Chapter 3: Network Protocols

CCDA Exam Topics Covered in This Chapter:

• Given a network design or set of requirements evaluate a solution that meets IP addressing needs.

Remember the movie War Games? Though unrealistic, in typical Hollywood fashion, it highlighted how a hacker could intentionally or un- intentionally cause all kinds of problems with unauthorized access to the U.S. government’s computer systems. Poof! You’ve nearly started a nuclear war.

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP) was created by the Department of Defense (DOD) as a protocol to ensure data integrity and maintain communications in the event of catastrophic war. TCP/IP is the protocol of choice today for many networks including the Internet. When designed and implemented correctly, a TCP/IP network can be a very dependable and resilient one, unlike the system in the War Games movie. This chapter will explain everything you need to know about TCP/IP.

This chapter also looks at Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), a protocol that is still widely deployed in many internetworks. We will describe the operation of IPX and compare it to the OSI reference model and addressing scheme.

The main topics addressed in this chapter are:

• Describe the TCP/IP protocol and describe the difference between connection-oriented and connectionless protocols.

• Identify the methods commonly used to resolve host names to IP addresses and IP addresses to MAC addresses.

• Describe the Novell IPX protocol and the basics of network and client services.