CompTIA A+ Core 1: Networking Fundamentals

In order for computers to be able to exchange data and share resources with each other, they must
be interconnected in some fashion. This is referred to as computer networking. Explore computer
networking fundamentals, including TCP and user datagram protocol (UDP) ports, and review
common networking hardware devices. Examine the differences between hubs and bridges.
Discover when to use a network switch and how a router can protect a system. Explore key
differences between access points, repeaters, and extenders, as well as cable and DSL modems.
Learn about the benefits of Power over Ethernet (PoE) and compare it with Ethernet over Power,
which uses common electrical wiring to convey Ethernet connectivity. Lastly, take a look at the
features of network interface cards (NIC), optical network terminal (ONT), and software-defined
networking (SDN) technologies. This course will prepare you for the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-
1101) certification exam.

Table of Contents
1. Video: Course Overview (it_csap121_03_enus_01)
2. Video: Ports and Protocols (it_csap121_03_enus_02)
3. Video: TCP vs. UDP Protocols (it_csap121_03_enus_03)
4. Video: Switches and Routers (it_csap121_03_enus_04)
5. Video: Access Points, Repeaters, and Extenders (it_csap121_03_enus_05)
6. Video: Patch Panels (it_csap121_03_enus_06)
7. Video: Firewalls (it_csap121_03_enus_07)
8. Video: Power over Ethernet (PoE) (it_csap121_03_enus_08)
9. Video: Hubs and Bridges (it_csap121_03_enus_09)
10. Video: Cable and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Modems (it_csap121_03_enus_10)
11. Video: Optical Network Terminal (ONT) (it_csap121_03_enus_11)
12. Video: Network Interface Card (NIC) (it_csap121_03_enus_12)
13. Video: Software-defined Networking (SDN) (it_csap121_03_enus_13)
14. Video: Course Summary (it_csap121_03_enus_14)

1. Video: Course Overview (it_csap121_03_enus_01)

discover the key concepts covered in this course

[Video description begins] Topic title: Course Overview. [Video description ends]

Hi, I'm Aaron Sampson, and I've been a professional in the IT industry since 1995. [Video
description begins] Your host for this session is Aaron Sampson. He is an IT Trainer/Consultant.
[Video description ends] With a primary focus on technical training, I can be found most of the
 time producing and delivering learning content centered around network infrastructure and
services.

I've also been involved with extensive practical implementations in a variety of operational
capacities, including architecture and design, deployment and implementation, administration
and management, and various other technology-based roles. In order for computers to be able
to exchange data and share resources, they must be interconnected or networked.

In this course, I'll explore computer networking fundamentals, including common protocols
and ports, along with common networking hardware devices. I'll examine the differences
between hubs and bridges, explore when to use a network switch versus a router, and how a
firewall can protect your environment. Next, I'll discuss key differences between access points,
repeaters and extenders, as well as cable and DSL modems.

From there, I'll cover some of the benefits of using Power over Ethernet, and examine the
features of network interface cards, optical network terminals and software-defined
networking technologies. This course will help to prepare learners for the CompTIA A+ Core 1
or 220-1101 certification exam.

2. Video: Ports and Protocols (it_csap121_03_enus_02)

Learn how to identify well-known ports and protocols.

identify well-known ports and protocols

[Video description begins] Topic title: Ports and Protocols. Your host for this session is Aaron
Sampson. [Video description ends]

In our first video for this course we'll introduce the concept of protocols in networking, which
quite simply define the set of rules and the format of data and how to work with it when any
two systems are communicating. Now, with respect to any two systems, they might be literally
any two types.

But in most cases, there is a common protocol or a common means of communication that
would be required. Now, as a specific example of that, most of us these days use many different
types of devices on any given network, but they all use the same language, if you will, which is
generally TCP/IP.

So the protocol defines the set of rules for any given device to be able to communicate with any
other device, because they both speak the same language, if you will. But protocols in a more
general sense are really just rules. And let's forget about networking for just a moment. If you
are trying to communicate with someone who speaks a different language, well, then one of
you needs to learn the language of the other to be able to communicate.

But it's more than just the language. There are rules for every language. There are grammatical
rules, vocabulary, syntax, a lot of different components that are required before the language
can really be understood. So again, in terms of computing and networking, it's not just a matter
of speaking the same language.
We all must follow the same rules. Now, as a standard use case for a protocol, most commonly
or perhaps most familiar for most of us, we would see client systems on a network that need to
communicate with some kind of server, in this example a web server, but it could be any type.
The client will typically make a request to the server and the server will respond.

But both of those systems, regardless of what operating system they're running or what type
of device they actually are, must have the same protocol installed. Now again, these days it is
almost universally TCP/IP, but they both still have to follow the rules of TCP/IP to be able to
communicate effectively. Now, the protocol itself is only one component. Another component
is what's referred to as the port.

And these are associated with a particular service or program, and allow any given computer to
send and receive many different types of traffic. They also help to aid and understand with
what to do with that data once it's received, and in many cases, allow the protocol to be
actually deduced if the traffic is being received over what's referred to as a "well-known" port.

Now, let me just give you an analogy for all of this, for starters. If someone calls your phone
number, they might be looking to speak directly to you, but they must first know the phone
number itself. That would equate to something like an IP address in networking. So, you might
answer the phone, but let's just imagine that it's a traditional landline in someone's home and in
fact, the caller is calling for someone other than you.

So they know the number, they've reached the correct location, but then they specifically ask
for a particular person. That particular person would equate to the port. So if we go back to the
client asking something from a server for a moment, it must first know the IP address. That
gets you to the correct server, but that single server could provide many different services.

So the port identifies exactly which service the client is requesting. So again, as another
example, if we think about the web server, most commonly, the client would be requesting a
web page which would be delivered using the HTTP protocol. But that same web server might
also provide FTP services, which operates over a different port. So in order to ensure that you
get the correct services from that server, the request includes the port number, and this
identifies which particular service or program is being requested.

Now, just quickly coming back to the well-known ports that are listed here, there are quite
literally a list of ports that are the most common and they are in fact actually referred to as
well-known ports. There are thousands of ports in total, somewhere in the neighborhood of
65,000, but the first 1,024 are in fact reserved as these well-known ports.

So no other applications can assume these port numbers. They're dedicated, if you will. So
here's an example of port usage. A client system might use something like SSH or the Secure
shell application, to send packets to a server. This uses TCP or the Transmission Control
Protocol, over port 22. So the server receives those packets and recognizes that the request
came in over port 22.

Therefore, the server knows to return packets using the SSH protocol on the same port. In
other words, you have identified exactly which service you want from that server. But again,
the server itself could provide any number of services. So this identifies exactly which
application or service is required. In short, the client and the server have agreed on the
appropriate rules of communication.

Now, there are a lot of common protocols and ports in use, but as a few examples, you are likely
to encounter the User Datagram Protocol or UDP, Transmission Control Protocol or TCP, and
the Internet Control Message Protocol or ICMP. Now these are what's referred to as transport
protocols, and we'll get into these in greater detail in the next presentation. But very quickly,
UDP is generally used when fast communication is required, but it's not overly reliable.

TCP is the exact opposite. It's not as fast, but it's more reliable. Again, we'll get into the details
in the next presentation. And ICMP is typically used to send and receive error control and
informational data about the communications themselves.

And some common ports include HTTP or the HyperText Transfer Protocol, which operates
over TCP port 80, FTP or the File Transfer Protocol, which operates over TCP ports 20 and 21,
 SMTP, or the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which operates over TCP port number 25, and
DNS, or the domain name system, which can operate over either TCP or UDP, but uses port 53.

So again, the idea is to simply establish the set of rules for communication, but that
communication requires several components, the IP address of any given system, the protocol
that you want to use, and the port number, which again identifies the specific application or
service to be used.

3. Video: TCP vs. UDP Protocols (it_csap121_03_enus_03)

After completing this video, you will be able to list the features of TCP and UDP.

list the features of TCP and UDP

[Video description begins] Topic title: TCP vs. UDP Protocols. Your host for this session is
Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at the two most common transport protocols, TCP and UDP.
Now, before we get into the comparison, to say that these are transport protocols refers to the
fact that they are only concerned with moving the data from one place to another.

In other words, the transport protocols themselves do not particularly care which application
is being used. Now to help visualize that, imagine something like just sending a letter. You might
just drop it in a mailbox and rely on the postal service to deliver it. That's fine.

But if it's something that is perhaps a little more important or needs to be tracked, you might
register it or you might go with a specific courier. In other words, there are different ways to
get that letter from point A to point B, but the carrier is not particularly concerned with what
the content is.

So that's the idea behind a transport protocol. It's just how we get the information from point A
to point B, regardless of its type. So beginning with TCP, the transmission control protocol, for
starters, this is what's known as a connection-oriented protocol, meaning that the two
endpoints must establish a connection first before any communications begin.

Now to imagine that, just think about a phone call. I have to pick up the phone and I have to dial
your number and you have to answer the phone. That is connection oriented. If, however, I was
just standing out in public giving a speech, then I don't really establish any kind of connection
with any particular person.

I just start talking and whoever wants to listen can listen if they want to. But there's no
connection that is established. Now, along with the connection, a three-way handshake is
completed before any data is transferred, and we'll take a look at the handshake in just a
moment but suffice to say that this is an agreement upon the rules of communication.

With TCP, the delivery of every packet is guaranteed, meaning that any lost packets are
retransmitted. So what this comes down to is that TCP is a very reliable protocol. And coming
back to my analogy of sending a letter, this would equate to something like insuring the letter
and implementing tracking, so that it can always be located. As such, applications and
protocols, including HTTPS or secured HTTP, Secure Shell and Server Message Block, all make
use of TCP as the transport protocol because these services want the reliability of TCP.

Now, with respect to that three-way handshake, the client will initiate communication by
sending a synchronization request to the server on the other side. The server will accept that
request and acknowledge it, and send back this acknowledgment, which essentially informs
the client that I have received your request and I'm ready to communicate.

The client then acknowledges that and now the connection has been established. So again, this
is not all that different from calling someone up on the phone. You dial the number, they
answer, you have established a connection. Now you can begin to communicate.

So that three-way handshake ensures that both systems are aware that communications are
about to ensue. Now, UDP, on the other hand, or the User Datagram Protocol does not
implement any type of connection. It is in fact connectionless. So coming back to my analogy of
giving a speech, this is me just standing somewhere, just simply talking to a crowd.

I'm not addressing any individual person, and as mentioned, whoever wants to listen can listen,
and anyone who doesn't can simply not pay attention to what I'm saying. So this certainly is not
as reliable, but this speeds up communication because I don't have to establish that
connection, we don't need to agree on anything, I quite literally just start talking.

But another possible downside is that delivery of packets and their order is not guaranteed. So
in short, it's a bit of a sacrifice. If you want the reliability and the speed there really isn't any
option for that. It's one or the other.

Reliability has to sacrifice speed. Speed has to sacrifice reliability. So it simply comes down to
the application that you want to use. So, for example, some applications that utilize UDP
include domain name system or DNS, the real-time transport protocol or RTP, dynamic host
configuration protocol or DHCP, Voice over internet protocol or Voice over IP, and the trivial
file transfer protocol, or TFTP.

Now, all of these types of applications favor speed. They aren't as concerned with reliability.
One very common example in terms of an actual application with which we are all very familiar
would be watching a video. We want the speed in that case. If something happens to get lost,
it's not that big a deal.

We could maybe load the video again, or we could just back it up to an earlier point and
continue on. So speed in many applications is the more desirable aspect. But other applications
favor the reliability. For example, if you're making a purchase on a secure website, you want
that to be reliably completed. So speed is not really as important in that type of transaction.

We want the reliability. So this is more so what communications look like over UDP. A client
still makes a request of a server, but the responses can essentially then just come flooding
back, if you will. There might not be any particular sequence to those responses, so in some
cases, there could be some jumbled or garbled information.

But like I said, the idea is to just get as much information back as quickly as possible, because
I'm looking for the speed. Now, if we were to contrast this with something like TCP, it would
look like request, response, request, response, request, response. So there would always be
that much more structured type of communication with TCP, but again, that just takes longer.

And for any request that did not receive a response, the request would either be resubmitted
or the response would be retransmitted. For every type of communication in TCP, for every
request that's sent, there is an acknowledgment that the request was received. For every
response that is sent, there is an acknowledgment that the response was received.

So clearly that will simply take more time. But again, it really comes down to what the
application favors. Now there are situations where you might encounter both. In fact, in an
earlier video we did mention that the DNS protocol can operate over either TCP or UDP. Now
this comes down to what the operation is.
 So when you are dealing with DNS, TCP will be used for large transfers. In other words, what's
known as a zone transfer. When I configure a significant amount of records within my DNS
server, that all reside within the same namespace, that's referred to as my zone. And I can take
that entire zone worth of information and send it off to another server for redundancy
purposes.

Then, if I happen to make a significant amount of changes to either copy of that zone, those
servers can synchronize that information to ensure that they have the same data in both
copies. So this type of exchange would be considered to be somewhat important, if you will, in
that I want to ensure that no information is lost. So TCP would be the better choice for this
particular type of communication.

But UDP can also be used in DNS, most commonly when a small amount of data is being
returned, such as A records or address records, or perhaps canonical names or CNAME
records. In other words, these are just client systems requesting a resolution of a name to an IP
address. That's not very much data, and if for some reason the request were to fail, the client
can just submit the request again.

So typically in these cases, where it's not critical if the data is lost, we favor the speed. The
faster I can get my responses back from the DNS server, the faster I can initiate
communications with the system I'm trying to reach. So again, certain instances, certain
applications may actually use both, but it would come down to the particular functionality of
that application.

In most cases, one or the other is usually preferred, and I should also point out that this is not
really something that we as users decide to do. It's a component of the application and or the
protocol. So we simply launch the applications and they use whichever protocols they're
designed to use. So the decision has been made, for lack of a better word, but in most cases, the
appropriate protocol is being used because the application favors the characteristics of one
over the other.

4. Video: Switches and Routers (it_csap121_03_enus_04)

In this video, you will learn how to differentiate between switches and routers.

differentiate between switches and routers

[Video description begins] Topic title: Switches and Routers. Your host for this session is Aaron
Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this presentation, we will compare two of the most common networking devices, switches
and routers. Now, we'll begin with switches, which are quite simply used to connect devices
together on a network. And it is important to note here that this does denote a single network.

In other words, switches do not connect devices that are on separate networks. That's the
router and we'll come to that in just a minute. But with respect to any two devices that are
attempting to communicate with each other on the same network, the switch receives and
forwards the data between those devices. So a switch is quite simply used within a LAN, but
not outside of a LAN, or to connect devices in different LANs.
Now, it is worth pointing out that there are a couple of different categories of switches known
as managed and unmanaged, and unmanaged, essentially allows for more devices to be
physically connected to any given LAN. Now, that's not entirely their purpose, but if we
consider the managed switch, these can be used to implement more control over the traffic and
to create virtual LANs or VLANs, which can limit the amount of systems in any given LAN
through the use of software configuration.

So it's not so much that an unmanaged switch just allows for more devices. It's more so the fact
that managed devices are used to implement limitations, whereas with unmanaged it's simply a
matter of how many physical ports do you have and how many physical switches in total. So,
routers then, are not used to connect individual systems together.

Rather, they connect networks together. They forward data from one router to another based
on the destination IP address of that network. And more specifically, it's not the entire IP
address because every IP address contains two components: the address of the network and
the address of any given host on that network.

So routers are only concerned with the network portion, but they do also allow the multiple
devices that are on any given network to use the same internet connection. So in short, the
router that you even have at your home that provides your high-speed internet is simply the
device that sits between your network within your home and the internet service provider.

But it does not particularly care about any individual device on that network. It simply allows
for all devices to access the network on the other side, which, for all intents and purposes, is
the internet. Now, to define this a little more officially, if you will, there is a model known as the
open systems interconnect or OSI, which defines layers, and these are used by developers and
vendors and manufacturers to allow for any given developer or manufacturer to focus on a
particular area, and not have to be concerned with every aspect of defining a networked
communication.

For example, if we consider something like a network cable, network cables are very physical.
They are not concerned at all with what type of application you're using. It doesn't matter to
the cable if you're using an email program or a browser, to check your email or gain access to
the internet. It's simply just not a concern.

Likewise, an application developer does not really care what type of physical cable is going to
be used to carry the data. They simply want to develop their applications and rely on the
manufacturers at the lower layers to ensure that they do make the appropriate types of cables
so that we ultimately can communicate over that physical medium.

But the individual entities at each of those layers just are not concerned with what the other is
doing. So quickly, if we do go back to the physical components such as the cable, that in fact is
layer 1. It defines quite literally the physical aspects of networking, such as cables, network
adapter cards, some types of devices, such as hubs and repeaters.

So then, layer 2 is one step up from there, and layer 2 is known as the data link layer. So what
we see here is that information is getting linked, if you will, to the physical. So now that we're
bringing information into the picture, then some sort of addressing needs to be implemented in
terms of establishing communications.

So information can be forwarded based on what's known as the media access control or the
MAC address of something like a network interface card. Every network interface card has a
physical MAC address attached to it, so the network interface is the physical component or the
layer 1 device, but the MAC address is the layer 2 component, and this is where we find
switches operating.

They recognize the systems that are attached to them based on the MAC addresses of their
network interface cards. Layer 3, however, is the network layer. These devices can forward
data based on IP addresses as opposed to MAC addresses. So MAC addresses are again
referred to as physical addresses because they are literally burned into the firmware of the
device and they never change. An IP address can change. It's something that we assign.
 So they're referred to as logical addresses. But here is where we find routers operating. They
are not concerned with the MAC addresses of any specific device other than the next router
that they have to communicate with. So in short, the individual devices within a network
identify and communicate with each other based on their MAC addresses.

Those are, in fact, the only truly unique values when it comes to networking. Routers are only
concerned with the network address portion of the IP address, and that's how they identify the
routers that they are able to communicate with. So when communications only need to occur
within the network, we don't even need to contact the router. The switch will connect us to the
other systems. When we need to leave our network and go to another one, such as the
internet, the router will provide us with that ability.

So, here's an example of what that looks like. We see individual computers on the right-hand
side, and it doesn't really matter what type of device they are. It could be a laptop, it could be a
desktop, it could even be mobile phones or tablets. Really anything with any kind of network
interface. But in order for those to talk to each other, they all need to be connected to their
respective switches. Then the switches themselves can be connected to each other so that
everyone within the same physical network can see everyone else.

But that's still just the LAN portion. It doesn't matter how many switches there are, it doesn't
matter how many individual devices there are. As long as every device is connected to a switch
and the switches are connected to each other, then everyone can see everyone else. But when
we need to get to the internet, this is a different network. So the switch simply passes our
communications off to the router, and the router connects us to the other router at the
internet service provider, and that gets us our internet access.

But once again, the router is not concerned with the individual systems. The switches handle
those, the routers handle connecting the networks, and that's how everyone can communicate
within the LAN and with other networks.

5. Video: Access Points, Repeaters, and Extenders (it_csap121_03_enus_05)

During this video, you will learn how to differentiate between access points, repeaters, and
extenders.

differentiate between access points, repeaters, and extenders

[Video description begins] Topic title: Access Points, Repeaters, and Extenders. Your host for
this session is Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at various types of wireless networking hardware, including the
wireless access point, an extender and a repeater. Now we'll take a closer look at each one in
just a moment, but I would first like to point out that none of these are the actual Wi-Fi router.

If, for example, you have high speed internet at home that is also wireless, then the Wi-Fi
router would be the primary device that provides you with both access to the internet and
wireless connectivity. But that device is typically supplied by your internet service provider, or
perhaps they just provide you with a modem that is only wired, but then you have connected a
wireless router to that.
So again, these devices do not provide the primary internet access. All three would be used to
either increase the capacity of the wireless network and or extend the range. So beginning with
the wireless access point, this device quite simply connects to a wired network device such as a
switch or router. So in fact, the example that I just mentioned whereby the internet service
provider might just come to your home and provide you with a modem, then something that
you use to connect to that is actually just considered to be a wireless access point.

The wired modem or the router is in fact the device that supplies you with access to the
internet. So home Wi-Fi routers that are added to provide you with wireless connectivity are
officially just access points.

But from our perspective, it certainly is the device that provides us with wireless internet
access. But officially, the modem itself is what provides you with access to the internet. Now, to
give you perhaps a more common example of when you would just see an access point, if you've
ever gone to a hotel or an airport or any other very large environment where a lot of people
connect to the wireless network, these are the types of devices that allow those clients to
connect to probably an otherwise wired network.

In other words, once again, there would be a router that provides access to the internet, and
there might be people that are actually connected with wired connections to that same
network. If, for example, in a hotel, there is also an actual data port in the wall you can plug in
using an Ethernet cable, and that might be the exact same network, whereas someone else
might just connect to the Wi-Fi.

But it would all still be the same network. But coming back to the aspect of it being a very large
environment, such as an airport that is very open, then clearly wireless makes it a lot easier for
us to connect when we're using mobile devices. So they can handle a very large number of
wireless clients, and in those types of places where the wireless access points themselves
might be mounted within the space between the ceiling and perhaps the floor above, they can
be powered by Ethernet, which is a feature known as Power over Ethernet, because, of course,
it's unlikely that there would be normal wall plugs in a ceiling.

So in order to get power to those devices, you simply use PoE, or Power over Ethernet. So
again, the idea is to simply give you access to the rest of the network. So in that regard, they
can really be thought of as switches. When you plug into a data port in the wall, for example, in
a hotel room, that would in fact connect you to a switch. Then the switches connect you to the
router and the router gives you internet access.

So if you're connecting to a wireless access point in something like an airport terminal or in

that same hotel, you are essentially doing the same thing. You're just doing it wirelessly instead
of through a wire. So that connects you to the switch, which probably connects you to a wired
network. But ultimately, it gets us access to the internet. So as standard clients, we really don't
care if the rest of the network is wired or wireless.

In either case, we simply want to connect to the network, and when we want to use wireless
then we connect to a wireless access point. But the other advantage of wireless access points is
that there can be as many as are necessary. Again, think about a wired network. You can just
keep adding switches to add more clients. But if we are talking about something like a hotel or
a very large airport terminal, then it's not really appropriate to just place wired switches
throughout the terminal, so we just keep adding wireless access points.

And of course, this also allows you to extend the range. As long as the wireless access point
itself can be connected to the rest of the wired network, then you add as many as you need and
you can cover a much larger area. Now, on the topic of simply increasing the range of your
wireless coverage, a repeater is designed to do the same thing, but it does so by rebroadcasting
the existing wireless network signal.

So this is something that is typically used in a home environment more so than somewhere like
an airport or a hotel, so it's a much more cost-effective way to increase the wireless range, and
they're typically very easy to install and configure. But the key aspect of a repeater is that first
point. It rebroadcasts the existing wireless network, and that is exactly what happens with a
repeater on a wired network. So let's just go with that example for a moment. If you have an
 Ethernet cable that is approaching its maximum length, by the time the signal gets to the end of
that cable, it can be quite degraded.

As long as it's still intact, the repeater can effectively amplify that signal and send it on its way,
and you can increase the effective length of any given cable. So a wireless repeater does the
same thing. Sooner or later, the signal will simply become too weak. So as long as the repeater
is close enough that it can pick up relatively intact signals, it will intercept them, boost them
and rebroadcast them. So it does the exact same thing as a wired repeater, but it just does so
wirelessly.

Now, similarly, an extender does also extend the range, as its name indicates, but an extender
creates a new wireless network, and the extender itself could also be wired to the existing
network. Now, if it is wired, then that sounds an awful lot like an access point. But the
difference between the two is the fact that the extender still creates a new wireless network.

An access point does not. Again, just treat an access point like a wireless switch. No new
network is created. Whenever you implement an extender you do get a new network, so this
can be a little more complex to install. But that's a relative statement. It's not particularly
difficult. It's just a little more difficult than something like a repeater, because with the
repeater you're simply rebroadcasting the existing network, whereas an extender creates a
new wireless network.

So just to help visualize this, we have an extender on the left and a repeater on the right. Now,
the key aspect again is the SSID or the service set ID, which is quite simply the name of the
network. So with an extender, you do get a different SSID. So let's just imagine that the existing
wireless network is called myhome. Once you set up the extender, you would likely see
something like myhome_ext for extended.

Now, you can call it whatever you like, but it is still a different SSID. So you simply connect to
whichever one happens to be the strongest signal. Now, there could be some overlap, but the
idea is to generally place the extender at just about the limit of your existing wireless network
so that it will transmit a little farther.

Now, let's just go with a simple example, such as a house. If the existing wireless network is
maybe set up in the basement and you're on the third floor, then maybe you would put the
extender on the second floor, and when you are then on the third floor you would likely see the
extended signal as being much stronger than the original, so you would simply connect to the
extended one and that would still give you access to the internet.

The repeater, by contrast, is the same service set ID. Now it's still the same type of setup, so if
the existing wireless network is again down in the basement and it's not particularly strong up
on the third floor, maybe you put the repeater on the second floor, but you would still see the
same service set ID, so no matter where you went in the house you would simply connect to
the same one.

This is why repeaters are typically a little bit easier to install and configure. But recall that an
extender can also be wired. So if the extender itself is perhaps right at the limit of the Wi-Fi
signal, you could actually connect it to the original router with a wire, which might allow it to be
placed even farther from that original device, so you might be able to extend the range even
more. Ultimately, it will come down to what you feel is going to suit your needs the best, but
one way or another, all three of wireless access points, extenders and repeaters will help you to
increase the range of your wireless network.

6. Video: Patch Panels (it_csap121_03_enus_06)

Upon completion of this video, you will be able to describe the purpose of patch panels.

describe the purpose of patch panels

[Video description begins] Topic title: Patch Panels. Your host for this session is Aaron
Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at connecting and organizing network cables or what is more
generically referred to as cable management. And this is required because there are many
devices in any given network that do require connectivity. And this doesn't just refer to our
computers.

There could be printers, security cameras or other monitoring devices, point-of-sale systems,
or most models of desktop phones these days also require connectivity to the standard
Ethernet LAN. So, quite simply, modern enterprises can have thousands of network cables
running throughout the physical location, which results in a need to be able to manage the
cables in a neat and centralized fashion.

So the primary device for accomplishing this is what's known as a patch panel, and quite simply,
this is nothing more than a collection of ports on a panel. Now, with respect to the port, just
think of a standard data port in the wall of any given office. It really just is a very centralized
collection of those. We, of course, as clients might plug our computers into that data port in the
wall, but that wire then would run through the walls, possibly the ceilings, to a centralized
location, where they terminate at a patch panel.

This allows for all of the different wall ports throughout the entire location to be connected
into that single centralized location. So quite literally, you can think of any given port on the
patch panel as simply being the other end of the wall port in your office, for example. From that
point, patch cables are used to create connections to the interconnecting devices, such as
switches.

Now I'll come back to that in just a moment, but essentially, the patch panel simply acts as the
central location where all wires from all locations can come together in a single place. So with
respect to the location, the patch panel itself is often a rack-mounted device, meaning that
there is simply a metal rack that has several slots, if you will, whereby you can connect these
devices.

They're typically referred to as a number of units in terms of their space. So when you mount
something like a network switch, for example, to a rack, that's typically a one-unit device. It
could be two, but this really just refers to its height. So any given patch panel might only take
up one space in the rack or two, but if those aren't enough, then you just get more of them.

You get as many as you need, in fact. But the idea is to make sure that the patch panel itself is as
centrally located as possible so that all of the wires can come into the same place so that you
can manage every connection in that single location. Now, with respect to the panel itself and
the type and number of connections, most patch panels will typically offer maybe 12, 24, 48 or
possibly even more on any one panel.

And again, that comes back to the number of units that it might take up. A 12-port panel, for
example, would almost certainly only take up one unit. A 24 might take up two, but they can be
fairly tightly packed together so you could still probably fit 24 in a single unit panel, but 48
would probably require two, and if there are more, it could be even taller.
 But again, the idea is you simply get as many as you need. As for the specifications of the types
of connections, most commonly they are for Ethernet connections such as CAT5e, CAT6, 6A, or
even 7 if you have a newer implementation, possibly even CAT8 which is available now, but not
particularly common. And of course, if you have a fiber optic network, then you would also find
patch panels or fiber optic cabling as well.

So, that of course then brings us to the actual connectors, and if you are dealing with an
Ethernet network, then of course your patch panels are simply going to be collections of RJ-45
connectors. If it is fiber optic, then they might be the subscriber connector or SC, or possibly
the lucid connector or LC. Of course, you just get the appropriate type of patch panel for the
appropriate type of cabling.

Now, with respect to the patch panel cabling itself, all of the wires from all of the offices again,
just centrally connect to the back of the patch panel. That gets you all of those connections into
a single place. But then they need to be connected to something like a switch, so this is what I
said I'd come back to. So typically, the patch panels and the switches are all mounted on the
same rack, or at least all in the same room.

It might take several racks to get everything, but once you have the patch panel fully wired up,
the connector is simply another RJ-45 connection, just like what you see on the wall of your
office. So a cable needs to be run from there to the switch, and ideally it should be a fairly short
cable, often just long enough to reach the switch. Now, if you want, you can color code them.
For example, you might use a different color for each floor if you occupy multiple floors, or
perhaps you do them by department.

It really doesn't matter as long as it's a color scheme that makes sense to you. But the shorter
cables will, of course, be cheaper than longer ones, and it makes it a lot easier to swap out a bad
cable because it might only be a couple of feet long. This also reduces the amount of cabling
that would then have to be managed if you were using full length cables.

So, for example, if you only needed to span a distance of, let's say, two feet, and all you had was
a 25-foot CAT6 cable, then you would likely have to coil it up, maybe tie wrap it or just figure
out somewhere to put all of that extra cabling. But really, you're wasting all of that length for
no reason. So a shorter cable again is much more manageable because all you're doing is
making the connection from the patch panel connector to the switch, and you do that for every
single one so that every system is then connected to the switches so that everyone can
communicate with everyone else.

7. Video: Firewalls (it_csap121_03_enus_07)

After completing this video, you will be able to list the benefits and security features of firewalls.

list the benefits and security features of firewalls

[Video description begins] Topic title: Firewalls. Your host for this session is Aaron Sampson.
[Video description ends]

In this video, we'll introduce the basic concept of firewalls, which can be used to enhance the
security of your environment by controlling inbound and/or outbound network or host traffic.
Now, they do so by using rules to allow or deny traffic, and they can be implemented as either a
dedicated hardware device or as software running on a computer, and we'll come to that in
greater detail in just a moment.

They can also store session state information or what is referred to as stateful filtering, and
we'll talk about that in greater detail in just a moment, but effectively, they can filter packets
based upon the port information or the IP addresses that are specified within a packet, which
comes back to the rules. Essentially, the firewall can examine that information in the packet
and then you configure rules based on that information.

So if, for example, you know about a particular bad IP address, then you could quite simply
block that IP address. As soon as the firewall sees it, it will not allow that packet to pass
through. Now, looking at the hardware firewall, as mentioned, this is a dedicated device that
does include its own specialized software that would be effectively built in.

It's possible that there could be a management interface that's included with the device, but
most of them these days just use a browser for configuration. The internal software is already
present. So the idea is to simply place this device between your network and an untrusted
network, which is almost always the Internet. Now, hardware devices do have a few
advantages.

They can typically have more functionality than their software-based counterparts. For
example, they can also act as a VPN concentrator so if you have employees who work from
home or who travel frequently and need to gain access to the internal network, then the
firewall can typically accept those incoming requests from your users, authenticate them and
allow them access.

Plus, they can also provide web filtering, whereby the content of any given website can be
examined and/or assessed, to determine if it's appropriate. If it is, then the traffic will be
allowed. If it isn't, then the traffic will be blocked. Now, the software firewall is simply a
software application that runs on any given computer. So as such, the firewall is effectively only
as secure as the underlying operating system.

If, for example, someone were able to compromise the operating system itself, they could
possibly shut down the firewall or at least the services that support it. So they do allow you to
still control access to that device on a per-application basis if you need to, and they can also
work on a port level. But again, these come back to the rules.

In short, you can configure rules within the software that say that this computer is able to
communicate using this particular application, or it will accept incoming requests from other
systems using that application, or you could simply specify a particular port.

If, for example, any given request comes in over a particular port, you can just create a rule that
says this port is acceptable or it's not. Now, the port essentially defines what the application is.
If, for example, you are just browsing the Internet, your browser is most commonly using port
80.

That identifies the hypertext transfer protocol. So that particular port would likely be allowed
to make requests of systems on the Internet or outgoing requests, if you will. But if you're just
a standard client system, then no one should be making requests of you over port 80. So you
could block port 80 from an incoming perspective while allowing it from an outgoing
perspective.

Now, I mentioned the stateful connection just a moment ago. And really, this comes down to
what stateful means with respect to stateful versus stateless firewalls. So on the stateful side,
this means that the contents of packets can be inspected, with respect to the state of the
connection. Now, hold that thought for just a moment, but this translates into stateful firewalls
being better at detecting unusual and/or potentially malicious traffic, because they quite
literally have more intelligence.

They can filter traffic based upon the context of the connection. So that's what I was referring
to just a second ago when I said the state of the connection. It's not just a matter of seeing the
contents of the packet. It's also understanding, if you will, the purpose of the connection. So if
this particular application is being used and these types of requests are being issued, then that
 allows the firewall to essentially determine more accurate information as to what the
connection overall is all about.

Now, all of this does require more memory and more computational power. So because of that,
a stateless connection can typically be performed more quickly. They're generally cheaper, and
they use preset rules based upon source addresses, destination addresses and port numbers.
Now that is also done with a stateful firewall, but with a stateless, this is the only information it
can use to determine whether a packet should be allowed or denied.

In other words, it's not able to determine the context of the connection. So the decision to go
with either a stateful versus a stateless will essentially be based on this criteria. What is more
important to you. If you need more security and more specialized monitoring, if you will, then
you would want to go with stateful.

But if you don't have the budget and you just know some basic configuration, then the stateless
might be a better option. Now to finish up, there are also what's known as Next Generation
Firewalls or NGFWs available, and they simply attempt to provide even more functionality on
top of what a standard firewall might already provide, by enhancing the ability to filter traffic
based upon various applications, as well as the ports and/or the protocols, because any given
application may use more than one port or more than one protocol.

So this way, it can be based on the entire application as a whole, and they may also include
intrusion prevention systems, which can detect and prevent an attack before it ever gets
through the firewall, and they can also gather up-to-date threat information from external
sources. In other words, they can download updated lists of what might be trending in terms of
the most current threats.

I would say that if you do go out and purchase a new firewall today, then there's a very good
chance it would be a Next Generation Firewall, and it would certainly include stateful
capabilities as well. Ultimately, like anything, it will come down to considerations such as the
budget and the level of expertise that you have available to you in terms of configuring it. But
given that they do provide much greater security to any environment, it's usually worth the
investment.

8. Video: Power over Ethernet (PoE) (it_csap121_03_enus_08)

In this video, you will outline PoE standards and injector and switch features.

outline PoE standards and injector and switch features

[Video description begins] Topic title: Power over Ethernet (PoE). Your host for this session is
Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at some options for powering your network devices, which might
seem like a rather odd thing to say if you are talking about something like a switch or a router
that is in a central wiring location, because of course, you would just run a standard power
cable to those devices.

But these days, some network devices are in areas with no easy-to-reach power, most notably
wireless access points, because many of them are installed in ceilings or high up on walls,
 where there simply aren't any actual plugs. So running new power lines to those locations
certainly would be possible, but it could be quite costly. So given the fact that there is already
an Ethernet cable connected to that device, in fact, this gives you an option to provide power to
those devices using a specification known as Power over Ethernet or PoE.

And exactly as its name suggests, this allows for power delivery over an Ethernet cable. And
this specification was defined using the 802.3af, 802.3at, and 802.3bt. Now, those are
specifications defined by project 802. And you might recognize the 802 from Wi-Fi. 802.11
defines the specifications of wireless networking. 802.3 defines the specifications of Ethernet.
Now, 3 all by itself deals with standard Ethernet networking, so these af, at and bt
specifications were simply refinements to the Ethernet standard, which allows them to also
carry power.

So in terms of advantages, this allows you to support up to 100W over the existing wiring used
in Ethernet cables. It supports a distance of up to 100 meters or about 328 feet, and because
you already have an Ethernet cable running to those devices, it prevents the need for an
electrician to come in and install new power, which, as mentioned, could be quite costly. So
then with respect to setting up PoE, you do have to have what's referred to as power sourcing
equipment, which sends the power and the data.

In other words, you can't just plug a PoE device into something like a standard network switch.
They simply weren't designed to deliver power in the first place. Now there are switches that
support PoE, but you would need to make sure that you are getting one. And if the switch itself
supports PoE this is referred to as endspan power, meaning that from the perspective of the
device receiving the power, its source is at the end of the cable.

But there are also PoE injectors, and these essentially are placed between the original device
and the device receiving the power, so this is referred to as midspan power, because quite
simply, the device providing the power is in between the switch and the receiving device. Now,
the specifications for PoE itself, again, were defined by the project 802.3 standards, and PoE
was introduced in 2003 with the 802.3af standard, and this defined that there were multiple
power classes for delivery, including 4W, 7W and 15.4W.

Now, as any signal travels down a copper wire, it does start to degrade. So by the time you get
to the end of the cable where the receiving device is, there is reduced power, typically down to
3.84W, 6.49 and 12.95. So that's over the maximum rated distance of the cable, which again is
100 meters. So you just need to make sure that the device receiving the power is receiving
enough.

Now, PoE has since been upgraded, so 802.3at was released in 2009, and this is also commonly
referred to as PoE+, and it simply increases the maximum power delivery to 30W. From that
point, it was enhanced again with 802.3bt, which was released in 2018, and it contains Type 3
and Type 4 enhancements, whereby Type 3 supports up to 60W and Type 4 up to 100.

So that was the maximum wattage stated earlier. So once again, it simply comes down to the
device being powered. As long as it does not require more power than what PoE can deliver,
then you can use PoE and you don't need to supply standard power for that device.

9. Video: Hubs and Bridges (it_csap121_03_enus_09)

Learn how to differentiate between hubs and bridges.

differentiate between hubs and bridges

[Video description begins] Topic title: Hubs and Bridges. Your host for this session is Aaron
Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at hubs and bridges, which I will state are somewhat similar to
switches and routers, but there are distinct differences and of course, I'll get into all of those,
but quite simply, hubs connect multiple computers together. Now that in itself does sound very
much like a switch. But for starters, hubs operate on Level 1 of the OSI model.

Now, this was referenced earlier, but Level 1 defines the physical components of networking,
such as cables and network interface cards. So hubs also operate at this level, and as such, they
don't really have any kind of programming built in. So any received signal is sent out to all other
ports. It's little more than a splitter, if you will. This results in more traffic on the network, but
they are simpler and cheaper than switches.

That all said, these really aren't used anymore because of some of those limitations and also
due to the fact that switches came down a lot more in price since hubs were a little more
commonly used. They might still be found in smaller environments, but even in those situations
a switch still wouldn't be much more expensive. So, in virtually every case, if you can get a
switch instead of a hub, you should.

Now, with respect to just hubs themselves, there are two categories: active and passive. The
active hub has the ability to strengthen a signal if it's fairly weak when it's received. Now, why
might it be weak? Quite simply, if the cable is starting to approach its maximum length.

So an active hub can allow you to extend the range of the network overall, because it can quite
literally boost the signal and send it on its way. But as such, they have a higher power
requirement as compared to a passive hub.

Passive models simply connect the computers together on a physical level, but they do not
strengthen the signal at all therefore, they do not increase the range of the network, so a
passive hub would probably be fine as long as all of the computers are fairly close together. But
if you're starting to approach the distance limitations of your cables, then you might need an
active hub.

So, here is an example of what communication looks like with a hub. Now this is a very simple
example using just a four-port hub, but as Frame ABCD enters the hub on physical port 1, it is
quite simply sent out all other ports. So if, for example, that frame was only intended for
computer 2 in port 2, computer 3 and computer 4 will also receive this frame.

So they quite literally have to just ignore it, if you will, because it is not destined for them, but
they still hear it. So this is why hubs are considered to be noisy, for lack of a better word.

Now that brings us to the network bridge, and bridges operate at Layer 2 of the OSI model,
which is the same layer as switches. But they aren't designed to connect individual computers
together. Somewhat like routers, they divide the network into smaller segments.

Traffic is then inspected for the destination MAC address of the intended computer, and if that
destination is on the other side of it, if you will, it is forwarded to the other side. Now, in terms
 of why would you need to segment, well, it's because hubs are rather noisy, as just mentioned.
So when you have a lot of traffic going through the same network and you're using hubs, you
can end up with a lot of collisions, which are quite literally packets running into each other on
the wire.

So the fewer systems you have on any given segment, the fewer collisions you will typically
encounter. So each particular segment is referred to as a collision domain. This can also help to
increase the overall bandwidth because if and or when collisions do occur, the packets have to
be retransmitted.

So the quieter the environment, the better the bandwidth. So these can help to allow for a
larger, practical number of hosts in total, because they're all divided up into smaller units. So
instead of, let's just say, 100 computers all trying to communicate through hubs, you might
create five segments of 20 computers each, and that would make it easier to add, let's say, 20
more into a sixth segment, as opposed to just adding 20 more to the single network.

Now, all of that probably sounds somewhat similar to switches and routers. And in fact, it is,
but there are differences between a bridge and a router. For starters, bridges operate at Layer
2 of the OSI model, which is where we find MAC addresses, and bridges will always forward
packets to the same destination over the same routes. Plus, bridges are transparent to the
individual network devices. In other words, on any given computer, it would be entirely
unaware that a bridge even exists.

By contrast, routers work at Layer 3 of the OSI model, which is the network layer where we
find IP addresses, not MAC addresses. Routers can intelligently select the route for any given
packet, and they are visible to the network devices. On your computer right now if you look at
your TCP/IP configuration, you will almost certainly see a value for a default gateway. That's
your router.

So client systems are aware of routers. Now, to quickly finish up, again a situation whereby you
have hubs and bridges is somewhat similar to using switches and routers. But that said, hubs
and bridges are almost never used any more. But with respect to distinguishing one scenario
from another, it really comes down to the addressing.

The protocol being used to communicate among all these systems is still TCP/IP. So even
though devices such as bridges and switches operate on the MAC address, individual devices
themselves still have an IP address assigned. That's how we initiate communications with other
systems. It simply comes down to the fact that switches and bridges don't pay any attention to
the IP address.

They operate solely based on the MAC address. But if I take several computers and attach
them to a hub, as we have just discussed, there will be a lot of noise. So I can reduce the amount
of noise by implementing a bridge and creating segments. But once you factor in the IP
address, all of those segments put together, no matter how many there are, would all still be
one network by TCP/IP.

They would all still be in the same network. But when you separate sections of a network with
a router, you immediately get two different networks by TCP/IP. Network 1 has an IP address
that distinguishes it as network 1. Network 2 has a different IP address that distinguishes it as
network 2. So again, hubs and bridges will all be implemented within the same network by the
IP address.

Switches and routers would be separate networks. So that really is the key distinction between
a bridge and a router. Bridges define different segments, but within the same overall network,
whereas routers create entirely separate networks.

10. Video: Cable and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Modems

(it_csap121_03_enus_10)
In this video, you will learn how to differentiate between cable and DSL modems.

differentiate between cable and DSL modems

[Video description begins] Topic title: Cable and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Modems. Your
host for this session is Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at a comparison of DSL and cable modems. But before we get to
that, I'd like to just talk about modems in general. And for starters, the term modem actually
comes from the process that's happening, which is modulation and demodulation.

So it takes the mod of modulation and the d-e-m or dem of demodulation. And that refers to
the fact that they are converting digital signals to analog, so that they can be transmitted over
an analog medium. So modems, of course, can be used by computers to send and receive data
outside of a LAN environment, but most notably, they allowed us to connect to the Internet. So
back in the earliest days of modems, we had what was known as dial-up modems, which quite
literally meant that you had to establish a phone call to send and or receive data.

Now, this is going back quite some time. I have not needed to use a modem in probably 25
years I would estimate, in terms of gaining access to the Internet. But again, the idea is that
they literally used the existing phone lines. You had to establish a connection by dialing your
Internet service provider or something like the destination network if you were trying to
establish something like a VPN connection.

But by today's standards, these connections were very slow. Most modems never got beyond
56 kilobits per second. So again, these days we talk about speed ranges well into the gigabit
range, so again, that is exceptionally slow by today's standards. So then one of the earlier
methods of trying to enhance that speed is the digital subscriber line or DSL modem.

Now, like a traditional modem, it still uses existing phone lines and it utilizes the same RJ-11
connector, which is the exact same connector on a landline phone. But it uses normally unused
frequencies for faster speeds than what you would normally be able to achieve over a phone
line. But if you were using your existing phone line for your DSL service and you still needed to
use the phone while on the Internet, then you needed a specific DSL filter. So the Internet
service provider would typically install this for you, but without it, if you tried to make a phone
call, there was a lot of noise on the line essentially, so this filter simply helped to reduce that
noise.

Now, the other option, if you will, was the cable modem, which utilizes coaxial cables. And
these were the cables that provided standard television service. So once again, you could use
an existing infrastructure that was probably in your home already, but this particular medium
allows for higher frequency and typically was able to provide faster service than DSL. And in
fact, that is still the case today.

If you are trying to obtain high-speed Internet, perhaps in a very rural area where the options
might be limited, these might still be your only two options; cable and or DSL, and typically
cable will provide faster speeds than DSL. So in fact, if we compare the two on the DSL side,
again, it runs over existing phone lines, so this might be a little more common in most areas.

Even very rural areas, of course, would have phone lines, but the speed is highly dependent on
the distance from the provider, and the speeds that are offered are commonly between 5 and
100 Mbps. Now, that's probably not the maximum range, and it really would come down to the
 provider, plus, you can typically choose what kind of speed you want if there are different tiers,
but 100 would probably be around a common maximum.

On the other hand, cable runs over coaxial cables, which again is probably fairly common still in
a lot of environments, but the speeds tend to be higher, between 50 Mbps and 1 Gbps. And
these days, there's often a hybrid configuration of fiber optic cabling, and coaxial on the
backend. In other words, it might still be copper cabling between you and the nearest service
location, but between all the provider's locations, there might be fiber optic.

Now that configuration will entirely depend on the provider, and overall cable might be a little
more expensive than DSL because of those faster speeds. So, like anything, it really comes
down to what you feel you need. Try to compare the two options and decide for yourself which
is going to work better, but both of these options are still fairly common today.

But I will finish up by mentioning that most have been succeeded by entirely fiber optic
networks, which would offer the highest levels of performance and speed, but of course, fiber
optic service would cost more than either of these two previous options.

11. Video: Optical Network Terminal (ONT) (it_csap121_03_enus_11)

After completing this video, you will be able to recognize the key features of fiber technology.

recognize the key features of ONT fiber technology

[Video description begins] Topic title: Optical Network Terminal (ONT). Your host for this
session is Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this video, we'll take a look at the optical network terminal or ONT, which is essentially the
device that provides Internet service over a fiber optic network. But before we get to that, I
would just like to talk about fiber optic cabling for a moment, which utilizes light to send data
as opposed to an electrical signal over a copper wire.

As such, multiple wavelengths of light can be used to increase the overall throughput, and the
cables have an internal core made from ultra-fine glass or plastic fibers that allow the light to
reflect and refract. But overall, fiber optic cabling can be more expensive than copper, although
I will say that these days the prices can actually be somewhat comparable depending on the
implementation.

But even though they might be still a little more expensive, there are significant benefits to
using fiber optic cabling, including the fact that they are immune to electromagnetic
interference. A copper cable, if placed too close to any source of interference, such as a strong
magnet or a very strong power source, or even other strong sources of radio transmissions, can
experience interference. Because of that, the distances are also limited.

But when you're talking about just using pulses of light, they can travel much farther. So to give
you a general idea of that, copper wire cabling typically has a maximum length measured in
meters, whereas fiber optic cabling has a maximum length measured in kilometers. And
perhaps best of all, it's simply very fast. You can get very fast speeds over very long distances
when using fiber optic cabling.
 So then the optical network terminal or ONT simply serves as the termination point for a fiber
optic connection. So for all intents and purposes, for those of us at home who are receiving
Internet service over fiber optic cabling, this is the device, very similar to a cable modem or a
DSL modem, where the cable actually terminates, but then it allows us as clients to connect to
that device using either standard Ethernet cables or perhaps Wi-Fi.

Now again, the overall implementation is likely more expensive than cable or DSL modems, but
it would provide greater speed over greater distances and greater reliability as well. Now, with
respect to how an ONT differs from a modem, well, of course, the ONT only uses a fiber
connection, whereas cable and DSL modems only utilize copper wires.

Many ONTs are standalone units, meaning that it would just be the device where the fiber
optic cable terminates. Then you might need something else, such as a Wi-Fi router, to transmit
that signal wirelessly through your house, but that is going to depend on the provider.

For example, I have fiber optic Internet service here in my home, and my ONT provides both
the standard Ethernet connections and Wi-Fi, so everything is encompassed within a single
unit. So again, that's going to depend on the provider, and I should also state that this is true of
cable and DSL modems as well. Some of them are just standalone units.

Then you need something else to provide the Ethernet connections and or the Wi-Fi. But most
commonly these days, most providers give you a single unit that provides all of those services,
but perhaps most notably, ONTs do not have to modulate or demodulate anything because it's
entirely digital.

We aren't needing to convert anything from analog to digital here to be able to transmit the
data over any particular type of medium. Fiber optic cabling always uses digital information
only. So again, there is just nothing to modulate and or demodulate. Now it's likely that you
may still hear that term being used in day to day conversation, but officially, an ONT is not a
modem at all. It just terminates that fiber optic connection, and that allows us as clients to
connect to that same device or possibly an additional device, to be able to distribute the
Internet service throughout our homes or through our networks.

12. Video: Network Interface Card (NIC) (it_csap121_03_enus_12)

After completing this video, you will be able to provide an overview of NICs.

provide an overview of NICs

[Video description begins] Topic title: Network Interface Card (NIC). Your host for this session
is Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]

In this presentation, we'll provide an overview of the network interface card, which, as its name
indicates, allows us to connect to a network. Now, for starters, there are different types of
networking standards and therefore different types of interfaces, but most commonly these
days you are likely to find either Ethernet or 802.11, which is Wi-Fi.

Now to clarify that a little bit, Wi-Fi is still an Ethernet standard. It's just wirelessly as opposed
to over copper wire cables. But one way or another, every computer that needs to network
requires a way to connect to that network. So it's the network interface card that provides us
with the means. Now, the network card itself operates over the OSI model or Open Systems
Interconnect, which applies to all networking, but the specific layers encompassed by network
interface cards include the Physical, which is the lowest layer of the OSI model and quite
literally defines physical connections.

Data is in the form of bits at this level, defined either by various voltages on a wire, different
frequencies of radio waves for Wi-Fi, or different pulses of light for fiber. So again, these are
the very physical components. We are talking about the cabling and the actual card itself, or at
least the interface in your computer. But it also operates at the next layer up, which is the Data
Link Layer.

This is the second layer, and it handles the delivery of data between local destinations. Now,
the official term for the structure of data at this layer is a frame, but most notably, it includes
what's known as the MAC address or Media Access Control, and despite the fact that we are in
the data link layer here, this address is also commonly referred to as a physical address, simply
because it is directly written into the firmware of the adapter itself, and it never changes.

But one thing I do want to point out about the OSI model is that there are seven layers in total
and for any given layer, its entire world, if you will, is, of course, its own layer, and then the layer
above it and the layer below it. In other words, let's just pick Layer 4 at random.

Layer 4 needs to know how to communicate with Layer 5 as data is being passed up through
the layers, and it needs to know how to communicate with Layer 3 as data is passing down
through the layers. But that's it. Layer 4 would have no knowledge of Layer 1, nor Layer 7, but it
always needs to know about the surrounding layers.

So since the physical layer is the very bottom, it need only know about the data link layer. Now
the data link layer, of course, would know about the physical, and it would also need to know
about the layer above it, which, by the way, is the network layer or Layer 3. But the physical
layer does not need to know about Layer 3. It's too far away, if you will.

So when we are talking about network interface cards, since they are a physical component,
they need only know about the layer above, which is the data link layer. And again, I reiterate
that at the data link layer all of this is handled by programming. It's nothing really that is
actually physical, but the data link layer does need to know how to get the information onto the
physical component.

So that's what the programming handles at this point. It is capable of passing the information
to the network interface card, which can then convert that into the voltages on the wire, the
radio waves for Wi-Fi, or the light for fiber. So the types of connectors would also be the
physical components, and most commonly for an Ethernet network you will likely find the RJ-
45 connection.

If you are on a legacy network, it is possible that you might still see a Type F coaxial, but that
would be very old, although it might still be in use for very specific types of equipment.

If you're on a newer network using fiber, you would likely see the Subscriber Connector, which
is also sometimes referred to as the square connector or the Lucent Connector, but both of
those are for fiber optic only.

Now, with respect to an Ethernet network interface card, again, this allows your computer to
connect to an Ethernet-based network. Now, in many cases, you will find an Ethernet adapter
integrated into the motherboard for both desktop systems and laptops.

Now, if it's a desktop, even if it does have an integrated connector, you could still install a
network interface card as an expansion device, because sometimes they do have a little more
functionality and it might support higher speeds than what is integrated in the motherboard.

But of course, that's up to you, and I should also note that if you have a relatively new laptop,
it's possible that the laptop itself, in order to save space, does actually not have an Ethernet
network interface card. Rather, it might only have wireless. But it would almost certainly have
a USB connector so you could easily get an adapter that converts from USB to Ethernet. But
many modern laptops only have wireless interfaces, but that is still your network interface.
 For Ethernet networks, the common speeds include 100 Mbps which would be quite out of
date by today's standards, but 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps and even 10 Gbps would represent the faster
networks and I would say anywhere between 1 and 2.5 would be among the more common
speeds in most environments. Now, if you are dealing with wireless, then of course, the Wi-Fi
adapter still allows your computer to connect to an 802.11 wireless network.

It will typically use one of the following standards, either Wi-Fi version 5, which is defined by
802.11ac, or Wi-Fi version 6, which is 802.11ax. Now there may be older implementations, but
those would be among the more common these days, and as just mentioned, the Wi-Fi
interface is very commonly integrated into mobile devices.

Now, just on the topic of laptops for a moment, again, most newer laptops will certainly have
Wi-Fi integrated, but if you are still supporting older models, they may actually only have an
RJ-45 interface for a wired connection and might not have a wireless interface at all.

If that's the case, there are still external adapters that can be used, perhaps most commonly
these days, it might be a USB device, or if you go back even further, there were cards that were
literally about the size of a credit card; they were referred to as PC cards that could slide into a
slot on the edge of the device, and that was your wireless adapter.

Now again, that's going back quite a way, so any kind of modern laptop would almost certainly
have the Wi-Fi integrated into the device. But again, there are still external devices if you do
not have one.

Now, with respect to an actual network interface card that gets installed into something like a
desktop computer, these might still be very common because some of them have advanced
features to help improve the host system performance, including multi-queue cards that can
help to distribute network traffic to multiple CPU cores.

Plus, some of them can also run the entire TCP/IP network protocol stack to reduce the load on
the host CPU itself. Now, this will depend on the card, it will depend on the operating system, it
will depend on the driver and the software that's included, but if you do need the most
advanced functionality for your network interface, then it is likely that you'll find it on a
network card that is actually implemented as a separate expansion device, as opposed to the
integrated component.

That's not to suggest that the integrated interface won't have some of these features. It's just
more likely when it's a dedicated device. In terms of just pure connectivity to the network, the
integrated interface would certainly suffice, but sometimes you do need these advanced
features for higher end systems such as network servers, or even some kind of desktop that
just might be performing a very specific task and might have more demanding network needs.

13. Video: Software-defined Networking (SDN) (it_csap121_03_enus_13)

After completing this video, you will be able to list the features of the SDN architecture.

list the features of the SDN architecture

[Video description begins] Topic title: Software-defined Networking (SDN). Your host for this
session is Aaron Sampson. [Video description ends]
In our final video for this course, we'll introduce the basic concepts of software-defined
networking or SDN. Now to get started with this, I'd like to address networking without
software-defined networking first, which for a lack of a better word, would be a standard
network.

So from the perspective of any given device, let's just go with a router as an example, the
hardware and the software to configure that router are tied together. In other words, there is
the hardware device of the router itself, but in terms of configuring it, you have to connect to
that device and use the inherent software to implement your configuration. So this can lead to
a little more difficulty when it comes to trying to centrally manage all of the network devices
on your network.

And in many cases, they have vendor-specific protocols that you have to learn, to be able to
configure those devices. So again, that would be a traditional or standard network model. So
software-defined networking is effectively an implementation that gives you the ability to
separate the software from the hardware, and allows software only to control the network
with respect to provisioning, configuration and management.

Now, before I go any further, I'd just like to pause there and talk about something like a virtual
machine in terms of a similar concept. Virtual machines are still functioning computers, but
they're obscured from the hardware, if you will. So you still have your physical hardware onto
which you can implement the virtual machine. But any system that supports virtual machines
can have many virtual machines on that same collection of hardware.

So from the perspective of any one virtual machine, it doesn't even realize that there are other
virtual machines all accessing the same hardware. So it's just a software implementation, but it
quite simply allows all of them to access the same hardware. So software-defined networking
is essentially the same thing. Rather than having to connect to any individual device and use
the inherent software to configure it, we simply use a single and centralized software interface
to connect to and configure all of the hardware devices.

So again, this is that separation, if you will. The hardware still does what it does, but the
configuration of that hardware can be offloaded to a central and single application that allows
you to interact with the entire network as a whole.

So the components, then, involve various applications, controllers and of course, the physical
networking devices, and we'll take a look at the characteristics of each here in just a moment,
but one thing to take note of is that there may still be certain devices on any given network that
aren't aware of software-defined networking or, quite simply, aren't compatible.

So that is something to consider if you are looking to make a move to a software-defined

network. You would have to determine if there are any components that simply would not be
compatible. But these days, I would say that most components would be compatible. So the
application is quite simply the interface that any given administrator will use to determine how
the environment should be configured.

It provides the information about the devices that are present and it accepts the requests of
any given person who is implementing the configuration, so that you can quite simply say, this
is the way I want the network to be configured. The controller then takes that information
from the application and decides how packets should be routed or moved based upon the
information it receives.

So again, I sit there at the application as the administrator and I say that these computers are
going to be in their own separate network and those computers are going to be in their own
separate network. But that kind of configuration has to be implemented on the devices
somehow. So before that happens, the controller says, well, how do you want it to be
configured?

Based on the information you've provided me, the controller will then say, all right, to
accomplish that, here is how those packets will need to be sent. It then will pass that
information onto the physical devices themselves, where they will still do what they do. As
mentioned, they are still responsible for moving the actual data, but that movement is
determined by the controller.
 So again, the physical networking devices are still all of the switches, the routers and
everything else that you might have. But the configuration is no longer done on any individual
switch or router. All of them receive their commands from the controller.

So again, I can simply determine how the information needs to be moved, the controller
accepts that, decides what the best implementation is based on which devices are present and
which systems are connected to those devices; but again, it makes the decisions for lack of a
better word, and passes all of that information to the devices so they simply do whatever the
controller tells them to do.

And of course, the controller does what it does based on the configuration that you, as an
administrator, entered into the application to begin with. So again, quite simply, it allows us to
separate the software from the hardware, and allows all of those devices to be configured from
that single interface. So I no longer have to make specific connections to this device, then this
device, then that device, to configure them separately.

So software-defined networking can be very advantageous in an environment where things

change fairly often. Now that in itself might not be all that common. Many networks may not
change their physical configuration at all.

But there are certainly environments where changes do happen a lot, particularly if you're in a
very large and dynamic environment and you just need to make changing your network
configuration as easy and as efficient as possible.

14. Video: Course Summary (it_csap121_03_enus_14)

632cd28a-f536-46f7-8c5b-22343680f9db

summarize the key concepts covered in this course

[Video description begins] Topic title: Course Summary. [Video description ends]

So in this course, we've examined various networking fundamentals. We did this by exploring
ports and protocols and the features of TCP and UDP, switches, routers, access points,
repeaters and extenders, the purpose of patch panels, firewall benefits and security features,
Power over Ethernet, hubs, bridges, and cable and DSL modems, network interface cards,
optical network terminators and software-defined networking architecture.

In our next course, we'll move on to explore the features of wireless networking and services.

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