Foundations of Networking with Cisco

Explore the basics of networking, including what a network is, key components (host, interfacing devices, medium, networking devices), and common network types like lan and wan.

Explore the OSI reference model, an open standard by ISO for interconnecting diverse networks, and examine its seven layers: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical, alongside TCP/IP.

Explore ip addressing, from classful to classless subnetting, and learn about private versus public ranges, subnet masks, network and host portions, and dhcp, nat, dns implications.

Discover essential Windows built-in user tools for networking, including ipconfig, ping, tracert, nslookup, and arp, to diagnose configuration, connectivity, and DNS issues.

Explore the differences between TCP and UDP in IP networks, including delivery methods, error checking, and sequencing; learn TCP’s three-way handshake and windowing, plus Wireshark basics.

Explore Ethernet foundations across the physical and data link layers, covering straight-through and crossover cabling, Mac addresses, csma/cd, collision and broadcast domains, and hub vs switch roles.

Learn iOS basics for Cisco devices by connecting via a rollover cable and terminal emulator to access iOS through the command line, and navigate user, privileged, and global configuration modes.

Learn how Cisco's help and shortcut system uses auto completion, question mark queries, and command syntax guidance, plus cursor and editing shortcuts to speed up configuration tasks.

Navigate the iOS boot sequence, where a device powers up from nvram, loads iOS from a compressed bin through the configuration register or tftp, and runs post self-tests.

Configure the switch after boot by setting hostname, logon banner, passwords, and ssh access, then secure ports and assign an IP address before saving the configuration.

Understand routing and how the network layer connects subnets, stops broadcast traffic, and forwards packets via routing tables and metrics on Cisco devices.

Explore the Cisco router boot process, OS image loading, and device prompts. Then configure interfaces, speed, duplex, and IP addresses, plus telnet/ssh access and basic management commands.

Examine dynamic routing protocols, including IGP and EGP, and compare distance-vector, link-state, and hybrid approaches. Understand RIP and OSPF operation, administrative distance, updates, areas, and authentication with keychains.

Discover how a vlan splits a switch into multiple broadcast domains to reduce traffic and boost security, with routing needed to enable cross-vlan communication and basic vlan configuration.

Discover how trunking connects switches over a single trunk cable, replicates vlans across domains using the vlan tunneling protocol (VTB), and manages vlan creation with server, client, and transparent modes.