Chapter 1: Introduction to Networking
Beginning a journey in the field of networking is an exciting one for everyone. I'm sure you are interested in learning about the operations of a computer and especially how the internet, the largest network, functions and grows. Networking is an ever-demanding field in Information Technology (IT); each day, organizations from healthcare providers, educational institutions, government agencies, and other industries are continuously expanding and improving their network infrastructure to support newer services and network traffic. Almost everyone is connected to the internet. Educators and businesses are using various online collaboration platforms to extend their reach to students and potential customers in a global market. All these amazing technologies are made possible by computer networks.
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) 200-301 certification is designed to prepare you for associate-level networking roles in the IT industry. CCNA is one of the most popular certification requirements for almost every network engineering job, and there is a very good reason why. The CCNA certification is a foundational level certification with a lot of essential information; I know part of the name contains the word "associate", but that's just in the Cisco certification hierarchy structure since the next level is Cisco Certified Network Professional and so on. The CCNA is one of the most recommended certifications you can follow to begin your networking journey.
The CCNA will teach you how to design, implement, configure, and troubleshoot small- to medium-sized enterprise networks. You will learn to efficiently implement network access, IP connectivity, IP services, and security through an enterprise network. Additionally, gaining your CCNA certification will open up a whole new world of career opportunities as the certification itself is well-respected in the networking field.
Throughout this chapter, you will learn about the important history of how computer networks were developed and the era before the internet. Then, we will cover the early and current generation of the internet and explore how networking has become part of our daily lives. You will learn about communication technologies and networking protocols that are designed to help us connect with our loved ones, friends, and colleagues. You will also learn about the various sizes of networks and components such as routers and switches, which move messages from one device, across a network, to another person. Lastly, you'll learn about the various protocol suites that are built into each operating system and network device that sets the protocol for exchanging messages.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- Understanding the evolution of networking and the internet
- Understanding network sizes – SOHO, LAN, and WAN
- Learning about network protocol suites
- Understanding the functions of network devices
- Network topology architectures