Networking

Learn the OSI 7-layer model for understanding network communication protocols.

Compare TCP and UDP protocols, their characteristics, and when to use each.

Learn how TCP establishes connections using the three-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK).

Understand how TCP connections are terminated gracefully using FIN and ACK packets in a four-way handshake.

Master IP addressing: IPv4 (32-bit) and IPv6 (128-bit) addresses, address classes, CIDR notation, and subnetting.

Master subnetting and CIDR notation for efficient IP address allocation, network segmentation, and network design.

Understand how DNS resolves domain names to IP addresses: iterative vs recursive queries, DNS hierarchy, and caching.

Compare HTTP versions: HTTP/1.1 (persistent connections), HTTP/2 (multiplexing, header compression), and HTTP/3 (QUIC, UDP-based).

Learn how HTTPS works: TLS encryption, certificate validation, and secure communication.

Master the TLS/SSL handshake process for establishing secure encrypted connections, including certificate validation, key exchange, and cipher suite negotiation

Compare Layer 4 (transport) and Layer 7 (application) load balancers, their use cases, and when to use each type.

Learn routing protocols: OSPF (link-state) and BGP (path-vector) for internet routing. Understand how routers exchange routing information and build routing tab

Understand Network Address Translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT) for connecting private networks to the internet and conserving IPv4 addresses.

Master ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) for mapping IP addresses to MAC addresses on local networks, and Reverse ARP for the opposite mapping.

Learn how DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, gateways, and DNS servers to network devices.

Understand the differences between latency, throughput, and bandwidth in networking.

Learn gRPC: high-performance RPC framework using HTTP/2 and Protocol Buffers. Understand service definition, streaming, and comparison with REST.

Learn WebSocket protocol for full-duplex, persistent communication between client and server. Understand handshake, frame format, and use cases.

Master QUIC protocol: UDP-based, encrypted, multiplexed transport for HTTP/3. Understand connection migration, zero-RTT, and improvements over TCP.

Master CORS: how browsers handle cross-origin requests, preflight requests, and security policies for web applications.

Compare HTTP keep-alive and long polling techniques for maintaining connections and real-time communication.

Understand connection pooling to reuse database and network connections efficiently, reducing overhead and improving performance.

Understand how Content Delivery Networks route requests to nearest edge servers for optimal performance and reduced latency.

Understand the difference between forward proxies (client-side) and reverse proxies (server-side), their use cases, and when to use each.

Understand VPN technologies: IPSec and SSL VPN for secure remote access, tunneling, and encrypted communication over public networks.

Compare network addressing methods: unicast (one-to-one), multicast (one-to-many), anycast.

Learn Quality of Service (QoS) for prioritizing network traffic and managing bandwidth.

Learn DDoS protection: rate limiting, filtering, CDN, and mitigation strategies.

Learn firewall rules and Access Control Lists (ACLs) for network security, packet filtering, and access control.

Learn packet sniffing tools: tcpdump and Wireshark for network analysis and debugging.