time for response, errors, missing replies, etc.

What can you check with Ping?

• See if a device is connected. If you have its IP address, you can ping it and see if it responds on time.
• Time for response. You can see if the device responds too slowly. This can show a problem with its performance or network.
• Check a specific part of the network – router, server, etc.
• Verify if you have Internet. Just ping the IP address of a website you know.
• Keep a constant eye on your server. You can keep the ping constant and see if your server is experiencing downtime.

How can I use Ping?

You can use Ping by accessing the command prompt on Windows or the Terminal on macOS and Linux. For basic ping use, you can just write “ping http://www.EXAMPLE.com” or change the domain name with the IP address that you want to check.

Ping Syntax

Ping Syntax can be seen when you write “ping -?” for Windows or “ping –h” for macOS and Linux.
Then you can see all the available options that can modify your request.
This is the ping syntax for Windows 10. We have chosen to show the most common commands:

-t This option will ping the target without stopping. You can stop it with Control-C or Control-Break for a pause and statistic
-a Resolving addresses to hostnames
-n count Defining the number of echo request. The default is 4.
-1 size Sending buffer size.
-f For IPv4 only, it doesn’t allow flag fragmentation in the packets.
-i TTL Defining the Time to live
-r count Record route and you can see the number of hops (IPv4-only)
-s count Time for each hop (IPv4-only)
-w timeout Time in milliseconds that your computer can wait for the replies.
-R Testing reverse route
-4 Force only IPv4
-6 Force only IPv6

Ping examples:

We have used google.com and random IP addresses for the examples below:
“ping –n 7 http://www.google.com” – this will send 7 requests to google.com.
“ping 8.8.8.8” – use it with an IP address to see if it responds on time.
“ping –a 172.217.12.174” It will show you the hostname related to this IP address – lga25s62-in-f14.1e100.net

5 most used Linux network commands with examples

Ping command

The ping command is a command with a command-line interface (CLI) that you can find on every Linux distro and probably any OS in general (FreeBSD, Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, etc.). It sends packets of data using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) to a destination that could be defined by an IP address or a domain name. Then it will wait for the echo, the reply for each of those ICMP messages to return. In the end, you will get information about the time the packets reached the destination and if there were lost packets too.

The ping command is maybe the simplest command that you can use for network diagnostic. It is great for checking if a device is connected and running. If it is, it will reply to your ping command.

Examples of the ping command:

ping –n 15 yourdomain.com. 

This one will send 15 packets to the target, which in this case is yourdomain.com.

ping 123.123.123.123

This will show you how long it takes you to reach the IP address 123.123.123.123.

Nslookup command

Nslookup command is another universal command with a CLI interface. As the name suggests, nslookup is software to probe name servers and get different DNS records. It works for both a forward lookup and a reverse lookup too.

Examples of the Nslookup command:

nslookup -type=ns yourdomain.com

This will check for the NS record of yourdomain.com. There you can see the authoritative name servers of that domain.

After the “=” sign, we are specifying the DNS type. You can change it to A, AAAA, MX, SOA, CNAME, PTR, or another type that you are interested in.

nslookup -type=any yourdomain.com

If you want to see all publicly available DNS records for a domain, you can directly use the “any” type.

nslookup 123.123.123.123

This will make a reverse lookup and see to which domain, does the IP address 123.123.123.123 belongs.

Traceroute command

Traceroute command does exactly what you are expecting – it can trace the route of the packets of data and report the finding to you. Why would you like to know the route? Knowing the route, you can see bottlenecks in the connectivity and think about solutions to improve it. Imagine your website, which has web hosting in Europe, shows that all the American visitors are experiencing a very long route that passes through a specific slow location. You can think about a CDN with servers around that location and increase the speed significantly.

The Traceroute command is a great troubleshooting Linux command that you can easily use through the Terminal. You can use it in tandem with the Ping command. With this one, you can see the whole route, but it takes longer for the response to arrive. With the Ping, you get an almost instant answer for a single IP address or a domain.

Examples of the Traceroute command:

traceroute yourdomain.com

This will show you all the hops that the packets of data take, starting from your device to the target yourdomain.com.

traceroute 123.123.123.123

This will show you all the hops that the packets of data take, starting from your device to the target 123.123.123.123. As you can see, it works both with domain names and IP addresses (both IPv4 addresses and IPv6 ones).

map command

Nmap command is a simple tool that can map your network. A network administrator can use the Nmap command and send packets to all of the available hosts on the network. By doing so, it will see who is connected, what services are running (application names and versions) on them, their OSes, check the firewalls they have, and more.

It is a big advantage that it can be used for very large networks with many connected devices. The packets that it sends can be sent over TCP or UDP. As you prefer.

What is great about it is that it is available for many different Linux distros, but also for Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, and more. In addition, it is free and open-source! This software is not pre-installed like some of the previously mentioned, so you will need to download it from the official site. 

Examples of the Nmap command:

nmap yourdomian.com

This will show all the open services and ports of the host (the server).

nmap 123.123.123.123

You can use an IP address (both IPv4 and IPv6) and see the open ports and services of the host.

nmap 123.123.123.123 111.111.111.111 222.222.222.222.

You can scan multiple hosts by simply put their IP addresses with a space in between. Here we have 3 hosts in this example.

Nmap 123.123.123.*

Use the “*” simple to indicate all of the possible combinations of hosts inside the subnet.

nmap -O 123.123.123.123

With this Linux network command, you can see the OS (Operating system) of the host 123.123.123.123.

nmap -sA 123.123.123.123

The option above will show you the firewall settings of the particular host.

nmap -sS 123.123.123.123

A “stealth” mode for the Nmap command. You could use it to stay undetected. It uses TCP SYN packets.

Nmap is a very interesting command that could be very useful, no matter if you are a network administrator or you want to see information about your server.

Dig command

The dig command is probably the best software with CLI that you can use on a Linux computer. You can get all kinds of detailed information about a domain, including DNS records, name server information, connectivity from different points, and even trace the route.

Examples of the Dig command:

dig yourdomain.com NS

This will show you the NS records have the information about the name servers for the particular domain. You can change the last part of this query with the type of DNS record that you want to probe. Try one of the following:

dig yourdomian.com A 

IPv4 addresses.

dig yourdomian.com AAAA

IPv6 addresses.

dig yourdomian.com SOA

Information about the DNS zone.

dig yourdomian.com MX

Incoming mail server.

dig yourdomian.com TXT

Different TXT records.

dig yourdomian.com CNAME 

The linked canonical hostname for the specific domain.

dig -x 123.123.123.123

The Dig command, with the option “-x”, can be used to perform reverse DNS lookup by probing an IP address.

dig +trace yourdomain.com

You can use the Dig command to trace the route to the target with the option “+trace”.

Factors to Consider Before Buying a WiFi Router

Top Five Features to Look for in a Wi-Fi Router

1. A dual-band router with two different frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. (5 GHz connections offer higher performance, making it ideal for online gaming and streaming, while 2.4 GHz provides better Wi-Fi range)

2. Check your router have Guest Wireless Network and Parental Control options

3. Go with a A router that supports WPA Enterprise provides security through unique authentication encryptions on external servers

4. The router having wireless on off button

5. Router having IPv6 support and USB port

Common types of routers available in the market

• Single Band Router – They can transmit 2.4GHz of frequencies which is very helpful for the home user. This frequency can be easily transmitted through walls and floors. It is available cheap.

• Dual Band Router – This router can enable you to connect with the gadgets between 2.4GHz to 5GHz. This router is very useful when you live in a densely populated area as double band routers are less used by people as compared to a single band router because 5GHz can’t be penetrated through walls and floors. It offers up to 100x the wireless bandwidth (Picks up both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands), dedicated Wi-Fi Network for video and gaming, and has two separate Wi-Fi networks operating simultaneously.

• Tri-Band Router – No. It wo’t add up another frequency layer to it. But, this router will add up one another 5GHz to the layer. The biggest advantage of this router is that it reduces congestion and interference on your Wi-Fi networks even more. Three separate bands means three times more bandwidth. It can dedicate each band to separate devices and supports more devices due to additional wireless bands.

• Mesh Network – Okay, so if you are planning to buy the mesh network WiFi Router, then you need to clear one thing that this router isn’t related to bands. It is mainly related to the extent of WiFi connectivity. Here, one main router is connected to other nodes present at different locations to increase the operational area of the WiFi network. The mesh network is useful for the large house between 2,000 and 4,500 square feet or multiple floor corporate offices.

Different Wireless Standards

• 802.11 used the 2.4GHz band and had a max bandwidth of 2  Mbps

• 802.11b uses the same 2.4GHz band with a max bandwidth of 11 Mbps.

• 802.11a was introduced in 1999, at the same time as 802.11b, but it operates on the 5GHz and supports a maximum bandwidth of 54Mbps.

• 802.11g supports a maximum bandwidth of 54Mbps but operates in the 2.4GHz band.

• 802.11n was introduced in 2009, which operates in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz and supports a bandwidth of up to 300Mbps (or even 450Mbps with three antenna)

• 802.11ac works exclusively in the 5GHz and supports bandwidth between 433Mbps to multiple gigabits per second.