Preface - NFCP

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Netguru.net Glossary

Preface

Welcome

Welcome to Understanding Networking Technologies. This course is designed to provide you with up-to-date information on networking. The content focuses on local area networks and the technology for connecting them together. It is general enough to give a broad overview of today's technologies and trends, while detailed enough for you to see the inner workings of modern networking. This course is specifically designed for those who need to know networking from a technical and practical point of view. It is also designed to help prepare those who intend to complete Novell's Certified Netware Engineer program.

On Becoming a CNE

As a computer professional, you undoubtedly recognize that there is no substitute for adequate training. In working with hundreds of network administrators, I never cease to be amazed at the lack of information or worse yet, the subtle misinformation, that exists within our industry. The reason for these maladies is a simple one. Most LAN personnel have had to train themselves for the most part, pulling themselves up by the boot straps, foraging through cryptic manuals to fight the everyday fires. Many have not had the opportunities of formal training, and this leads to gaps in knowledge.

Fortunately many companies are investing more resources in adequately training their network support staff. These educational dollars pay off in saving employees valuable time in troubleshooting problems that have already been solved, a fact of which Novell Inc. is keenly aware. For the market leader in network operating systems, training means more than a few dollars' savings for you, it means big bucks for them. This is painfully evident in the cost of Novell's Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE) program which, at this writing, hovers at best around the 5 grand mark.

At first glance, one might balk at the thought of investing such a sum for the "privilege" of supporting Novell's products, but market demand, more specifically -- reseller demand, is driving up the salary offers to CNEs. Some analysts believe that acquiring the certification will command about 5 to 10 thousand dollars annually above equally experienced non-certified personnel. In anyone's book, that's an outstanding return on investment.

When rubbing elbows with those who have completed their certification, one finds an interesting mix. CNEs themselves come from all sorts of industries and possess extremely diverse backgrounds as far as education and experience. I have met people who viewed the Novell tests for certification as a mere formality having already gathered the nuts and bolts knowledge to successfully operate in the networking environment. Others began their training on networks by completing the CNE program. Obviously the latter are shy on experience but do get a good grounding in the networking world, that is, the world according to Novell. Whatever the case, all have had the similar experiences of enduring the rigorous testing and many hours of self-study involved in becoming a CNE, and there is universal agreement that the training is worth it.

One of the best things about Novell's training is that it has exposed a weakness in the marketplace for focused education on such broad but pertinent subjects as networking. The Local Area Network Dealers Association (LANDA) has consequently toyed with the idea of borrowing Novell's concepts and establishing a universal certification for network support personnel. The success of such a program will largely depend on the success of the CNE program. Fortunately, interest in the CNE program is greater than it has ever been.

About This Course

Novell's official CNE training program is composed of several core courses and electives which are more closely geared toward your purposes or areas of interest. Of the core education, the course designed to equip participants with a general overview of networking is called Networking Technologies. This course, Understanding Networking Technologies, is designed to provide you with the same basic type of information as the Novell course with a few notable enhancements. First, the goal of this training is clarity and understanding. Unfortunately for Novell, their training materials rival their product documentation in clarity and quality. NetWare's manuals have been the bane of many a network administrator, and Novell's training materials are, in this author's opinion, terse at best leaving one with a not-really-grasping-the-whole-picture feel. Secondly, Understanding Networking Technologies, will provide more support data and up-to-date information on emerging technologies. These additional tidbits will be enclosed in shaded boxes so as to set them apart from standard course material. Thirdly, the perspective of this course is from a computer professional's point of view. Though some subject matter is theoretical in nature, every effort is made to focus on the practicality of network operation.

Hopefully it is clear now that the goal of this training is to truly educate you with the added benefit of prepping you to pass Novell's CNE testing. It is our goal at Atrium Learning Center to provide better training than you expect at a cost lower than you expect. Whether you are preparing for CNE tests or just increasing your base of knowledge, we hope that you'll agree that the training is worth the investment. We are pleased to be a part of the process.

About This Coursebook

This manual is designed to be written in, folded, dog-eared, doodled on, highlighted, scuffed, and otherwise cosmetically altered as that is the acceptable condition of all well-used references. You'll notice that there is liberal area for note-taking in the margins of each page as well as note pages at the end of each chapter. This coursebook covers a host of networking concepts from the basics of global networking to intricacies of data communication. Topics include the products, communication schemes and protocols used by today's market leaders. Also mainframe and PC connectivity, network design and prevailing standards are discussed. This manual was created to accompany the training class Understanding Networking Technologies. It is in this context that this book can be optimally utilized. Study tips are provided at the end of each chapter to assist in mastering course material.

Course Objectives

This course will provide training on a host of networking topics. When a computer professional has completed this training, he or she should be able to comfortably discuss the following:

1. A general history of networking

2. Modern benefits of networking

3. Network design (physical and logical)

4. Components native to local area networks and their function

5. LAN communication schemes

6. Network media including cabling and connectors

7. Installation and benefits of transmission media

8. Wireless methods of transmission

9. Network bridges including types, operation and benefits

10. Repeaters including operation and benefits

11. Wide area networks and their components

12. Gateways and routers including types, operation and

benefits

13. Services offered by telecommunications companies

including standard and ISDN services

14. Signal broadcasting and satellite transmission

15. Data switching technology including types and advantages

16. Fundamentals of data communication including signal conversion and conversion devices

17. Broadband vs. baseband transmission

18. Types and characteristics of multiplexing

19. Organizations involved in setting standards and references

20. The Open Systems Interconnection model including an

explanation of its components and their operation

21. Physical layer transmission interfaces

22. Data link layer control specification

23. IEEE specifications (802.1 and 802.2)

24. Ethernet - specifications, operation, frame characteristics

25. ARCnet - specifications, operation, frame characteristics

26. Token Ring - specifications, operation, frame characteristics

27. FDDI - specifications, operation, frame characteristics

28. LocalTalk - specifications, operation, frame characteristics

29. NetWare protocols and their use

30. TCP/IP protocols and their use

31. SNA protocols and their applications

32. OSI protocols

33. AppleTalk and DNA protocols

34. Future trends in networking

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Netguru.net Glossary