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CCNA Exploration - Network Fundamentals

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0.0 Welcome
0.0.1 Introduction

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0.0.1 - Introduction
Diagram 1: Multiple Images - Changing people, classroom, and network situations.
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Welcome
Welcome to the CCNA Exploration Network Fundamentals course. The goal of this course is to
introduce you to fundamental networking concepts and technologies. These online course
materials will assist you in developing the skills necessary to plan and implement small networks
across a range of applications. The specific skills covered in each chapter are described at the
start of each chapter.

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More than just information
This computer-based learning environment is an important part of the overall course experience
for students and instructors in the Networking Academies. These online course materials are
designed to be used along with several other instructional tools and activities. These include:

- Class presentation, discussion, and practice with your instructor.

- Hands-on labs that use networking equipment within the Networking Academy classroom.
- Online scored assessments and matching grade book.
- Packet Tracer simulation tool.
- Additional software for classroom activities.

Diagram 3: Multiple Images - Changing people, classroom, and network situations.

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A global community
When you participate in the Networking Academy, you are joining a global community linked by
common goals and technologies. Schools, colleges, universities, and other entities in over 160
countries participate in the program. A visualization of the global Networking Academy
community is located at http://www.academynetspace.com.

The material in this course encompasses a broad range of technologies that facilitate how people
work, live, play, and learn by communicating with voice, video, and other data. Networking and
the Internet affect people differently in different parts of the world. Although we have worked with
instructors from around the world to create these materials, it is important that you work with your
instructor and fellow students to make the material in this course applicable to your local
situation.

Keep in Touch
These online instructional materials, as well as the rest of the course tools, are part of the larger
Networking Academy. The student, instructor, and administrator portal for the program is located
at http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html. There you can obtain access to the
other tools in the program, such as the assessment server and student grade book, as well as
informational updates and other relevant links.

Diagram 4: Multiple Images - Changing people, classroom, and network situations.

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Mind Wide Open
An important goal in education is to enrich you, the student, by expanding what you know and
can do. It is important to realize, however, that the instructional materials and the instructor can
only facilitate the process. You must make the commitment yourself to learn new skills. Below
are a few suggestions to help you learn and grow.

1. Take notes. Professionals in the networking field often keep engineering journals in which they
write down the things they observe and learn. Taking notes is an important way to help your
understanding grow over time.

2. Think about it. The course provides information both to change what you know and what you
can do. As you go through the course, ask yourself what makes sense and what does not. Stop
and ask questions when you are confused. Try to find out more about topics that interest you. If
you are not sure why something is being taught, consider asking your instructor or a friend. Think
about how the different parts of the course fit together.

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3. Practice. Learning new skills requires practice. We believe this is so important to e-learning
that we have a special name for it. We call it e-Doing. It is very important that you complete the
activities in the online instructional materials and that you complete the hands-on labs and
Packet Tracer activities.

4. Practice again. Have you ever thought you knew how to do something and then, when it was
time to show it on a test or at work, you discovered you really had not mastered it? Just like
learning any new skill, such as a sport, game, or language, learning a professional skill requires
patience and repeated practice before you can say you have truly learned it. The online
instructional materials in this course provide repeated practice for many skills. Take full
advantage of them. You can also work with your instructor to extend Packet Tracer and other
tools for additional practice as needed.

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5. Teach it. Teaching a friend or colleague is often a good way to reinforce your own learning. To
teach well, you have to work through details that you may have overlooked on your first reading.
Conversations about the course material with fellow students, colleagues, and the instructor can
help solidify your understanding of networking concepts.

6. Make changes as you go. The course is designed to provide feedback through interactive
activities and quizzes, the online assessment system, and through structured interactions with
your instructor. You can use this feedback to better understand where your strengths and
weaknesses are. If there is an area that you are having trouble with, focus on studying or
practicing more in that area. Seek additional feedback from your instructor and other students.

Diagram 7: Packet Tracer screen image

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Explore the world of networking
This version of the course includes a special learning tool called Packet Tracer. Packet Tracer
supports a wide range of physical and logical simulations, as well as provides visualization tools
to help you understand the internal workings of a network.

The Packet Tracer activities packaged with this course consist of network simulations, games,
activities, and challenges that provide a broad range of learning experiences.
Create your own worlds
You can also use Packet Tracer to create your own experiments and networking scenarios. We
hope that over time, you consider using Packet Tracer, not only for experiencing the provided
activities, but also to become an author, explorer, and experimenter.
The online course materials have embedded Packet Tracer activities that launch on computers
running Windows operating systems if Packet Tracer is installed. This integration may also work
on other operating systems using Windows emulation.

Diagram 8: Multiple Images - Changing people, classroom, and network situations.

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Course Overview
As the course title states, the focus is on learning the fundamentals of networking. In this course,
you will learn both the practical and conceptual skills that build the foundation for understanding
basic networking. First, you will examine human versus network communication and see the
parallels between them. Next, you will be introduced to the two major models used to plan and
implement networks: O S I and TCP/IP. You will gain an understanding of the "layered" approach
to networks and examine the O S I and TCP/IP layers in detail to understand their functions and
services. You will become familiar with the various network devices, network addressing
schemes and, finally, the types of media used to carry data across the network.

You will gain experience using networking utilities and tools, such as Packet Tracer and
Wireshark, to explore networking protocols and concepts. These tools will help you to develop an
understanding of how data flows in a network. A special model Internet is also used to provide a
test environment in which you can observe and analyze a range of network services and data.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 presents the basics of communication and how networks have changed
our lives. You will be introduced to the concepts of networks, data, local area networks (LAN's),
wide area networks (WAN's), quality of service (Q o S), security issues, network collaboration
services, and Packet Tracer activities. In the labs, you will learn how to set up a wiki and
establish an instant messaging session.

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 focuses on how networks are modeled and used. You will be introduced to
the O S I and TCP/IP models and to the process of data encapsulation. You will learn about the
network tool Wireshark, which is used for analyzing network traffic, and will explore the
differences between a real network and a simulated network. In the lab, you will build your first
network, a small peer-to-peer network.

Chapter 3 - Using a top-down approach to teaching networking, Chapter 3 introduces you to the
top network model layer, the Application Layer. In this context, you will explore the interaction of
protocols, services, and applications, with a focus on HTTP, DNS, DHCP, SMTP/POP, Telnet,
and FTP. In the labs, you will practice installing a web server/client and use Wireshark to analyze
network traffic. The Packet Tracer activities let you explore how protocols operate at the
Application Layer.

Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 introduces the Transport Layer and focuses on how the TCP and UDP
protocols apply to the common applications. In the labs and activities, you will incorporate the
use of Wireshark, the Windows utilities command netstat, and Packet Tracer to investigate these
two protocols.

Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 introduces the O S I Network Layer. You will examine concepts of
addressing and routing and learn about path determination, data packets, and the IP protocol. By
the end of this chapter, you will configure hosts to access the local network and explore routing
tables.

Diagram 9: Multiple Images - Changing people, classroom, and network situations.

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Course Overview Continued
Chapter 6 - In Chapter 6, you will focus on network addressing in detail and learn how to use the
address mask, or prefix length, to determine the number of subnetworks and hosts in a network.
You will also be introduced to ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) tools, such as ping and
trace.

Chapter 7 - Chapter 7 discusses the services provided by the Data Link Layer. An emphasis is
placed on the encapsulation processes that occur as data travels across the LAN and the WAN.

Chapter 8 - Chapter 8 introduces the Physical Layer. You will discover how data sends signals
and is encoded for travel across the network. You will learn about bandwidth and about the types
of media and their associated connectors.

Chapter 9 - In Chapter 9, you will examine the technologies and operation of Ethernet. You will
use Wireshark, Packet Tracer activities, and lab exercises to explore Ethernet.

Chapter 10 - Chapter 10 focuses on designing and cabling a network. You will apply the
knowledge and skills developed in the previous chapters to determine the appropriate cables to
use, how to connect devices, and develop an addressing and testing scheme.

Chapter 11 - In Chapter 11, you will connect and configure a small network using basic Cisco I O
S commands for routers and switches. Upon completion of this final chapter, you will be prepared
to go on to either CCNA Exploration Routing or CCNA Exploration Switching courses.

Wireshark is a registered trademark of Gerald Combs.

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