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Networking · Absolute beginner to network engineer

Networking, start to finish

From what a network is to how the internet's routers agree on a map. Every lesson is a small machine you can step through, then a short quiz. No experience needed: each module builds on the one before.

12 modules71 lessons6 special topics77 available now
0 of 77 available lessons completed
Part of: Network engineer
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Network builder

Put the ideas from this course to work in your own sandbox.

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Module 01 Beginner

Foundations

What a network is, how bits travel, and how data is packed into packets and frames.

Module 02 Beginner

Connections: wires and wireless

The physical ways devices connect: cables and connectors, fibre, home internet links, radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, mobile networks and satellites.

Module 03 Beginner

Local delivery and IP

How switches deliver frames, what an IP address is, and how a device gets one and finds its way off the local network.

Module 04 Beginner

Transport

Getting data between programs: UDP, TCP, ports, NAT, and how queues, buffers and congestion control decide how fast data flows.

Module 05 Intermediate

Applications

The protocols you use every day: names, the web, secure connections and email.

Module 06 Intermediate

Routing

How routers choose a path: routing tables, static routes, OSPF inside a network and BGP between networks.

Module 07 Intermediate

Switching at scale

Splitting and joining LANs: VLANs, trunks, Spanning Tree, link aggregation and routing between VLANs.

Module 08 Intermediate

IPv6

The bigger address space: IPv6 addresses, autoconfiguration, Neighbor Discovery and running both stacks.

Module 09 Intermediate

Network security: attacks and defences

How networks are attacked and how each attack is stopped. Every attack lesson is followed by the defence that beats it, shown working.

Module 10 Advanced

Operations

Running a network: troubleshooting tools, monitoring, quality of service and automation.

Module 11 Advanced

Network design

Putting it together: campus networks, data center fabrics and networks in the cloud.

Module 12 Advanced

Special topics: queueing theory

The maths of waiting lines: why delay explodes as links fill up, and how engineers size networks, servers and call centres.

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Special topics

Stand-alone deep dives. Take them any time after the module they build on.