
Meet your instructor, David Rush, and learn how the course is organized.
Here are a couple of snippets from some of the course lectures to get a feel for how the material is presented.
In this lecture, we will learn basic binary notation. Using comparisons to the base-10 numbering system, we will learn to count and create unique, 8-bit (octet) binary numbers used in IP addresses.
Students will be introduced to Classful IP addressing. Students will learn to identify a network address class by evaluating the value of the first octet of an IP address.
Students will extend their studies of Classful IP network addressing by applying default subnet masks to each class of IP network address to determine the network class, the network address and host IDs of IP addresses.
Students will review additional examples of IP addresses to determine the class of address, identify the default subnet mask, identify the network ID octets and values and host ID octets.
Students will review Classful IP addressing concepts learned in Section 3. Students will be introduced to the special IP addresses and their uses.
Introducing subnetting.
Students begin to learn the 4 steps to perform subnetting. We learn how subnetting is used to break up networks into sub-networks, each having it's own subnet address and connections to routers.
In this section, we continue to add examples, exercises, and demonstrations of applying subnetting steps to different network IP addresses.
In this section, we practice subnetting with more examples, exercises, and demonstrations of applying subnetting steps to different network IP addresses.
In this lecture, we complete our last example of subnetting a Class C IP network address.
In this final lecture of the course, we review the steps to creating subnets. We present how Class A and Class B subnetting differs from subnetting Class C networks. We introduce, and briefly discuss, the concept of supernetting.
Dave Rush presents a Practical Subnetting guide for everyone from beginning students to seasoned network professionals though foundational concepts through subnetting Class A, B and C IP network addresses. Each section comes with downloadable, follow-along slides that can be used to review well after you complete the course. Each section will also have an end-of-section quiz and there is a practice exam at the end of the course to test all of the covered topics. (Note - we're furiously writing the quizzes and practice test as quickly as possible. They should be added by mid-April, 2025).
The course opens with a basic overview of IP address notations. From there, we present binary and base-2 number systems, using base-10 concepts to review how binary notation works. We illustrate how there is only one combination of 1s and 0s to represent any number. Students will easily be able to convert back and forth between binary and decimal numbers.
Next, we introduce the concept of Classful IP addressing. This was how the first Internet addresses were distributed to users, organizations and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Classful addressing is a fundamental and critical concept to understanding subnetting. With Classful addressing comes the concept of a subnet mask, network address classes and the skill to quickly identify a class of address, its subnet mask and which octets are used in the network address and which are used in host/node addresses.
We continue our exploration of Classful addressing to review special IP addresses. We present the uses of special IP addresses and what makes them so special.
With these concepts secure, we're ready to delve into the seemingly mysterious and arcane world of subnetting. Using the step-by-step approach, we learn the reasons for subnetting and a simple, four-step process. By provide extensive demonstrations and explanations, student gain confidence and competence in moving from a Classful IP addressing world to a Classless IP address on in which single network address assignments can be broken up into smaller, manageable sub-networks. These networks lend themselves to organizing network hosts, improving network traffic efficiency, making network management an easier task and provides other benefits.
The key to understanding subnetting, in this course, is that we approach the topic from a practical perspective. We learn the four-step subnetting process and as we apply the steps, we learn the technical underpinnings of the process.
By the end of the course, students can confidently and competently create multiple sub-networks from a single network, connect the subnets to routers and apply appropriate ranges of host addresses on each subnet.