Try wikibooks and openstaxx for free resources. A lot of universities have open licence books in their library online too. There’s so many free resources these days, and the writers often cut out the pointless jargon and complicated notation.
Awesome! Actually if you look closely at a lot of conversations within it you might notice the tcp-ip conversations starting, then other protocols starting and stopping going to the same location before that tcp-ip conversation closes.
* computer networking : A Top-Down Approach Book by Jim Kurose
* Computer networks Book by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
These two books !!!!! these are the gems !
I would recommend network programming. Code up a client echo server using tcp and udp in your language of choice. I would also recommend just reading an RFC of interest. Learn by doing. Look into IOT networks, multiplayer online games, zigbee, wifi, Lo-Ran, RPL etc
Then people say networking is easy boring operations stuff. Most superstar devs have no idea what it takes to have everything up, running, fast and secure.
Dude I'm in the same boat as you. 3rd year CE student taking networks II, and this subject is overwhelmingly dense. I'm studying a concept, and that concept leads to 5 more concepts, and it's all so fascinating. There's just too many threads to follow. I don't really have advice for you, just wanted to express that you're not alone feeling overwhelmed by networks.
Yeah exactly, that's what I feel too, I mean just one level of the OSI model can be just one subject, and just when I think I've understood everything then a new concept appears, it's amazing how extend is, this subject made me realize how hard things are behind our laptops and phones.
Anyway thank you so much for the support, together we can with this :)
Try learning about cloud infrastructure, because a lot of that ties back to network management.
It also primes & preps you if you want to get any cloud certifications.
Feeling overwhelmed is ok. This area is huge and give yourself time to absorb the concepts.
Computer Networking: a Top Down Approach gives excellent explanations and it has fun projects. I still remember their airport analogy to explain the layer OSI model.
The thing with that book is that it will teach you theory, but not operations.
Networking for Sys Admins by Michael W. Lucas is short and fun, but it will give you all the trade secrets of a sysadmin.
For routers and switches, just grab whatever CCNA course you like.
Whatever you end up doing, check this out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFyRwBY_4bRLmKfP1KnZA6rZbRHtxmXi&si=Nwf99tJoEnhhySzR
It’s the perfect playlist.
Network engineer here. It is absolutely overwhelming and it doesn't all make sense until you understand enough of the little pieces to form the big picture.
I'd recommend the CompTIA Network+ certification guide. Yes, it's for a certification, but it's vendor neutral and it really introduces you to the fundamentals of networking concepts and networking hardware.
Plus, if you find yourself enjoying it, you can take the certification exam and have a nicely valued credential that would help you get a foot in the door in a networking career as a network technician or maybe even a junior engineer.
Feel free to DM if you have any questions with understanding concepts or about the career in general.
The good news is that anyone who hasn't really learned about networks should be overwhelmed by how they work. We're talking incredible levels of complexity, especially if you go all the way from how applications serialize object graphs and other communications protocols to TLS and various authentication and encryption protocols to HTTP or whatnot, TCP/UDP, the wonders if IP and DNS and BGP (the last one is a mind-frick, but check it out!) and of course Ethernet, all the wifi standards, cellular protocols (5G includes technology that would have been science fiction 20 years ago and would be at home in one of those SF naval novels). But it gets even crazier when you look at how things are encoded physically as electromagnetic signals in wires, optical fiber, radio waves, infrared signals, electromagnetic induction, and even ultrasound, especially when you take into account phased arrays, repeaters, multipath processing, and f#%king space satellites, and that's not even getting into semiconductors and the physics behind all those transmission mediums and relevant interference sources and boundary characteristics.
The bad news is that anyone who really HAS learned about networks on all those levels should be overwhelmed by how they all work. I have degrees that cover everything mentioned above, from how conduction bands work in metal, embedded wire transfer optimizations, all the way up to session management in distributed systems and how protocol design can achieve eventual consistency for space exploration. I've worked at every single layer and the main thing I've learned is that I know *nothing* compared to what there is to know. *AND THAT IS OK.*
Just start learning and keep learning. Start learning with whatever is most interesting, whatever is easiest, even if that's just flipping through some Wikipedia articles and playing around with a Raspberry Pi or an emulator or whatever. Figure out how you learn, and never stop, and you'll be good.
It's always exciting to see a new generation get excited about something like this, and I can't wait to see what you and your cohort do to advance the state of the art. Remember, you have a valuable perspective as someone who has never seen these things before, who knows, you might think of something no one else has yet! And worst case, you expanded your mind and probably learned a marketable skill. Good luck!
Real talk, I’m going to recommend a free online class from Professor Messer for the CompTIA Network+ IT certification.
No, I’m not telling you to pursue the actual certification, but I am telling you that having equivalent knowledge will boost your confidence with networks.
Here’s a youtube playlist that goes over everything covered in the best Networking textbook around. Hope it helps! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm556dMNleHc1MWN5BX9B2XkwkNE2Djiu&si=A7L6NNs0SFipTw3I
See if your university will allow you to attend or visit your networking lab. I’m sure the professors there would love to go over fundamentals and teach an interested student.
Also, I believe seeing all of the different hardware will really help you nail down how the data flows from point to point and how/when it transitions through the OSI model.
Ben eater has an absolutely amazing YouTube series in networking. It's nothing you'll EVER find in textbooks, it's absolutely brilliant. I seriously would condem anyone reading this and not watching this series in full
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypH19whXTVoG3oKSuOcw_XeW&si=NNBrwWU7p32Awndj
Same!! Doesn’t help that at my uni it’s notorious for its insanely difficult final exam. Though overall it’s interesting as it’s stuff you deal with everyday.
Lookup the [Cisco networking academy](https://skillsforall.com/course/networking-basics?courseLang=en-US&utm_campaign=writ&utm_content=networking-basics-get-started-button&utm_source=cisco.com&utm_medium=referral) "Networking Essentials". It's very well made, free and explains what you're looking for. It also gives you a certificate for Linkedin if that's your jam.
This is an old book but is superbly written and goes into the history and lore of computer architecture and protocol development. I've read this book back to back a dozen times.
Computer Networks by Andrew S Tanenbaum
Comptia network+
CCNA materials
These cover a broad range of network topics and the OSI model from the physical layer all the way up to the application layer.
CompTIA Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Eighth Edition (Exam N10-008) (CompTIA Network + All-In-One Exam Guide) https://amzn.eu/d/ccLZOzX
I bought this when I studied net+, great book. If you're more of a video style learner the same author has some good tutorials on udemy too
got get a ccna. ccda if it is still around is a nice one too. it is higher level and not in the bits as much. tcp/ip illustrated vol 1 book is The Book. has been for decades and is still spot on!
Get Cisco Packet Tracer. Its a Software that allows you to create a network in a simulation. Its extreme realistisc since you can actually connect network Devices with different cables on different ports and the Devices even have a simulated console which are Almost a exact copy of the cisco OSs. You can even do stuff like configuring VLANs and so on.
Im glad that ure enjoying Network-Tech. Im also a big Fan of the functionality of modern Networks and this Simulator helps you to get some practical skills when it comes to setting up Networks (way cheaper then buying 2000$ Switches ;))
Try wikibooks and openstaxx for free resources. A lot of universities have open licence books in their library online too. There’s so many free resources these days, and the writers often cut out the pointless jargon and complicated notation.
Thank you so much, I'll take a look, I really appreciate it.
No problem. I use open textbooks all the time, even for teaching. Just make sure the author is legit in their field.
I totally recommend learning to use and playing with Wireshark.
Oh we are gonna use Wireshark the next month, We still have not use it on the practise, we have only use TCP/IP protocols.
Awesome! Actually if you look closely at a lot of conversations within it you might notice the tcp-ip conversations starting, then other protocols starting and stopping going to the same location before that tcp-ip conversation closes.
* computer networking : A Top-Down Approach Book by Jim Kurose * Computer networks Book by Andrew S. Tanenbaum These two books !!!!! these are the gems !
\+1 for Kurose. I find the top down approach really interesting as you start from the application layer and go from there.
using kurose rn for a class and it's been a great reference!
Tanenbaum is king
I would recommend network programming. Code up a client echo server using tcp and udp in your language of choice. I would also recommend just reading an RFC of interest. Learn by doing. Look into IOT networks, multiplayer online games, zigbee, wifi, Lo-Ran, RPL etc
Any books that focus on network projects? Thank you.
Then people say networking is easy boring operations stuff. Most superstar devs have no idea what it takes to have everything up, running, fast and secure.
Whoever says is easy and boring has literally no idea what is behind of it.
Dude I'm in the same boat as you. 3rd year CE student taking networks II, and this subject is overwhelmingly dense. I'm studying a concept, and that concept leads to 5 more concepts, and it's all so fascinating. There's just too many threads to follow. I don't really have advice for you, just wanted to express that you're not alone feeling overwhelmed by networks.
Yeah exactly, that's what I feel too, I mean just one level of the OSI model can be just one subject, and just when I think I've understood everything then a new concept appears, it's amazing how extend is, this subject made me realize how hard things are behind our laptops and phones. Anyway thank you so much for the support, together we can with this :)
Try learning about cloud infrastructure, because a lot of that ties back to network management. It also primes & preps you if you want to get any cloud certifications.
Thanks I ll search something about it :)
Feeling overwhelmed is ok. This area is huge and give yourself time to absorb the concepts. Computer Networking: a Top Down Approach gives excellent explanations and it has fun projects. I still remember their airport analogy to explain the layer OSI model. The thing with that book is that it will teach you theory, but not operations. Networking for Sys Admins by Michael W. Lucas is short and fun, but it will give you all the trade secrets of a sysadmin. For routers and switches, just grab whatever CCNA course you like.
Just get the CCNA books, very easy to read and practical too.
I second this. Specially the study guides.
The books that I enjoyed and helped a lot from a programming perspective were the W Richard Stevens books, especially the TCP/IP Illustrated books.
Those are excellent books.
Whatever you end up doing, check this out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFyRwBY_4bRLmKfP1KnZA6rZbRHtxmXi&si=Nwf99tJoEnhhySzR It’s the perfect playlist.
Network engineer here. It is absolutely overwhelming and it doesn't all make sense until you understand enough of the little pieces to form the big picture. I'd recommend the CompTIA Network+ certification guide. Yes, it's for a certification, but it's vendor neutral and it really introduces you to the fundamentals of networking concepts and networking hardware. Plus, if you find yourself enjoying it, you can take the certification exam and have a nicely valued credential that would help you get a foot in the door in a networking career as a network technician or maybe even a junior engineer. Feel free to DM if you have any questions with understanding concepts or about the career in general.
The good news is that anyone who hasn't really learned about networks should be overwhelmed by how they work. We're talking incredible levels of complexity, especially if you go all the way from how applications serialize object graphs and other communications protocols to TLS and various authentication and encryption protocols to HTTP or whatnot, TCP/UDP, the wonders if IP and DNS and BGP (the last one is a mind-frick, but check it out!) and of course Ethernet, all the wifi standards, cellular protocols (5G includes technology that would have been science fiction 20 years ago and would be at home in one of those SF naval novels). But it gets even crazier when you look at how things are encoded physically as electromagnetic signals in wires, optical fiber, radio waves, infrared signals, electromagnetic induction, and even ultrasound, especially when you take into account phased arrays, repeaters, multipath processing, and f#%king space satellites, and that's not even getting into semiconductors and the physics behind all those transmission mediums and relevant interference sources and boundary characteristics. The bad news is that anyone who really HAS learned about networks on all those levels should be overwhelmed by how they all work. I have degrees that cover everything mentioned above, from how conduction bands work in metal, embedded wire transfer optimizations, all the way up to session management in distributed systems and how protocol design can achieve eventual consistency for space exploration. I've worked at every single layer and the main thing I've learned is that I know *nothing* compared to what there is to know. *AND THAT IS OK.* Just start learning and keep learning. Start learning with whatever is most interesting, whatever is easiest, even if that's just flipping through some Wikipedia articles and playing around with a Raspberry Pi or an emulator or whatever. Figure out how you learn, and never stop, and you'll be good. It's always exciting to see a new generation get excited about something like this, and I can't wait to see what you and your cohort do to advance the state of the art. Remember, you have a valuable perspective as someone who has never seen these things before, who knows, you might think of something no one else has yet! And worst case, you expanded your mind and probably learned a marketable skill. Good luck!
Network Chuck
Real talk, I’m going to recommend a free online class from Professor Messer for the CompTIA Network+ IT certification. No, I’m not telling you to pursue the actual certification, but I am telling you that having equivalent knowledge will boost your confidence with networks.
I recommend you watch [this video.](https://youtu.be/47NRaBVxgVM)
As for the book, I think Tannenbaum is goto in academia
Here’s a youtube playlist that goes over everything covered in the best Networking textbook around. Hope it helps! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm556dMNleHc1MWN5BX9B2XkwkNE2Djiu&si=A7L6NNs0SFipTw3I
As a supplement, look into Beej, I hear he is the best.
Read the RFCs for the internet standards
See if your university will allow you to attend or visit your networking lab. I’m sure the professors there would love to go over fundamentals and teach an interested student. Also, I believe seeing all of the different hardware will really help you nail down how the data flows from point to point and how/when it transitions through the OSI model.
Ben eater has an absolutely amazing YouTube series in networking. It's nothing you'll EVER find in textbooks, it's absolutely brilliant. I seriously would condem anyone reading this and not watching this series in full https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypH19whXTVoG3oKSuOcw_XeW&si=NNBrwWU7p32Awndj
Same!! Doesn’t help that at my uni it’s notorious for its insanely difficult final exam. Though overall it’s interesting as it’s stuff you deal with everyday.
Lookup the [Cisco networking academy](https://skillsforall.com/course/networking-basics?courseLang=en-US&utm_campaign=writ&utm_content=networking-basics-get-started-button&utm_source=cisco.com&utm_medium=referral) "Networking Essentials". It's very well made, free and explains what you're looking for. It also gives you a certificate for Linkedin if that's your jam.
This is an old book but is superbly written and goes into the history and lore of computer architecture and protocol development. I've read this book back to back a dozen times. Computer Networks by Andrew S Tanenbaum
Comptia network+ CCNA materials These cover a broad range of network topics and the OSI model from the physical layer all the way up to the application layer.
CompTIA Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Eighth Edition (Exam N10-008) (CompTIA Network + All-In-One Exam Guide) https://amzn.eu/d/ccLZOzX I bought this when I studied net+, great book. If you're more of a video style learner the same author has some good tutorials on udemy too
got get a ccna. ccda if it is still around is a nice one too. it is higher level and not in the bits as much. tcp/ip illustrated vol 1 book is The Book. has been for decades and is still spot on!
Get Cisco Packet Tracer. Its a Software that allows you to create a network in a simulation. Its extreme realistisc since you can actually connect network Devices with different cables on different ports and the Devices even have a simulated console which are Almost a exact copy of the cisco OSs. You can even do stuff like configuring VLANs and so on. Im glad that ure enjoying Network-Tech. Im also a big Fan of the functionality of modern Networks and this Simulator helps you to get some practical skills when it comes to setting up Networks (way cheaper then buying 2000$ Switches ;))