Port Forwarding is the term used for the process of intercepting and redirecting the data traffic within a network that is headed for a destination. In computer networking, the whole existence is for the purpose of sending data to devices connected within the network. Port forwarding simply is sending the data to any IP/Port combination that isn’t its destination but the whole process ends with the data reaching its destination. In any network, port forwarding can be done by software that is on the target device or it can be performed using intermediate hardware in networks such as a router, firewall or proxy server.

Port forwarding is used in all the different networks and it helps in keeping the data traffic in check while keeping the network secure. Port forwarding can restrict unwanted access on the server or network and limit access on the same. This also allows the host to have multiple layers of security before any data gets to the destination. This is the part of networking that allows more control over the server to host and secures the network limiting the access in and out of the server.

DHCP in computer networking stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and is the protocol responsible for assigning IP addresses and configuration to devices connected over a network. Basic requirement over a network for device to connect and operate is that it has an IP address and network configuration. These IP addresses are needed to be assigned either manually by the administrator or the APIPA Address is assigned by computer to itself. APIPA address limits the computer to its local subnet and it can’t work outside of that subnet. DHCP allows the computer to request for it’s IP address and configuration from the ISP so the manual work if the administrator is not needed.

DHCP is applicable to different types of networks ranging from a local network at residence or even a bigger campus as well as an ISP network. The DHCP server can be a router in a network or it can be a residential gateway. The routers usually have their own IP address by default provided by the ISP network and this DHCP server then gives a local IP address to computers connected over the network.

MAC Cloning is setting the MAC address of your PC or any other MAC address as your device WAN port and this is one of the methods to fix connectivity issues. MAC stands for Media Access Control and this is the hardware address that the Network Interface Card is manufactured with. At times computers face connectivity issues even with the hardware and ssoftwarefunctioning properly and at these times MAC cloning is used to fix this. An IP address is assigned to any computer by DHCP after reading its MAC address and thus IP address is lost once the computer disconnects. On reconnecting within the leasing period DHCP checks the MAC address again to assign the same IP address as before. Adding a different device such as a router that has its own MAC address connectivity issues with arise. 

These connectivity issues that arise due to the addition of external new MAC address into the network are fixed by MAC cloning. By simply cloning the MAC address that the ISP has used for assigning IP addresses this connectivity issue can be solved.

SSID or Service Set Identifier in networking is the digital presence mark for networks that are editable and are constructed by simple languages and characters. A more simplified explanation is SSID are the names that are visible as available networks on a device such as a laptop or a smartphone. The common example of SSID that can be seen every day is available WiFi or the hotspot name that is set manually or by default. Every network has an SSID and for products, the SSID by default is usually their brand name or the model name as in routers or modems.

Default SSIDs of any device is the one that is on it working without getting set manually. It’s just the name of hotspot or WiFi that you tap on for getting connected to that network sometimes with a password or even without that. Manual SSIDs are suggested for keeping the network secure rather than the default SSIDs that are more vulnerable to hackers. A network can also have more than one SSID and the SSID can be changed for any wireless network by the host.

PPPoE in networking is derived from point-to-point protocol and the only difference is that it is Point-to-point protocol over Ethernet. Commonly used in DSL services and networks with multiple users connected over a DSL modem using Ethernet in the local network. PPPoE allows the devices on Ethernet modem to established connections from point-to-point creating a secure way to transfer data. ISP or telephone companies also have their use for connecting with users and keeping the individuals under regulation. This allows them to separate the users and keep the network and services under control for each of them to change services any time they have to.

Different users or subscribers are provided different services by the same ISP and company with PPPoE and prepaid services are also possible with it. For large scale such as an ISP with multiple users connected to them and taking different services, it is useful at all levels. Changes in speed, services, and subscription can be done without affecting others connecting on the Ethernet is possible with PPPoE.

MAC Address stands for Media Access Control Address and it is a computer networking term that represents a device’s unique hardware identifying number. With a large number of devices that work on the internet to distinguish each of them there are some unique number sequences allotted to each of them. Network cards when manufactured are given these MAC addresses by manufacturers and it remains the same for that device. WiFi and Ethernet cards have MAC addresses given from the manufacturer so they can work on any network. MAC addresses need to be unique as they are identification numbers for that hardware and IP Addresses are assigned to then with this MAC address. 

The structure of the MAC address is readable to humans and consists of six pairs of characters such as numbers and letters. These pairs have colons in between them to make a proper MAC address. This address is quite easy to understand but has no use to humans as the networks can automatically recognize it. The format of the MAC address may look like this for a device or network card 0d:00:83:b1:d0:8e.

In networking, DNS means Domain Name System and this is the very thing responsible for the interaction of user with web pages without using IP addresses. For using internet users use domain names to access the websites whereas the web browsers use the IP addresses to access the same thing. DNS serves the purpose of translator between a domain name and IP Address so the browser gets the IP address every time someone inputs a Domain name.

On the internet, there are too many devices to count that are connected to each other and each of these has their IP address. These IP Addresses are used by devices to recognize other devices and DNS allows user to interact with these devices without using their IP address. It’s too much trouble to remember the IP Address be it the IPv4 or the newer and more complex IPv6 so DNS saves the trouble for users.

Each time a search is made DNS acts as a translator on the internet to make the search possible without the use of the actual IP address directly.

An IP address stands for Internet Protocol and now there are these two types of IP addresses that can be easily differentiated. There is Static IP which as it sounds is un-editable and more directed towards its permanent existence. On the other hand, Dynamic IP is dynamic as it can be changed and is editable to a better extent. There are some easy to understand the differences between both the IP and one is how it is provided. A static IP address is given to the computer by ISP whereas the dynamic IP address is mostly given by DHCP. Static IP remains the same once it is assigned to a computer of the device whereas Dynamic IP can be changed at any time.

Static and Dynamic IP is different for security reasons as well due to the less security on Static IP whereas Dynamic IP is more secure and contains less risk. The static IP address allows a device to be traceable on the other hand Dynamic IP address makes the device intractable. Stability also makes a difference in both the IPs as the Static IP address is stable as compared to Dynamic IP address.

IP Address stands for Internet Protocol Address and is a numerical name that each of the devices working on the internet is assigned. For numerous computers and devices communicating on the internet, there is the same number of IP addresses. This IP address is made up of numbers that can be read by users normally as a simple language. It serves a major role in computer networking and has two functions in networking. The two functions of the IP Addresses are interface identification and location addressing as it is responsible for the identification of devices or computers. 

The two Internet protocols that are quite well-known are Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). IPv4 is an older or outdated version as it reads IP addresses as a 32-bit number. IPv6 was next to IPv4 as the users across the internet increased and IPv4 ended with the lack of IPv4 addresses. IPv6 turned out better due to the 128-bit number in IP addresses that started in the year 1998. IP addresses are simple numbers and so they are readable without need of any software as it’s just a simple numerical format.