Computer Networking Fundamentals

A computer network connects computers and devices to share resources like files, software, printers, and services. Learn infrastructure, client-server concepts, devices, topology, and hands-on practice with Cisco packet tracer.

Computer networks enable resource sharing and communication across devices and users. They power email, online newspapers, blogs, websites, and services over the internet, plus client-server apps and video conferencing.

Identify the devices that create a computer network, including clients, workstations, servers, hubs, switches, routers, access points, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, media, and MPLS WAN concepts.

Explore how client operating systems connect to server computers and access services, and how server operating systems, or network operating systems, provide resources to multiple client devices.

Common network application software includes web browsers, email clients, instant messaging, and collaboration apps, with examples such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Thunderbird, Outlook, WhatsApp, and WebEx.

Compare local area networks and wide area networks, explaining private LANs for small offices and campuses, broadcast domains, ISP connectivity, VPN/MPLS options, bandwidth, reliability, and cost.

Compare campus area networks (CAN) and metropolitan area networks (MAN), showing how CAN interconnects local area networks across a campus and how MAN spans a metropolitan region.

Compare peer-to-peer networks, where no dedicated server exists and all computers share resources, with client-server networks that rely on centralized servers and clients for services.

Compare centralized and distributed computer network models, highlighting centralized resources for easier management and security, versus dispersed resources across locations and admin workload.

Define internet, intranet, and extranet as interconnected networks, and explain how intranets and extranets extend private access, while the World Wide Web remains a service accessed via hyperlinks.

Explore how network protocols establish rules and conventions for device communication, enabling common standards like http, udp, ip, and ftp and supporting browser–server interactions.

Compare proprietary and standard protocols, noting proprietary protocols are controlled by a single vendor for their products, while standard protocols are open, collaboratively developed, and widely adopted across platforms.

RFCs, or requests for comment, are IETF technical documents that develop and standardize network protocols, serving as the building blocks for cross-platform internet communication.

Explore how IEEE, ICANN, IAB, IETF, Internet Society, and W3C shape internet protocols and standards, from DNS and domain names to Ethernet and the request-for-comment process.

Explore ad hoc wireless topology where devices connect and communicate without an access point, forming a small peer-to-peer wireless network that relies on the wireless channel.

Explore wireless mesh topology for networks, where devices connect via radio signals to provide redundancy with reduced cabling. Enjoy high reliability and easily add or remove devices with this topology.

Explore bus topology, a linear backbone with end terminators that absorb signals to prevent bouncing, and understand how signal collisions can degrade performance while noting its simple, shared medium setup.

Explore star topology, where every workstation connects to a central switch, enabling easy installation and minimal disruption, while noting potential central device failure and higher setup costs.

Examine full mesh, ring, and hybrid topologies, highlighting full mesh redundancy and cost, ring's circular signal flow, and hybrid combinations for flexible network design.

Explore partial mesh topology, where devices are not fully interconnected. See how some devices connect to many others while others link to only one or two, reducing complexity and cost.

Explore infrastructure wireless topology by connecting switches and a wired LAN to a wireless access point, enabling wireless devices to join the network.

Explore the dual ring topology, which uses a primary and secondary ring to provide redundancy, stability, and additional data paths, enhancing network reliability.

Explore tree topology as a hierarchical network with branches connected to a backbone and switches, ideal for large networks like campuses, but dependent on the backbone with limited redundancy.

Explore point-to-point topology, a one-to-one connection between two devices using various media such as twisted pair, microwave, or fiber; compare it to point-to-multipoint, which links one device to multiple devices.

Explore wireless networks, learning how data travels via radio waves and weighing advantages like reduced cabling costs, mobility, and scalability against disadvantages such as data leaks, interference, and lower reliability.

Explore the soho network, a small office home office local area network for self-employed users and small businesses, connecting wired and wireless devices via switch and router to internet access.

Compare soho and enterprise networks, detailing SMB classifications, branch and headquarters layouts, and why enterprise networks support traveling and home workers with advanced routing.

Explore common network infrastructure devices and their icons in topology diagrams, including wireless access points, bridges, firewalls, routers, servers, and gateways, with Cisco standards and non-exhaustive lists.

Explore the OSI model and its seven layers, from physical transmission to application interfaces, including routing, addressing, session management, and data presentation to standardize network communication.

Explore the basic tenets of the internet and how they work, and plan your next steps by accessing free webinars, training accounts, and cybersecurity insights.