Beginner course · 8 lessons · 4h 45m

Networking basics

Understand how devices communicate, follow a request across a network, and use packet evidence to explain what happened. Start with the fundamentals and build toward your first network investigation.

Before you begin

No networking experience is required. You only need basic computer skills and a browser. Work through the lessons in order, attempt each exercise before revealing its answer, and use the knowledge checks to review your reasoning. Allow about five hours including the subnetting exercises.

Wireshark is optional: the course includes a paper lab with a complete synthetic trace. If you use live tools, work with an approved lab capture or traffic you are permitted to record.

  • Explain the roles of switches, routers, addresses, and ports.
  • Follow local delivery, name resolution, and a web connection.
  • Read a packet conversation and distinguish evidence from assumptions.
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Your course

  1. Lesson 1 · 25 minutes

    How networks work

    Start with the devices and links that carry a message from one application to another.

  2. Lesson 2 · 25 minutes

    Layers and encapsulation

    Understand what a frame, packet, segment, and application message each contribute.

  3. Lesson 3 · 80 minutes

    IP addresses, subnets, and gateways

    Recognise IPv4 ranges, distinguish historical classes from CIDR, and calculate masks, subnet boundaries, and host capacity from binary bits.

  4. Lesson 4 · 30 minutes

    Local delivery and network configuration

    Connect ARP, DHCP, and ICMP to the everyday task of getting a host online.

  5. Lesson 5 · 30 minutes

    TCP, UDP, and ports

    Read a transport conversation and distinguish reliable byte delivery from an application response.

  6. Lesson 6 · 30 minutes

    From a name to a web response

    Follow DNS and web traffic while recognising what encryption hides.

  7. Lesson 7 · 35 minutes

    Your first packet analysis

    Choose a capture point and use Wireshark to read and filter a conversation.

  8. Lesson 8 · 30 minutes

    Troubleshoot a network conversation

    Bring the course together: read a supplied trace, locate the failed stage, and write a conclusion supported by evidence.

Course materials

Original lessons adapted from the supplied packet-analysis material, with new examples and exercises. The course focuses on networking foundations; advanced attack techniques and specialised wireless analysis are outside its scope.

For tool reference, see the official Wireshark User’s Guide and display-filter examples.