Computer Networking Foundations

Develop a sound understanding of computer networking. This course starts at the beginning and covers TCP/IP in detail from Ethernet to HTTP. It also covers the different types of hardware you are likely to encounter on any enterprise network including Routers and Switches.

Taking this course will give the foundations you need before embarking on further training with certifications such as Cisco's CCNA.

Course Content

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What is a computer network?

An overview of what might constitute a computer network.

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The Status Update Protocol

In order to make social situations easier, a Social Expert has defined a ‘Status Update’ protocol for use between two people, an Initiator and a Friend.

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Summary of the TCP/IP Model

An overview of TCP/IP, or the Internet Protocol Suite, which underpins all modern computer networks.

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The OSI 7 Layer Reference Model

A conceptual network model which is often used as a reference but not implemented practically.

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Same layer and adjacent layer interactions

Learn about interactions at the same layer and between adjacent layers, including encapsulation and protocol data units (PDUs).

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Ethernet at the Physical Layer

Ethernet sits at the link layer in TCP/IP but what does it define about the OSI physical layer?

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Ethernet at the Data-Link Layer

At the data-link layer, Ethernet provides an interface between the physical layer and the higher network layers. It also specifies MAC address formats.

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What is a LAN?

Learn about devices found on local-area networks and how they are connected.

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How does IPv4 work?

IPv4 has been at the heart of the TCP/IP stack since it's inception. It is slowly being replaced by IPv6.

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What is a WAN?

Wide area networks enable data to be transferred across large geographic distances.

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DNS: The Domain Name System

DNS is used to resolve friendly names (e.g. www.example.com) to IP addresses (e.g. 1.2.3.4), making it vital to our use of the internet.

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Introduction to IPv4 Routing

IP routing is at the heart of the internet. It enables us to get packets from A to B across the globe.

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ARP: The Address Resolution Protocol

ARP helps us match IP addresses to hardware (MAC) addresses.

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TCP: The Transmission Control Protocol

TCP is a connection-oriented protocol used at the transport layer to support protocols such as HTTP.

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UDP: User Datagram Protocol

UDP is a simple transport layer protocol.

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Ping and ICMP

Ping is a useful tool for checking network connectivity using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP).

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Telnet vs SSH

Telnet and SSH are both protocols used for interacting with remote devices. Learn about the differences and the details.

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How does HTTP work?

HTTP is used by web browsers and many other applications to retrieve websites and much more.

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What do network switches do?

Learn what network switches do in a TCP/IP network and how they work.

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Collision and Broadcast Domains

Collision and broadcast domains are important properties of an Ethernet network.

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Virtual LANs (VLANs)

VLANs are used in modern computer networks to support logically separate LANs on a single device.

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WAN Technologies - HDLC, PPP, Frame Relay and Ethernet

Wide Area Networks may use one of several layer 2 technologies to encapsulate data as it cross a service providers network between a customer’s sites.

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A Beginner's Guide to Binary

Binary is just another way of counting. Instead of using base-10 (decimal), we use base-2 where each place value is a bit.

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CDP and LLDP

CDP and LLDP are similar layer two protocols for discovering information about neighboring devices.

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The Complete Guide to IPv4 Subnetting

Learn how to design subnets and calculate the number of hosts on each.

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VLSM Subnetting in Networks

VLSM helps make more efficient use of available IP address space.

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How does traceroute work?

The traceroute command is useful tool installed on hosts and network devices for troubleshooting networking issues by tracing the route of a packet across a network.

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RIP and RIPv2, The Routing Information Protocol

RIP was one of the first routing protocols to be implemented. RIPv2 later added a number of improvements.

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Access Control Lists for Beginners

Access control lists (ACLs) provide a simple but effective layer of security in modern networks.

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NAT: Network Address Translation

NAT is the mapping of one address to another. It is a useful tool for conserving IP address space.

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Firewalls in Computer Networking

Firewalls play an important part in protecting modern computer networks.

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Routing Between VLANs

To let devices on one VLAN talk to the devices on another, we need to be able to route between them.