This course serves as a general introduction for students to acquire a foundation in IT Networking Fundamentals including core areas that function within a given computer network. The course provides an introduction to the hardware, software, terminology, components, design, and connections of a network, as well as the network typologies and protocols for WANs and LANs including the all important Subnets.

Upon completion of this course, with appropriate study, the student will have learned to:

Identify the components of a network and determine the type of network design most appropriate for a given site.

Identify the different media used in network communications, distinguish among them, and determine how to use them to connect servers and clients in a network.

Differentiate among networking standards, protocols, and access methods and determine which is most appropriate for a given network.

Recognize the primary network architectures, identify their major characteristics, and determine which is most appropriate for a proposed network.

Identify the primary functions of network operating systems and distinguish between a centralized computing environment and a client/server environment.

Determine how to implement and support the major networking components, including the server, operating system, and clients.

Propose a system for adequately securing data on a given network and protecting the system's components.

Distinguish between LANs and wide-area networks (WANs) and identify the components used to expand a LAN into a WAN.

Understand various hardware available and used in a network

Concept of TCP/IP and protocols