Is there a good place to start learning about networking?

[gamefreakgcb]

Hey all. I'm trying to find out if there are any online courses, etc. to learn networking online. Just curious how to at least understand some of the stuff. :biggrin:

Never too old to learn something and with everything getting connected nowadays it seems I should at least know what the heck is going on.

I see that edX has more things compared to coursera. What should I start with? I've never had formal education in anything computer related and am mostly self-taught.

The course description for Computer Networks on Coursera sounds promising.

edX seems to be more detailed with the Computer Science courses.

Is there maybe somewhere else I should be looking?

I work full time 6 days a week.

Any help appreciated.

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More details posted in Post #8 below.

Alright, my primary need is to be able to manage a network. I want to understand how to create VLANs, not port based but rather VLan tagged SSID's from one AP. One group has full access, one group for guests, one group not only limited to internet, but even further if its possible to have 1 Vlan use an opendns server with access restrictions on it.

I work for a small non-profit and I am basically upgrading them from paper to digital. We don't have the capability to hire an IT staff right now and outsourcing IT is also not an option right now and I'm OK learning some new skills as I go along. I've picked up a lot of things while learning to set up here but I don't particularly understand the "why" behind a lot of things. I can follow a how-to/tutorial and compensate for a lot of my needs but I if I can't find anything remotely connected to my need, I will get stuck to trial and error.

In the future I'd like to take the certification exams but for now I'm concerned with being able to run and maintain a network in 2 separate premises.
I've set up Remote Desktop to be able to fix things remotely and it works most of the time.

Listening to the videos of J Messer, I see that a lot of the stuff is only useful if I'm planning to take the exams now. I know some of the things he talks about and I've learned a few of the things that I never even knew about.

Thanks in Advance.

-------------------------

I'm planning to upgrade the router first.

Is this a good choice?

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.professormesser.com/n10-...-group/network-plus-study-group-january-2014/

 

[ch33zw1z]

Just get a network + exam cram book and read away.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

What is the study path? Start at CompTIA or Network+ or Linux+?

I don't really have any experience with Linux and as I understand most network stuff runs on some sort of a Linux flavor.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I would start with Network+ then go on to Linux+. Networking will apply to all operating systems.

 

[alkemyst]

http://www.1examamonth.com is pretty good

http://hackingcisco.blogspot.com/ is also good

Then buy books especially for topics you need to know better.

 

[Mushkins]

What is the study path? Start at CompTIA or Network+ or Linux+?

I don't really have any experience with Linux and as I understand most network stuff runs on some sort of a Linux flavor.

Networking protocols and theory don't really "run" on anything, per se. NAT, TCP/IP, routing protocols, the ISO model, and all that fun stuff just are what they are. The only place you're really going to see "Linux" is if you get into building/managing things like webservers or in a datacenter environment, which are really specialized applications. Many SOHO routers (linksys, asus, etc) also technically use some sort of linux/unix-based firmware, but you don't need to know a single thing about linux to operate them unless you get into more heavy concepts, and even then it's only for the command syntax for advanced configuration.

Business class switches and routers all run their own proprietary OS that varies by manufacturer and may or may not be some custom derivative of linux/unix, but again the core concepts and theory are all the same and it just boils down to syntax. Most of them also have web interfaces that take the command line out of the picture for at least 80% of common configs.

I'd start with the Net+ if you're certification focused, otherwise just google basic networking concepts and go from there. The Linux+ more focuses on linux command line syntax and navigating/configuring the OS itself, which is more general computing similar to a windows administration class and not specific to networking technologies.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Alright, my primary need is to be able to manage a network. I want to understand how to create VLANs, not port based but rather VLan tagged SSID's from one AP. One group has full access, one group for guests, one group not only limited to internet, but even further if its possible to have 1 Vlan use an opendns server with access restrictions on it.

I work for a small non-profit and I am basically upgrading them from paper to digital. We don't have the capability to hire an IT staff right now and outsourcing IT is also not an option right now and I'm OK learning some new skills as I go along. I've picked up a lot of things while learning to set up here but I don't particularly understand the "why" behind a lot of things. I can follow a how-to/tutorial and compensate for a lot of my needs but I if I can't find anything remotely connected to my need, I will get stuck to trial and error.

In the future I'd like to take the certification exams but for now I'm concerned with being able to run and maintain a network in 2 separate premises.
I've set up Remote Desktop to be able to fix things remotely and it works most of the time.

Listening to the videos of J Messer, I see that a lot of the stuff is only useful if I'm planning to take the exams now. I know some of the things he talks about and I've learned a few of the things that I never even knew about.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[alkemyst]

Networking protocols and theory don't really "run" on anything, per se. NAT, TCP/IP, routing protocols, the ISO model, and all that fun stuff just are what they are. The only place you're really going to see "Linux" is if you get into building/managing things like webservers or in a datacenter environment, which are really specialized applications. Many SOHO routers (linksys, asus, etc) also technically use some sort of linux/unix-based firmware, but you don't need to know a single thing about linux to operate them unless you get into more heavy concepts, and even then it's only for the command syntax for advanced configuration.

Business class switches and routers all run their own proprietary OS that varies by manufacturer and may or may not be some custom derivative of linux/unix, but again the core concepts and theory are all the same and it just boils down to syntax. Most of them also have web interfaces that take the command line out of the picture for at least 80% of common configs.

I'd start with the Net+ if you're certification focused, otherwise just google basic networking concepts and go from there. The Linux+ more focuses on linux command line syntax and navigating/configuring the OS itself, which is more general computing similar to a windows administration class and not specific to networking technologies.

I am not saying the OP thought this, but LINUX devices and DD-WRT type stuff has people thinking this.

However, many devices in the Business/Enterprise have an engineering facing IOS and an internal LINUX architecture.

 

[alkemyst]

Alright, my primary need is to be able to manage a network. I want to understand how to create VLANs, not port based but rather VLan tagged SSID's from one AP. One group has full access, one group for guests, one group not only limited to internet, but even further if its possible to have 1 Vlan use an opendns server with access restrictions on it.

I work for a small non-profit and I am basically upgrading them from paper to digital. We don't have the capability to hire an IT staff right now and outsourcing IT is also not an option right now and I'm OK learning some new skills as I go along. I've picked up a lot of things while learning to set up here but I don't particularly understand the "why" behind a lot of things. I can follow a how-to/tutorial and compensate for a lot of my needs but I if I can't find anything remotely connected to my need, I will get stuck to trial and error.

In the future I'd like to take the certification exams but for now I'm concerned with being able to run and maintain a network in 2 separate premises.
I've set up Remote Desktop to be able to fix things remotely and it works most of the time.

Listening to the videos of J Messer, I see that a lot of the stuff is only useful if I'm planning to take the exams now. I know some of the things he talks about and I've learned a few of the things that I never even knew about.

Thanks in Advance.

Can you post up your planned topology?

 

[dealguru]

It can be done! You can learn networking by self-study as long as you know the basic. There are so many networking topics/information available online, available to you anytime. You just need to be a little resourceful

 

[JackMDS]

If the goal is Not certification.

First One has to understand the concepts.

Then when it comes to the actual work (like setting VLAN) the hardware usually comes with a manual that explains how-to withe specific device.

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/u/computer_networking_basics.htm

http://www.techiwarehouse.com/engine/d9e99072/Basic-Networking-Tutorial

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/solu...yees_and_offices/networking_basics/index.html

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Cat 6 drops from patch panel to everywhere terminating into Cat 6 keystone jacks.

 

[JackMDS]

If you want to isolate a wire PC the simplest way is to get the list expensive Router and do this.

http://www.ezlan.net/shield.html

Or you can do it with a VLAN capable Switch


----------------
UniFi and switch VLAN configuration

http://wiki.ubnt.com/UniFi_and_switch_VLAN_configuration

 

[gamefreakgcb]

I'm planning to upgrade the router first.

Is this a good choice?

If you want to isolate a wire PC the simplest way is to get the list expensive Router and do this.

http://www.ezlan.net/shield.html

Or you can do it with a VLAN capable Switch


----------------
UniFi and switch VLAN configuration

http://wiki.ubnt.com/UniFi_and_switch_VLAN_configuration

I am currently doing something similar for the enrollees to be able to visit a limited amount of sites. I have a router that has an open SSID with Opendns restriction only for clients connecting through that router.

I'll have to do a little bit of study to understand what that wiki is saying though.

 

[halnabriss]

you need to learn Network+ and CCNA to be able to manage your network

 

[kevnich2]

As far as learning networking, do you have any IT background? If not, you really need to understand that this isn't something you learn in five minutes reading a book. Networking is an entire career path in of itself. If you don't have basic logical thinking and troubleshooting abilities, your wasting your time.

As far as the goal your wanting to achieve, do your company a favor and hire a networking consultant to get this setup for you. Unless you have a L3 capable managed switch in there somewhere, creating separate vlans for guest access won't be possible

If you don't know what a L3 switch is, your in way over your head. If you want to learn this for a career path, pick up a network+ book. If you have no intention on doing this professionally, no sense in learning it as you will forget the concepts if you don't use it regularly.

 

[kevnich2]

Looking at your topology diagram - how many devices (computers, phones, cameras, etc) do you have on your current network? First thing you will need to do is replace the 24 port unmanaged switch with something that's managable and atleast vlan aware. To get to a point, hardware wise, to achieve what you need, you need every switch in your network to be vlan aware. I would assume your poe switches are, but without the make and model, no way to tell.

To be able to route data between vlan's, you need either a router or a L3 switch. Your ddwrt router is technically capable of this, but there is NO way I would ever recommend doing it that way on a business network due to the load. A business network is not a place to learn networking and play with things. That's what you have a lab or haha, home network for.

 

[kevnich2]

Also, with unifi AP's, you can create a guest wifi SSID without having to use vlan's that will restrict anyone on that SSID from accessing any resources other than internet. It's not as isolated as a separate vlan but as long as you have enough IP addresses available depending on your subnet, it should handle it ok. But it also depends what type of business this is and how sensitive the information is and if there's any laws such as HIPAA, PCI or SOX compliance that it's subject to.

 

[CubanlB]

As far as the goal your wanting to achieve, do your company a favor and hire a networking consultant to get this setup for you. Unless you have a L3 capable managed switch in there somewhere, creating separate vlans for guest access won't be possible

This!

This is a bigger project than you might realize with considerations you probably aren't even aware of yet. (Not trying to be a jerk about it, sorry if it comes off like that.)

A lot of your goals here are going to require a decent understanding of vlans, QoS, RF and a little bit of routing depending on how you want to implement all of it.

You want to, at the very least, get your voice devices onto a different vlan in addition to the SSIDs.

What kind of IP phones are they going to be? Proper Caller ID info is important for safety reasons such as contacting emergency services.