About this Unit

Networks are now an accepted part of communications in almost every business and organisation. The advantages of networking are taken for granted. The rapid growth of interconnected networks has lead to a shortage of technical specialists with an understanding of performance, routing and reliability issues. Many small peer-to-peer networks are growing to the point where central planning, design, and documentation become essential. Most small networks are or soon will be connected to the internet or to other larger networks.

This unit provides a practical understanding of networking technology, terminology and protocols. Local Area Networks (LANs) are studied and in addition, techniques for their interconnection to form Wide Area Networks (WANs). The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model is introduced.

You will gain hands-on experience of how networks are constructed and interconnected. You will also gain practical experience designing and setting up networking infrastructure, protocols and addressing schemes. Router configuration skills are introduced and LANs are connected to form a WAN.

This unit is mapped to the Cisco Networking Academy, Semester 1.

To achieve this unit a learner must:

• Design, document, build and test local and wide area networks and addressing schemes
• Demonstrate an understanding of signals and media
• Examine the characteristics of Ethernet and switched networks
• Explore internet protocols and routing.