The Network Command

The network command seems simple enough does it not? Well actually for years I misunderstood the humble network command not that I knew it at the time. Well see ever since I did my first CCNA all those years ago until fairly recently I always thought you used the network command to specify the networks you wanted to advertise. I was wrong as you will hear quite a few times in the Internetwork Expert CoD's (Class on Demand) the network command is not used to specify the networks you want to advertise. Rather it is used to specify the interfaces you want to participate in a particular routing protocol. Well except in the case of BGP where it is actually used to specify what networks you want to advertise to your BGP peer. However BGP is the exception (there always has to be one of those hey?) and in all other routing protocols it is used to specify what interfaces will participate in the routing protocol. I do not think this was emphasised enough in the CCNA materials I used, although when I get some time I will have a browse through the new CCNA materials and see if they mention this small but in my opinion often over looked fact.