The PostgreSQL database management system, also known to many as Postgres, has many decades of development behind it. It originally started as a project at Berkeley University in California. Today, the open source database continues to defy solutions from commercial competitors, since the development team is constantly working on its functionality and performance. But what exactly is PostgreSQL?...
Cloud computing is not just an IT industry buzzword, it’s a model that many companies already employ effectively and profitably into their organisations. A large portion of IT infrastructure is no longer managed on-site. Instead, the required services can be rented via a service on the internet. Here we provide a cloud computing definition and explain exactly how it works.
Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive small form factor PC that can behave like a standard computer in many respects. Users can use this innovative mini-computer for all kinds of functions, from setting up an operating system to surfing the web, to using it as a server or a media center, and much more besides. Discover 10 interesting Raspberry Pi projects to try out at home.
A glance back into history can reveal a lot. Although token ring networks, or ring topologies, are nowhere to be found nowadays, token rings remain an interesting form of technology. Why the model, which is actually quite good, was outdone by its competitor Ethernet is due to the merciless nature of the tech market. Read the history behind token rings, along with a definition of the system that...
Autonomous cars, intelligent factories and self-regulating supply networks – a dream world for large-scale data-driven projects that will make our lives easier. However, what the cloud model is and how it works is not enough to make these dreams a reality. The challenge of effectively capturing, evaluating and storing mass data requires new data processing concepts. With edge computing, IT...
The communication protocol SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is an elementary component of many network management applications. It defines a number of message types that greatly simplify the monitoring and administration of individual network participants such as PCs, routers, servers, switches, firewalls, or printers. How exactly the SNMP protocol works and what fundamental adjustments...
If a system in IP networks is to send data packets to different target hosts as efficiently as possible, an IP multicasting connection is the perfect solution. When it comes to multipoint transmission, the data packets are able to reach all interested parties thanks to various protocols such as GMP, for example. Switches and internet routers can also use the communication protocol for IGMP...
An exact system time on a computer is especially important when devices need to exchange data. Cross-system processes quickly come to a standstill if the generated time stamps are very different from the time that applies to the system. Synchronization methods that keep the clocks of the individual network participants in sync are utterly indispensable. One of the simplest methods to achieve time...
Without a MAC address, nothing in a network will work on your device. Just as your postman needs a valid address to reliably deliver the mail, the transmission of data packets in computer networks is only possible with the unique hardware address of the target device. When it comes to a MAC address, at least there is one address available on each network-compatible device. But what is the MAC...
Using multicast connections, data streams can be transferred to a large number of clients easily and in such a way that saves resources – provided that the accessing systems are part of the same multicast group. In IPv4 networks, the organization and management of these groups is based on the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP), which was published as early as 1989. What exactly this...
