Module 1 · Routing & Switching Foundations
Network Fundamentals
- Role and function of network components: routers, L2 and L3 switches, endpoints, servers
- TCP vs UDP - behaviour, use cases and port numbers
- IPv4 addressing and subnetting (VLSM), and the need for private IPv4 addressing
- IPv6 addressing and prefixes; address types: global unicast, unique local, link-local, anycast, multicast, modified EUI-64
- Verifying IP parameters on client operating systems
- Switching concepts: MAC learning and aging, frame switching, frame flooding, the MAC address table
Network Access
- Configure and verify VLANs spanning multiple switches - access ports (data and voice), default VLAN, connectivity
- Inter-switch connectivity: trunk ports, 802.1Q tagging, native VLAN
- Layer 2 discovery protocols: Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) and LLDP
- Layer 2/Layer 3 EtherChannel with LACP
- Rapid PVST+ Spanning Tree: root bridge election, port roles and states, PortFast
IP Connectivity
- Routing table components: protocol codes, prefix, network mask, next hop, administrative distance, metric, gateway of last resort
- How a router forwards: longest match, administrative distance, routing protocol metrics
- IPv4 and IPv6 static routing: default, network, host and floating static routes
- Single-area OSPFv2: neighbor adjacencies, point-to-point vs broadcast, DR/BDR election, router ID
- First-hop redundancy protocols - purpose and operation
IP Services
- Inside source NAT using static entries and pools
- NTP in client and server modes
- DHCP and DNS within the network; DHCP client and relay configuration
- SNMP in network operations
- Syslog features: facilities and severity levels