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

Mesh topology

In Chapter 4, Understanding Wireless Networking, one of the topologies that we covered was a wireless mesh, and we can create a similar topology with a wired network. For ease, when I refer to mesh in this section I will be referring to a wired mesh unless I specify otherwise. A mesh network can take one of two forms, full mesh or partial mesh.

Exam tip: Unless specifically stated, the MTA does not differentiate between a wireless mesh and a wired mesh network. Do not over-think the questions by trying to differentiate between wired and wireless mesh networks yourself.

In a full mesh network, every device is connected to every other device. To be able to do this, devices will need to have a separate interface for each of the other devices. Now, while this is theoretically possible to do with the devices being a computer (if it had enough expansion slots on the motherboard...