Networking

Introduction

This post is primarily about TCP/IP network protocols and Ethernet network architectures, but also briefly describes other protocol suites, network architectures, and other significant areas of networking. This project is written for all audiences, even those with little or no networking experience. It explains in simple terms the way networks are put together, and how data packages are sent between networks and subnets along with how data is routed to the internet. This project is broken into ten main areas which are:

1. Basics – Explains the protocols and how they work together

2. Media – Describes the cabling and various media used to send data between multiple points of a network.

3. Architecture – Describes some popular network architectures. A network architecture refers to the physical layout (topology) of a network along with the physical transmission media (Type of wire, wireless, etc) and the data access method (OSI Layer). Includes Ethernet, Token Ring, ARC net, AppleTalk, and FDDI.

4. Other Transport Protocols – Describes IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, and more.

5. Functions – Explains some of the functionality of networking such as routing, firewalls and DNS.

6. Further Details – Gives information about some protocols not covered in the “Basics” section. In the future, it will include more information about packet fragmentation and re-assembly along with more details about UDP and especially TCP and TCP connections.

7. More Complex functions – Documents multicasting, dynamic routing, and network management

8. Applications – Documents how some of the applications work such as ping and traceroute. In the future, it will cover telnet, Rlogin, and FTP.

9. Other Concerns – Includes installing drivers, network operating systems, applications, wide area networks, backing up the network and troubleshooting the network.

10. References – Includes a reference list of terms, RFCs and recommended reading.

The reader may read this project in any order, but for beginners, it would be best to read through from the beginning with the exception of sections 2 (media), 3 (architecture), and 4 (other). At some point, however, the reader should be able to break from the basics and read about routing and IP masquerading.