Introduction
Computer networking is complex and full of acronyms that you
might have been wondering about. This guide goes over understanding these
concepts so you can learn these acronyms. Breaking these down into easy to
grasp concepts will help you on your journey towards mastery. These acronyms
are something to learn if you want to go for your Network+ or CCNA
certification or just general knowledge if you are interested in cybersecurity.
Hardware
Switches, routers, wireless, Ethernet, and fiber are the
core hardware concepts that you would need to grasp for these certifications.
Switches act as a switchboard and function like the old phone operator. These
switches have a place within a Local Area Network (LAN) and act as something
like the local operator or an intercom system.
Routers are essential for routing packets through what is
called a Wide Area Network (WAN). The routers operate more like the postal
system and essentially mail the packages (packets) to another city. Routers
operate at layer three of the OSI Model and are packet switching controls that
allow for a packet to be routed.
Wireless or Wi-fi acts as a medium that is more convenient
than Ethernet which is used more for stability. Wireless is sometimes used in
locations that would be harder for a cable to reach every connection. This
would be like in a Cafe or a hotel lobby. Wireless and Ethernet are not the
only medium used. Fiber acts as a medium over light on the individual glass
fibers that uses lasers to transmit and receive.
Addressing
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used as a temporary or
assigned address. This is used somewhat like your mailing address and can be
assigned by DHCP. Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are essentially physical
addresses that are more like a fingerprint of the Network Interface Card (NIC).
Packets are the network encapsulation for data transfer
between devices and operate on the network layer of the OSI model. Data travels
across the network through different mediums and allow for the encapsulating
and de-encapsulating of packets going up and down the OSI Model layers.
Data is the layer for layer five through seven, then
segments which are layer four using the IP address and port number to make a
segment. The data going down is encapsulated with a layer three header as a
packet and then frames for the layer two header and footer along the way
through to layer one which is the physical layer.
Services
The main services that are in computer networking include
DNS, DHCP, TCP/IP, and UDP. Domain Name System (DNS) translates human readable
names into IP Addresses. This acts as a phonebook of sorts for the internet.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows devices to be automatically assigned
to an IP address and acts as a leasing service for IP addressing on an as
needed basis.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) works with IP in order
to send connection-oriented transmission of packets which are reliable as
opposed to User Datagram Protocol (UDP) which is connection-less and
unreliable. This is more for video and voice which doesn’t require all of the
data and can use UDP.
Conclusion
Essentially all of the computer networking topics revolve
around hardware, addressing, and services. These acronyms are something to keep
in the back of your mind as you progress through your IT career. You made it
through the acronyms; you should try out some commands on a Windows or Linux
computer.
Try pinging 8.8.8.8 and see what you find that will help
improve your knowledge. Note that pinging on a Linux computer will require a
ctrl + c to break it. For the 8.8.8.8 address this is a main Google DNS server
that is known. Take note of what happens when the ping is successful and when
it is not.
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