
Explore fundamental networking concepts with the MTA course, including LANs, addressing, and media types, and gain hands-on practice using ARP, ICMP, and Packet Tracer.
Define networks as groups of connected devices that exchange data and share resources, using client-server and distributed models, with domains, workgroups, peer-to-peer, and centralized thin-client and remote desktop services.
Explore local area networks confined to buildings, high-speed LANs, campus area networks, soho networks, and domain controllers using Active Directory for centralized single sign-on.
Learn how decimal, binary, and hexadecimal numbering systems underpin IP and MAC addressing, with explanations of bits, bytes, and hex conversion methods.
Understand how network addressing identifies devices for unicast, broadcast, and multicast communication. Explore MAC and IP addresses, their formats, and key protocols like ARP, DHCP, IGMP, and IP config.
Learn to build a network with Packet Tracer, configure IP addresses and MAC addresses, and explore headers, interfaces, and static IP setup, including default gateway concepts.
Explore how devices use IP and MAC addresses with ARP to resolve hardware addresses, manage ARP caches (dynamic and static), and how ICMP, ping, and traceroute troubleshoot reachability.
Learn how arp resolves ip to mac addresses, fills the arp cache, and how icmp exchanges occur via broadcast requests and unicast replies in a network simulation.
Explore wired network media, from twisted pair and coaxial cables to fiber optics, detailing EMI, RFI, crosstalk, attenuation, eavesdropping risks, and connector standards plus distance and crossover rules.
Cover wired media from twisted pair to fiber, detailing rfi, crosstalk, shielding, and distance limits. Understand category standards, connectors, and straight-through versus crossover cables for reliable networks.
Identify the differences between physical and logical topologies and compare bus, ring, star, and mesh topologies, including hybrids and virtual mesh, with emphasis on devices, faults, and redundancy.
Explore token ring and FDDI technologies within IEEE networking standards, detailing token-based access, ring topology, and fiber optic media for long-range, redundant networks.
Explain Ethernet fundamentals, including baseband and broadband, hubs and switches, collision domains, and switching methods like store and forward, cut through, and adaptive switching.
Learn how hubs flood frames to every port, creating a single collision domain, and analyze MAC and IP address handling, ICMP behavior, and the inefficiency compared with switches.
This lecture demonstrates using switches instead of hubs, shows how switches learn MAC addresses, forward broadcast packets, and create separate collision domains while broadcast domains remain shared across connected switches.
*** part of the full course: MTA - Networking Fundamentals (Teaching and Learning) ***
MTA or Microsoft Technology Associate is an entry-level certification that provides the fundamentals of a certain technology based on Microsoft products. The MTA: Networking fundamentals (exam 98-366) is one of these certifications that will provide essential networking knowledge and skills to you. This certification can be your first step in networking and towards other advanced Microsoft certifications such as MCSA and MCSE. It can be considered as the Microsoft version of Network+ or Cisco ICND1/CCENT.
In this course you will start the first steps of learning about networking. You will learn about what is a computer network, and what are local area networks or LANs, since those are the most basic form of a network you will encounter in real world. After that we have to understand network addresses in order to assign them to devices in our network, and thus enable communication between those devices. But before that, we have to understand numbering systems, such as binary and hexadecimal, since network addresses such as IPv4, IPv6, and MAC are implemented using these numbering systems.
Now as you have understood the concepts of network addressing, it is time to practice with them, and we will use Cisco packet Tracer for that purpose. Afterwards, you have to understand how to map between different types of addresses using ARP, or the Address Resolution Protocol, and why this mapping is needed. Also ICMP or the Internet Control Message Protocol will be explained to demonstrate how communication in computer networks works. And again will we practice both ARP and ICMP using Packet Tracer in order to understand the concepts, and start establishing our hands on expertise.
Furthermore, Network Media Types will be explained, starting with wired network media and its different types, followed by brief but focused explanation of the wireless network media.
Finally, network topologies including Token ring, FDDI, and Ethernet will be explained. To understand Ethernet in practice, the explanation of how both hubs and switches work was included.
I hope that you will join me in this course and start your journey of leaning computer networking. Happy learning!