Book Image

Networking Fundamentals

By : Gordon Davies
Book Image

Networking Fundamentals

By: Gordon Davies

Overview of this book

A network is a collection of computers, servers, mobile devices, or other computing devices connected for sharing data. This book will help you become well versed in basic networking concepts and prepare to pass Microsoft's MTA Networking Fundamentals Exam 98-366. Following Microsoft's official syllabus, the book starts by covering network infrastructures to help you differentiate intranets, internets, and extranets, and learn about network topologies. You’ll then get up to date with common network hardware devices such as routers and switches and the media types used to connect them together. As you advance, the book will take you through different protocols and services and the requirements to follow a standardized approach to networking. You’ll get to grips with the OSI and TCP/IP models as well as IPv4 and IPv6. The book also shows you how to recall IP addresses through name resolution. Finally, you’ll be able to practice everything you’ve learned and take the exam confidently with the help of mock tests. By the end of this networking book, you’ll have developed a strong foundation in the essential networking concepts needed to pass Exam 98-366.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Section 1: Network Infrastructure
7
Section 2: Network Hardware
11
Section 3: Protocols and Services
18
Section 4: Mock Exams
19
Mock Exam 1
20
Mock Exam 2

Leased lines

I find people struggle a little with differentiating leased lines from other forms of connectivity, purely due to the use of the term leased. All of these connections require you to lease some form of service from your provider, and that's what confuses people. What I would ask you to do to combat this is to prefix leased lines with the word dedicated.

Unlike other forms of connection discussed here, a leased line is a dedicated link between you and another location. It's dedicated in that it is only you using it, and, unlike the others we will discuss, it is not shared with other subscribers. You may have noticed that I refer to another location rather than specifically mentioning the connection is to your service provider. This is deliberate, because although most leased lines will connect you to your service provider, you may also have a dedicated connection...