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Courses >
PC Troubleshooting, Networking, & Security > Intermediate Networking
Syllabus:
All
courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two
lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course.
You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must
complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new
section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each
month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure
to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
In
our first lesson, you'll learn about the concept of a network stack.
After a succinct review of essential network and networking terms,
we'll compare the theoretical structure of a network stack—commonly
called the OSI model—to real-world networking. We'll then trace how
data travels through the computer for transmission on the network.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
We'll
pick up right where the last lesson left off today when we begin our
discussion on how a unit of computer data—called a packet—gets from one
computer to another. You'll learn all about how packets are formed, how
packets are sometimes chopped then reassembled to go across WAN links,
and how the receiving computer handles packets upon arrival. You'll
also learn why the network's most important device is the router.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
Today's
lesson is dedicated to helping you understand how routers operate.
You'll learn all about how routers create a virtual map of the entire
Internet. You'll also see how routers connect to different network
types—an Ethernet segment and an ATM link, for example—transmit data
across those different mediums. Then we'll discuss why routers have
their own special languages, called routing protocols.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
Today
you'll learn the language of routers: routing protocols. You'll learn
why some routing protocols are appropriate for smaller networks, and
why very large networks require specialized routing protocols. You'll
also learn about the two most revealing measurements of a router's
capability: latency and packets per second (pps).
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
You've
heard of TCP/IP, but its details may seem mysterious. After you
complete this lesson, those mysteries will be banished forever! You'll
learn about IP addressing, the four primary IP address classes, and all
about the various protocols that come packaged within TCP/IP. Prepare
to demystify TCP/IP!
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
Security
is on everyone's mind these days, so in this lesson, you'll learn the
fundamentals of how computers enforce security. You'll learn what a
security descriptor is and how it can allow some people to only read a
document, while others can delete or modify the document as much as
they like. You'll also learn the difference between a security
implementation and security protocols. Finally, you'll find out how
security operates in a Windows environment, including exactly what
happens during log on, authentication, and authorization.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
In
today's lesson, we'll explore encryption, a method used to secure data
for transmission over the Internet. You'll learn about various
encryption schemes, and you'll get firsthand knowledge of how a chunk
of data gets encrypted, how it gets decrypted on the receiving end, and
how this process can be secure. You'll also learn how Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) makes it safe for you to order merchandise online, and how
SSL ensures that your connection to the seller's Web site is secure.
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
The
Internet is a great public network, but what if you need it for private
communication? For example, what if a salesman needs to make a private
connection to her company's network to check on special bulk pricing?
In today's lesson, you'll learn how you can create a virtual private
network out of your Internet connection. You'll get a hands-on view of
how these private connections are made, and why they're so useful.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
The
Internet, and almost every other network today, uses Domain Name System
(DNS) to translate names we understand (like www addresses) into IP
addresses that computers can use. It's important to understand how this
system works, so in this chapter you'll learn details about how DNS
operates. You'll learn how resource records are the building blocks of
DNS, and how DNS scales to the entire Internet by being broken into
zones.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
We'll
expand on our discussion of DNS in this lesson. Here you'll learn about
the most important types of resource records, including A records, SOA
records, and others. You'll also learn about the two types of DNS
queries: recursive and iterative. There are many other resource record
types, and you'll learn about those today, too. By the end of this
lesson, it'll be clear just how important DNS is to our daily lives!
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
In
this lesson, you'll learn how Internet Servers operate, including how a
Web page is requested and transmitted to your computer, then displayed
on your screen. You'll also learn about the two primary Web
protocols—HTTP and HTML. There are other Internet-based services, such
as e-mail servers, news servers, and instant messaging, and we'll
investigate those in this lesson, too.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
Have
you ever wondered about the difference between a desktop computer and a
server? There are important differences. In our final lesson, we'll go
over the differences between server-class operating systems,
server-class computers, and talk in-depth about the various hardware
components that comprise a true server-class computer. Understanding
why a desktop computer shouldn't be used as a departmental server is
important! In this lesson, you'll learn why.
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This
course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide
you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your
questions. The instructor for this course will be David Iseminger.
 David
Iseminger is a computer and networking expert and an experienced
teacher of networking topics. As a student first and expert second,
Iseminger knows which teaching approaches are most effective. Iseminger
has worked at Microsoft Corporation as a telecommunications specialist,
networking performance analyst, and lead programming writer for
cutting-edge network disciplines, including emerging wireless
technologies. Iseminger has published 12 computer books with various
publishers, including John Wiley & Sons, Macmillan, Microsoft
Press, and one ...for Dummies book. His formal education is
from the University of Washington where he earned degrees in English
and Comparative Literature with a minor in writing. Iseminger earned
his MCSE certification in under a month.
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins
(two free and simple downloads you obtain at
http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and
Get Adobe Reader). Microsoft Windows 95 or better, and completion of
David Iseminger's Introduction to Networking course (or equivalent experience).
Student Reviews:
"Another wonderful class. David made this difficult subject
accessable and understandable. The course and the lessons were very
well organized and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and
would recommend it to anybody. The online format was great for me too,
perhaps even better than going to a class. I felt I received much more
personal attention than I would have in a class room! I look forward to
many more classes by David."
"David does a great job communicating a very difficult subject. I highly recommend him as an instructor."
"David once again did an outstanding job. I look forward to taking another class."
"Excellent instructor. I think is teaching style is great!
I've taken many networking class and Mr. Iseminger's so far have been
the best. He has a great way of using analogies that real help with
understanding. I hope someday to take more of his classes."
"Great course, best I have taken with this program."
"Great course - great instructor! Thanks!"
"I am a Sales Person and took the course for personal
knowledge - I work in the computer/telephony field. The course detail
was great for a novice to understand."
"Instructor is very personable and encouraging in the
discussion. Guess you could say that he has a "good webside manner"!
;-] The text flows comfortably and the reference materials are
generally very useful."
"I really enjoyed taking this intermediate networking course
online with Mr. David Iseminger. Each lesson was easy to follow,
explanation and examples related to the lessons. Course description,
supplementary material, assignments and quizzes, contributed and helped
me a lot to understand and enrich my knowledge in networking. I'm
looking forward to taking another course in wireless networking some
time later with Mr. Iseminger. Thanks."
"I really enjoyed this course. The instructor's use of
concepts we are already familiar with to make the Networking concepts
more understandable was great!"
"Once again, I was highly impressed with the content of this
class. I took the Introduction to Networking class and learned a great
deal from it. My experience with that class led me to take the
Intermediate class. The instructor does a wonderful job of explaining
the concepts by using real-life examples that even a novice can follow
along and understand what is happening. I would be highly interested in
taking any advanced classes in Networking should this instructor
develop any."
"Thankyou, I enjoyed it!"
"Thank you. I enjoyed this course very much."
"The course was interesting and informative. The
instructor's teaching style keeps you interested in what could
otherwise be very "mind numbing" information transferal. Overall, a
good course."
"The instructor has a great teaching style and I found
myself learning and retaining concepts I would have previously believed
would be beyond my grasp."
"This course has helped me prepare for the Networking exams I have to take in the next few months. Thank you."
"This course was presented in such a way that a network
novice like myself could fairly easily grasp the fundamentals. I liked
the instructor's use of every day models as examples to teach a
concept. I learned more about networking in this class and the
preceding one than I ever did anywhere else. I enjoyed it very much!
David did a great job. Thank you."
"This has been a fantastic experience, David Iseminger is a
great teacher. He knew how to keep it interesting and informative at
the same time. I look forward to possibly taking another of his courses
if I can!"
"This was a great course."
"Your humor, analogies and expertise made this a very enjoyable and worthwhile course to participate in. Thank you!"
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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Learn
real-world applications for the concepts you learned in 'Introduction
to Networking. You'll gain a full understanding of almost every aspect
of networking technology, including hot topics such as virtual private
networks, security, and Internet connectivity. Completion of this
course and its prerequisite should serve as a springboard for a career
in computer networking or training for CCNA Certification.