Routing and Switching refers to the practice of directing and managing network traffic in the most efficient and optimal way.
Basic Networking Concepts: This includes understanding the fundamental concepts of networking such as protocols, network topologies, IP addresses, and subnetting.
Ethernet and LANs: This covers the basics of Ethernet and local area networks (LANs), including how switches operate and how networking devices are connected together.
Routing Concepts: This includes the principles of routing, including routing tables, routing protocols, and how routers forward packets between networks.
Routing Protocols: This covers the common routing protocols such as OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP, including how they work, how to configure them, and how to troubleshoot them.
WAN Technologies: This covers various wide area network (WAN) technologies such as leased lines, frame relay, ATM, and MPLS.
VPN Technologies: This includes a look at virtual private networks (VPNs), including how they work, how to configure them, and how to troubleshoot them.
Network Security: This is a critical topic that covers the basics of network security, including how to secure network devices, ports, and interfaces, along with basic concepts of network access control and security policies.
Network Management: This includes the principles of network management, including network monitoring, device management, and configuration management.
Network Design: This covers the principles of network design, including how to create a logical and physical network topology, how to plan for redundancy and scalability, and how to design network security.
Network Troubleshooting: This is a critical skill for network engineers, and includes understanding common troubleshooting techniques, how to use network analysis tools, and how to isolate and debug network issues.
Static Routing: A direct routing table in which an administrator defines routes manually.
Dynamic Routing: The routing protocol generates all routing tables; it adapts to changes in the network, such as link failures or congestion.
Default Routing: If a network device can’t find a specific network for a packet’s destination, sending that packet to a default route is an option.
Policy-Based Routing: Intelligently forwarding data packets based on a particular policy.
Routing Information Protocol (RIP): A simple routing protocol that utilizes hop counts to select a route.
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP): The primary exterior routing protocol used for the Internet.
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF): An interior routing protocol based on link-state information.
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP): A protocol that combines distance-vector and link-state routing features.
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP): A protocol for bridging networks that prevents loops by setting up a tree topology.
Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN): A technology that divides a physical LAN into several smaller logical LANs.
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP): A technique that combines multiple physical links into one logical link for redundancy, load balancing, or both.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS): Enhances the efficiency and speed of data transfer by setting up predefined paths by assigning labels to packets.
Network Address Translation (NAT): A technique that translates private IP addresses to a public IP address.
Quality of Service (QoS): A system for prioritizing data traffic based on the type of traffic and the resources available.
Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP): A Cisco protocol that enables two or more routers to work together to present a virtual gateway and provide redundancy.