Network Administrator Training

Lesson 1 • Essential Network Devices

Identifies hubs, switches, routers, and firewalls and explains their distinct roles. Prepares students to select and position devices in a network design.

Lesson 2 • IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics

Introduces IPv4 address classes, binary notation, and subnet mask calculation. Provides the addressing skills required for all routing and switching topics.

Lesson 3 • The OSI and TCP/IP Models

Covers the seven OSI layers and the TCP/IP stack, mapping each layer's function. Establishes the conceptual framework used throughout the entire course.

Lesson 4 • Network Topologies and Media Types

Examines physical and logical topologies alongside common transmission media. Connects physical infrastructure choices to network performance outcomes.

Lesson 1 • VLAN Design and Configuration

Covers VLAN creation, port assignment, and inter-VLAN routing concepts. Enables logical network segmentation to improve security and performance.

Lesson 2 • Spanning Tree Protocol

Details STP, RSTP, and their role in preventing Layer 2 loops. Students configure root bridge election and port roles for a stable switched network.

Lesson 3 • Switch Operation and MAC Learning

Explains how switches build MAC address tables and forward frames. Grounds students in Layer 2 behaviour before introducing advanced switching features.

Lesson 4 • EtherChannel and Link Aggregation

Introduces bundling multiple physical links into a single logical channel. Increases bandwidth and redundancy between switches and servers.

Lesson 1 • Routing Table Fundamentals

Explains how routers build and use routing tables to forward packets. Establishes the decision logic underlying all static and dynamic routing configurations.

Lesson 2 • Static Routing Configuration

Covers manual route entry, floating static routes, and summarisation. Provides a controlled routing baseline before introducing dynamic protocols.

Lesson 3 • OSPF Single-Area Deployment

Introduces OSPF neighbour relationships, LSA types, and SPF calculation. Students configure and verify OSPF in a single-area enterprise environment.

Lesson 4 • EIGRP Configuration and Tuning

Covers EIGRP metric calculation, neighbour tables, and feasible successors. Enables fast convergence configuration in environments using this protocol.

Lesson 1 • IPv6 Address Structure and Types

Explains 128-bit addressing, hexadecimal notation, and address categories. Builds the addressing literacy needed for all IPv6 configuration tasks.

Lesson 2 • IPv6 Routing Protocols

Configures OSPFv3 and EIGRPv6 for IPv6 network routing. Extends routing skills from Chapter 3 into the IPv6 address space.

Lesson 3 • IPv4 to IPv6 Transition Strategies

Examines dual-stack, tunnelling, and translation mechanisms for coexistence. Equips students to plan phased IPv6 adoption without disrupting existing services.

Lesson 1 • DNS Architecture and Management

Covers zone types, record types, and recursive vs. iterative resolution. Students configure a DNS server and troubleshoot common resolution failures.

Lesson 2 • Syslog and SNMP for Service Monitoring

Deploys syslog for centralised logging and SNMP for device polling. Connects service health visibility to the monitoring practices covered in Chapter 7.

Lesson 3 • Time Synchronisation with NTP

Configures NTP server and client roles, stratum levels, and authentication. Accurate time is essential for logging, certificates, and security event correlation.

Lesson 4 • DHCP Server Deployment

Teaches scope creation, exclusions, reservations, and relay agent configuration. Ensures reliable automatic IP address assignment across multiple subnets.

Lesson 1 • Authentication and Identity Management

Implements AAA using RADIUS and TACACS+ for centralised network access control. Integrates with directory services to enforce role-based access policies.

Lesson 2 • Threat Landscape and Attack Vectors

Surveys reconnaissance, DoS, man-in-the-middle, and social engineering attacks. Provides the threat context that justifies every security control taught in this chapter.

Lesson 3 • Access Control Lists and Filtering

Configures standard and extended ACLs to permit or deny traffic flows. Builds packet-filtering skills applied to both routers and Layer 3 switches.

Lesson 4 • Firewall Types and Zone Design

Compares stateless, stateful, and next-generation firewalls and zone-based policies. Students design a DMZ architecture that separates public and internal traffic.

Lesson 1 • Network Performance Monitoring

Deploys SNMP polling, NetFlow, and bandwidth monitoring dashboards. Establishes performance baselines used to detect anomalies and capacity issues.

Lesson 2 • Troubleshooting Common Network Failures

Applies methodology and tools to real-world scenarios: routing loops, VLAN mismatches, and DNS failures. Reinforces skills from all previous chapters in a practical context.

Lesson 3 • Log Analysis and Event Correlation

Aggregates syslog data and correlates events to identify root causes. Prepares students to use centralised log management for security and operational insight.

Lesson 4 • Troubleshooting Methodologies

Introduces top-down, bottom-up, and divide-and-conquer diagnostic approaches. Provides a repeatable framework applied to every troubleshooting scenario in this chapter.

Lesson 1 • Quality of Service Implementation

Configures classification, marking, queuing, and policing to prioritise traffic. Ensures voice, video, and critical data receive appropriate bandwidth and latency treatment.

Lesson 2 • Hierarchical Network Design Model

Explains the core, distribution, and access layer model and its design benefits. Provides the architectural framework for all enterprise design decisions in this chapter.

Lesson 3 • Capacity Planning and Lifecycle Management

Uses traffic trend data to forecast growth and plan hardware refresh cycles. Aligns network investment with organisational needs and vendor support timelines.

Lesson 4 • High Availability and Redundancy

Covers HSRP, VRRP, and dual-path designs to eliminate single points of failure. Students calculate availability metrics and design redundant topologies accordingly.