What This Book Covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to Networking, introduces the concepts of network models and the role and function of common networking devices.

Chapter 2, Getting Started with Cisco IOS Devices, demonstrates how to set up a small Cisco environment, perform basic device configurations, and set up remote access.

Chapter 3, Network Architectures and Physical Infrastructure, covers the fundamentals of common network architectures such as the 2-Tier, 3-Tier, and Spine-Leaf models. In addition, this chapter covers common cabling types and interface issues.

Chapter 4, IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing, explores the fundamentals of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, types of addresses, and how to convert an IPv4 address between binary and decimal.

Chapter 5, Practical Subnetting, provides an in-depth and practical discussion on how to get started with designing an IPv4 address scheme for an organization and demonstrates how to perform subnetting.

Chapter 6, Wireless Architectures and Virtualization, covers the fundamentals of Cisco wireless architectures and common operating modes of access points. Additionally, this chapter explores the importance of using virtualization within an IT environment.

Chapter 7, Implementing VLANs and Interswitch Connectivity, introduces the concepts of creating virtual local area networks and the importance of logically segmenting a physical network. This chapter also covers how to extend VLANs over a Layer 2 network and how to set up inter-VLAN routing.

Chapter 8, EtherChannels and Layer 2 Discovery Protocols, explores the importance of using link aggregation between switches such as EtherChannels. This chapter also covers common Layer 2 protocols used by network professionals to discover connected networking devices.

Chapter 9, Understanding and Configuring Spanning Tree, covers the role and function of Spanning Tree within a network and demonstrates how to configure and troubleshoot Spanning Tree within a Cisco environment.

Chapter 10, Interpreting Routing Components, explains the fundamentals of routing and the various components of a routing table within a Cisco router.

Chapter 11, Understanding Static Routing, Dynamic Routing, and First Hop Redundancy, explains how to configure static routing and dynamic routing within a Cisco environment. In addition, this chapter explains the importance and use cases of first-hop redundancy on a network.

Chapter 12, Configuring Network Address Translation (NAT), explains the importance of NAT within an organization and provides the hands-on skills needed to administer and troubleshoot various NAT implementations.

Chapter 13, Implementing Network Services and IP Operations, explains and demonstrates how to set up common network services such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and Syslog on a Cisco network.

Chapter 14, Exploring Network Security, explores the fundamentals and importance of network security concepts.

Chapter 15, Configuring Device Access Controls and VPNs, demonstrates how to secure Cisco IOS devices and establish site-to-site and remote access VPNs using Cisco devices.

Chapter 16, Implementing Access Control Lists (ACLs), covers the importance of using ACLs on a network to perform Layer 3 and Layer 4 traffic filtering between networks using Cisco IOS routers.

Chapter 17, Implementing Layer 2 and Wireless Security, covers how to set up common Layer 2 security features on Cisco IOS switches to prevent common attacks such as man-in-the-middle, CAM table flooding, MAC address spoofing, and rogue DHCP on a network.

Chapter 18, Network Automation and Programmability, broaches the fact that the world of networking is moving toward automation, and network engineers will now need to learn how automation can improve efficiency in network deployment and management. This chapter introduces you to network automation techniques and programmability.