This course covers current and evolving data network technologies, protocols, network components, and the networks that use them, focusing on communication to and from the Internet and Local area networks. Course content includes Internet architecture, organization, and protocols including Ethernet, 802.11, routing, switching, OSI and TCP models, DNS, SNMP, DHCP, and more. Students will be presented with Internet-specific networking tools for searching, testing, debugging, and configuring networks and network-connected host computers. At the graduate level, students will be given real-world examples, with best practice and business use cases as related to the content on hand, as well as threats and mitigation steps.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: - Introduce communication fundamentals as they relate to popular communication models such as the TCP and OSI models. - Provide an understanding of the distributed nature of the internet. - Discuss the requirements for communication between local area networks and internet. - Identify and define protocols needed for LAN and WAN communication. - Learn the basics of analyzing, inspecting, and monitoring network traffic. - Become aware of threats to networks and networked devices. - Utilize tools for doing basic network reconnaissance.