Mike Divine's Learning Journal

This is the final week of my computer networking class, and it's been a journey of learning and discovery. This week, we focused on some security implementation, learning about firewalls and intrusion detection systems. I learned about the fundamentals of firewalls, which act as a protective barrier between internal networks and the outside world. Firewalls help with filtering network traffic and preventing unauthorized access. We also learned about intrusion detection systems (IDS), which are designed to detect and respond to potential threats or attacks within a network.  At the link layer, we focused on wireless security, recognizing the importance of protecting wireless networks from unauthorized access. I learned about encryption methods, authentication mechanisms, and best practices for securing wireless networks. Lastly, we have been working on finishing our team project and it has been a great learning experience.  This class has been an enlightening experience learnin...

     Week 7 of my Networking class has been fun and challenging as I learned more about the link layer and took the Final Exam.  We started by focusing on understanding the principles behind link layer services. I learned that an important role of the link layer is providing reliable communication between adjacent nodes.  One of the key topics we covered was error detection and error correction. We explored different algorithms and techniques used to detect and correct errors that may occur during data transmission. From simple parity checks to more advanced cyclic redundancy checks (CRC), we gained insights into how these methods help ensure data integrity across the network.    I finished the week  by studying for and taking the Final Exam. It was a comprehensive assessment that tested our knowledge of the topics covered throughout the course. While it was challenging, I felt well-prepared thanks to the video lectures, practice final, and the ex...

     This week in my Networks class, I learned about the principles behind the network control plane, gaining a better understanding of how networks are managed and controlled. It was fascinating to learn about traditional routing algorithms and their practical applications in different network scenarios. I also learned about Software-Defined Networking (SDN).  Another thing I learned this week was the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and its role in network diagnostics and alerting.      My team and I  began coding the emulation of a network using the Mininet API. The project is challenging but fun and will facilitate our learning while we simulate a network with multiple networks, routers, and servers.      I also started studying for the Final this week as we are planning to take it this upcoming Saturday.  Overall, w eek 6 has been interesting as we have been learning more about networking principles and technologie...