The Plain-English IT Reference
Every page opens with a short answer, a hoverable diagram and a comparison table, then goes as deep as the topic needs. No vendor pitch, and every page names the editor who signed it.
Browse the reference library
One rubric for every tool, and the evidence behind each score named on the page. Vendors can dispute a fact, never a score, and pricing carries the date we verified it.
See the rankings
A company is listed once its state registration is confirmed, and the rare listing without one says so on its own profile. Phone, address, certifications and client references are published as they stand, with the date. Get up to three quotes in two business days.
Find an MSP in your city
Featured guides
The pages engineers send each other. Each one is written from the standard or the vendor's own documentation, and updated when either of them changes.
The message reads like a failed motherboard and it is a battery that costs almost nothing. The mechanism underneath expl...
- 10min read
- 1table
- 13FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
The usual answer is that a proxy does not encrypt and a VPN does. That is memorable, and wrong often enough to matter. H...
- 13min read
- 1table
- 12FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
IPsec turns a plain IP packet into an authenticated, encrypted one. Here is what happens to a packet inside the tunnel,...
- 11min read
- 1table
- 6FAQ
- Oct 2026updated
The word is deliberately broad, which is what makes it useful and what makes every conversation about how many there are...
- 11min read
- 1table
- 15FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Five timers listed in a row look like five of the same thing. Four of them never leave the pair of servers that run a zo...
- 10min read
- 1table
- 15FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
An image is what you build, a container is what runs, and the kernel underneath belongs to the host. Here is what each o...
- 14min read
- 1table
- 13FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
The usual answer is that a proxy does not encrypt and a VPN does. That is memorable, and wrong often enough to matter. H...
- 13min read
- 1table
- 12FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
IPsec turns a plain IP packet into an authenticated, encrypted one. Here is what happens to a packet inside the tunnel,...
- 11min read
- 1table
- 6FAQ
- Oct 2026updated
The word is deliberately broad, which is what makes it useful and what makes every conversation about how many there are...
- 11min read
- 1table
- 15FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Every method in this article is called MFA, and they stop completely different attacks. Here is what separates them, why...
- 16min read
- 1table
- 15FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Rules matched in order, a table of connections already allowed, and a default that denies the rest. Here is how a packet...
- 14min read
- 1table
- 14FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Never trust, always verify is the slogan. Here is the model underneath it, the five pillars it is assessed against, the...
- 13min read
- 1table
- 12FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
One has parts that move and one does not, and every other difference follows from that. Here is the gap that actually ma...
- 12min read
- 1table
- 13FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
A partition table is the map that finds everything else on a disk. Here is what each of the two formats writes down, why...
- 10min read
- 1table
- 14FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
One serves files, the other serves blocks, and every difference in cost, speed and complexity follows from that. Here is...
- 12min read
- 1table
- 13FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
An application crash kills the application. A kernel crash kills the machine. Most device drivers run on the kernel side...
- 10min read
- 1table
- 14FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Every article on this term is a list of stop codes. The stop code is a category shared by hundreds of unrelated faults....
- 13min read
- 1table
- 15FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
Five fields, a command, and a daemon that checks every minute. Here is the syntax, the four places a crontab can live, a...
- 11min read
- 1table
- 12FAQ
- Sep 2026updated
What is in the library
203 pages across 7 subjects. Each one opens with a short answer, carries a figure built from the numbers on the page, and names the standard or the vendor documentation behind every claim.
Networking103 pages
- vpn vs proxy
- ipsec vpn
- network hub
- node in networking
- soa record
- crc error
- vpn technologies
- what is a subnet
Security27 pages
- what is mfa
- bitlocker recovery key
- what is a firewall
- zero trust explained
- encryption algorithms
- nvd
- ids vs ips
- hash functions
Storage9 pages
- ssd vs hdd
- mbr vs gpt
- nas vs san
- raid 5 vs raid 10
- 3-2-1 backup rule
- btrfs vs ext4
- immutable backups
- fat32 vs ntfs
Systems29 pages
- what is a kernel
- how to update drivers
- blue screen of death
- what is a cron job
- active directory explained
- how to stop windows update
- cmdb
- what is a webhook
Software, scored on one rubric
Every ranking is scored on the same 40-point rubric and names the evidence behind its scores. Vendors can dispute a fact, never a score.
Popular head to head comparisons
Looking to Hire an MSP?
Compare managed IT and cybersecurity providers in your city, each with a confirmed state registration and its full check record, including the checks nobody has done yet. We never provide IT services ourselves, so the shortlist is only about fit.
Latest Software Rankings
| Ranking | Category | Top pick | Tools scored | Pricing verified | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Patch Management Software, and What Each One ReachesScored on the 40-point rubric | Patch management |  ManageEngine Endpoint Central | 7 | Sep 11, 2026 | 8.1 |
| Best PSA Software, and Why a Ticketing System Is Not OneScored on the 40-point rubric | PSA |  HaloPSA | 7 | Sep 10, 2026 | 8.8 |
| Best MDM Software, Starting With the One You May Already OwnScored on the 40-point rubric | MDM and UEM |  Microsoft Intune | 7 | Sep 10, 2026 | 8.9 |
| Best Network Management Software, Ranked on What You Can VerifyScored on the 40-point rubric | Network monitoring |  Zabbix | 10 | Sep 10, 2026 | 8.9 |
About Packet Basics
Our teamPacket Basics is an independent IT reference, a software ranking desk and a directory of managed service providers, run by one engineer who spent a career on call. The reference library explains IT concepts across networking, security, storage, systems, virtualization and hardware, in the words an engineer would use with a colleague.
Every page opens with a short answer, carries a diagram generated from the figures on the page, and ends with a comparison table and the questions people actually ask.
The software desk ranks the tools MSPs and in-house teams buy, on one published 40-point rubric, with the evidence behind every score named on the page.
The directory lists managed IT and cybersecurity providers, each one with a registration confirmed against the state register and the other four checks published as they stand, and matches buyers with up to three of them in two business days.
Latest updates
- New post: The VPN Is Up but Nothing Passes: an MTU Checklist
- New post: Secure Boot Enabled but Not Active: What That Means
- New post: MFA Fatigue Attacks, and the Setting That Ends Them
- Best Patch Management Software, and What Each One Reaches ranking updated, pricing re-verified.
- Best PSA Software, and Why a Ticketing System Is Not One ranking updated, pricing re-verified.
Every guide cites primary sources
Questions people ask us
The short version of the editorial standards, the rubric and the directory rules. The long version is one click away on every page.
Is Packet Basics an IT provider?
No. We are a publisher and a marketplace. We explain IT, rank software and list managed service providers, with the state registration check on every profile, passed or not. We never provide IT services ourselves.
How do software rankings work?
Every tool is scored on the same 40-point rubric across six criteria, and each ranking states what its scores were read from. Vendors can dispute a fact but not a score, and there is no paid placement.
What does a listing in the directory mean?
That the company has a state business registration we confirmed against the public register, with the filing number recorded. A listing without one says so on its profile and records what was searched.
The other four checks, a local phone number on the company site, a physical office, certifications confirmed with the issuer and reviews from clients we reached, are published on the profile exactly as they stand, each with a date, and the whole record is re-run every six months. A company where all five have passed carries a Verified badge; the rest show the count.
How do quote requests work?
You tell us your city, company size and what you need. We match you with up to three listed companies with a documented fit, never the highest bidder, within two business days. It is free and there is no obligation.
Who writes the pages?
Marko Ristic, the editor of Packet Basics. Every page carries his name and the date he last reviewed it. When a second person contributes to a page, they are named on it too.
How does Packet Basics make money?
Affiliate commissions on some software trials, a flat referral fee from providers who receive a quote request, and clearly labeled sponsorships. None of it changes a score or a listing. The full list is on the about page.