Local Area Networks (LANs) The CCNT Local Area Networks (LANs) Course April 2012 release blueprint lists the following information. Courseware Availability Date identifies the availability date for the courseware Revision History identifies changes in the course since the previous release Course Outline details the main courseware content Note: This blueprint is subject to change. Please check back for the most up-to-date version. Local Area Networks (LANs) (version 7.0) The Local Area Networks (LANs) course is one of six courses in the CCNT program. Courseware Availability Date The Local Area Networks (LANs) courseware is scheduled to be released on or about the following date: May 2012 Revision History Released May 2012 (Local Area Networks (LANs) version 7.0) The main differences between this Local Area Networks (LANs) v7.0 course and the previous version, Local Area Networks (LANs) v6.0 (released May 2002) are as follows: Rearranged Lessons to provide a better Instructional Design and learning experience. All content changed to reflect current technologies. Added discussions about Platform As A Service and Software As A Service. Released May 2002 (version 6.0) This release is considered a content upgrade. The main differences between this course and the earlier version of Local Area Networks (LANs) (v5.1) (released January, 2002), are as follows: Entered errata (an error in writing or printing, including but not limited to spelling, style and code errors). All content changed to reflect current technologies. Addition of several topics on wireless technologies. Reorganization of the LAN Components lesson to reflect current use of LAN components. Addition of a topic on virtual private networks (VPNs). Addition of course assessment tool to the Instructor Section.
Course Outline Lesson 1: Overview of Local Area Networks Defining a Network Advantages of using a network Evolution of Networking Models Early mainframe networks Client/server model Web-based networking Modern Configurations Server-based networks Peer-to-peer networks Introduction to Local Area Networks (LANs) LAN architecture Essential LAN Elements Network operating system (NOS) Network interface card (NIC) Transmission media Proprietary Protocols vs. Open Standards Proprietary protocols Open standards Addressing on the LAN MAC addresses IP addresses Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Network and host portions How IP addresses are determined Where IP addresses come from Other required addressing information Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) IPv6 addresses Private IP Addresses Private addresses and Internet connections Lesson 1 Review Lesson 1 Quiz Lesson 2: Wide Area Networks (WANs) Introduction to Wide Area Networks (WANs) Networking and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) Signaling Terminology Analog and digital signals Digital Signal Level Zero (DS0) Broadband and baseband technologies Digital Signal Hierarchy (DSH) Circuit Switching and Packet Switching WAN Connections Dial-Up Connections POTS Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Direct Connections Leased lines T-carrier E-carrier Cable Internet Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Connecting cable and DSL modems Fiber to the x (FTTx) LAN connections
Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Benefits of using SONET/SDH SONET and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Lesson 2 Review Lesson 2 Quiz Lesson 3: Networking and the Internet Networking and the Internet Introduction to the Internet Beginnings Backbones The World Wide Web Internet vs. LAN The Need for Security Authentication and access control Private network = trusted Public network = untrusted Drawing the line: Perimeter and core networks Firewalls, Proxies and Security Zones Firewalls Proxy servers Security zones Internet, Intranets and Extranets Intranets Extranets Remote Access and Virtual Private Network (VPN) Remote access server (RAS) Virtual private network (VPN) Availability, Fault Tolerance, Backup and Recovery Fault tolerance: RAID Backups Disaster recovery planning Lesson 3 Review Lesson 3 Quiz Lesson 4: LAN Topologies Network Topologies Logical topologies Physical LAN Topologies Bus topology Ring topology Star topology Hybrid topology Mesh topology Wireless (cell) topology Media Access Methods Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) Token passing Lesson 4 Review Lesson 4 Quiz Lesson 5: Networking Models, Traffic and Devices Introduction to Networking Models The OSI Reference Model Data encapsulation Packet creation Removing headers Peer layers
The TCP/IP Four-Layer Model Application layer Transport layer Internet layer (or network layer) Link layer (or network access layer) Traffic on the LAN Local Networking Components NICs Hubs Bridges Switches Routers Gateways Lesson 5 Review Lesson 5 Quiz Lesson 6: Transmission Media Overview of Transmission Media Transmission media types Cable Transmission The cable plant Twisted-Pair Cable Signal interference Wire diameter and signal attenuation Shielded and unshielded twisted-pair cable Twisted-pair categories Coaxial Cable Using coaxial cable Fiber-Optic Cable Single-mode and multimode fiber Light sources Cables and Safety Plenum cabling Free-Space Transmission Infrared Short-Range Wireless Microwave Satellite Lesson 6 Review Lesson 6 Quiz Lesson 7: LAN Standards, Wireless Networking and Name Resolution Networking Standards Organizations The IEEE and LAN Standards IEEE committees IEEE 802.3: Ethernet Standards IEEE 802.3u: Fast Ethernet IEEE 802.3z and 802.3ab: Gigabit Ethernet IEEE 802.3ae (supplement): 10-Gigabit Ethernet IEEE 802.11: Wireless LAN Standards 802.11 amendments Wireless LAN Operations Wireless LANs (WLANs) Wireless security Wireless encryption Resolving System Names NetBIOS names Host names Domain Name System (DNS) DNS name space
DNS components DNS server types DNS query process Lesson 7 Review Lesson 7 Quiz Lesson 8: Network Management What Is Network Management? ISO Functional Areas of Network Management Network Planning Determining hardware requirements Selecting Internet service Monitoring and Analysis Tools and Protocols Measuring LAN performance Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Hardware Management Limiting user access to configuration settings Using remote access tools Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Software Management Managing software distribution Managing file locations Updating operating systems and applications Running and updating anti-virus software Security Management Access control Data integrity Lesson 8 Review Lesson 8 Quiz Course Assessment Appendixes Glossary Index Supplemental Files Contents