Learning path

Networking Foundations

Complete beginners who want to understand how computer networks work.

Build a practical mental model for how modern networks move data.

Estimated total: 613 minutes

Modules and lessons

Network and Device Essentials

Learn the physical connections, devices, and models behind communication.

  1. What Is a Computer Network?

    Explain why networks exist and identify the ingredients required for communication.

    12 minFree

  2. Hosts, Clients, Servers and Network Interfaces

    Identify end hosts and interfaces and explain client and server roles.

    20 minFree

  3. Cables, Fibre, Wireless and Network Connections

    Choose an appropriate connection medium and explain duplex, speed, signal, and link state at a beginner level.

    20 minFree

  4. Hubs, Bridges and Switches

    Explain why hubs repeat signals while bridges and switches make link-layer forwarding decisions.

    20 minFree

  5. Unicast, Broadcast and Multicast Communication

    Identify a transmission's delivery scope and predict which interfaces receive, accept, or forward it.

    22 minFree

  6. Routers, Default Gateways and Network Boundaries

    Decide whether a destination is local or remote and identify the first next hop.

    20 minFree

  7. Access Points, Modems, ONTs and Firewalls

    Explain where common edge devices fit and distinguish access, conversion, routing, and security roles.

    20 minFree

  8. OSI and TCP/IP Models

    Relate common network tasks to the OSI and TCP/IP models.

    18 minFree

  9. A Packet’s First Journey Through a Small Network

    Narrate an end-to-end exchange using the concepts from Lessons 1–8.

    25 minFree

Ethernet, Switching and Local Networks

Understand frames, local delivery, switching decisions, and broadcast boundaries.

  1. Ethernet Frames and MAC Addresses

    Read the purpose of core Ethernet fields and distinguish unicast, broadcast, and multicast destinations.

    24 minFree

  2. How Switches Learn and Forward

    Build and use a MAC address table to predict forwarding, filtering, and flooding.

    24 minFree

  3. ARP and Local Delivery

    Explain how IPv4 nodes resolve a local next-hop IP address to a MAC address.

    24 minFree

  4. VLANs, Access Ports and Trunks

    Explain why VLANs create separate broadcast domains and how access and trunk links carry them.

    24 minFree

IP Addressing and Routing

Learn addressing, subnetting, routing choices, and network control evidence.

  1. IPv4 Addressing

    Read dotted-decimal addresses and prefixes and distinguish network, host, private, public, loopback, link-local, and documentation ranges.

    25 minFree

  2. Subnetting Fundamentals

    Calculate network boundaries, usable ranges, broadcast addresses, and host capacity for common IPv4 prefixes.

    25 minFree

  3. IPv6 Fundamentals

    Read and shorten IPv6 addresses and explain prefixes, link-local/global addresses, multicast, Neighbor Discovery, SLAAC, and default-router discovery.

    25 minFree

  4. Routing, Routing Tables and Default Routes

    Read a basic routing table and choose a route using longest-prefix match and administrative/metric concepts at the appropriate depth.

    25 minFree

  5. ICMP, Ping and Path Discovery

    Use ICMP as control/error evidence and explain what ping and traceroute do and do not prove.

    20 minFree

Transport and Application Services

Explore transport behavior and the services applications rely on.

  1. TCP, UDP and Ports

    Compare TCP and UDP, explain sockets/ports, and trace connection establishment, reliability, flow, and closure at a foundational level.

    25 minFree

  2. DHCP and Automatic Address Configuration

    Trace IPv4 DHCP acquisition, renewal, and relay behavior while reading exact packet, port, address, and option evidence.

    35 minFree

  3. DNS and Name Resolution

    Trace recursive name resolution and distinguish stub resolver, recursive resolver, authoritative server, common records, caching, and response codes.

    25 minFree

  4. HTTP, HTTPS, TLS and Essential Network Services

    Trace and troubleshoot HTTP/HTTPS, SSH/Telnet, email, file transfer, NTP, and SNMP using ports, message fields, security choices, and packet evidence.

    55 minFree

NAT and Internet Communication

Trace address translation through an end-to-end internet exchange.

  1. NAT, PAT and the Complete Internet Packet Journey

    Trace IPv4 address and port translation in both directions, read translation state, and diagnose failed return paths.

    35 minFree

Packet Analysis and Troubleshooting

Apply evidence-driven, layer-aware troubleshooting to network faults.

  1. Systematic Network Troubleshooting Capstone

    Apply a repeatable, layer-aware troubleshooting method and communicate evidence, scope, hypothesis, test, result, and next action.

    45 minFree