Overview
Your complete guide to Networking basics
Four lessons with no technical background: what a network and its devices are, the layers that organise how devices talk, the cables that carry the signal, and the addresses each device is known by.
Non-technical and technical learners alike. Every part opens two ways in: a plain path built on an analogy for someone starting from zero, and a detailed path for someone who knows the basics and wants depth.
An animation, then what you need before you start, then the idea with code you run, then a worked example, then review cards and "test your understanding" questions.
Do not leave a part before you can answer its questions without guessing. Reading alone proves nothing.
Pick a topic
A look at Networking basics
You start with the big picture, then the layers that split the job, then layer 1 and its cables, then addresses. After that you are ready for the junior stage.
| Part | Topic | You learn |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is a network? Devices, kinds and measures | Networks and the internet, LAN and WAN, topologies, devices, bandwidth and latency |
| 2 | Layers: the OSI and TCP/IP models and encapsulation | The seven layers, TCP/IP, units of data, encapsulation, troubleshooting by layer |
| 3 | Cables and the physical layer: copper, fibre and Ethernet | Layer 1, twisted pair and its categories, the 100 m limit, single-mode and multimode fibre, the Ethernet frame, speed and duplex, PoE |
| 4 | Addresses: IP, MAC, ARP and IPv6 | MAC, IPv4 in binary, private addresses (RFC 1918), ARP, IPv6 |
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