Hello all. I am a 21 year old person with no experience with networking or anything like that. I'd like to learn more about Mikrotiks (and networking) in general so I was just browsing other people's threads to see what kind of questions they had and I have no idea what they're talking about half the time. Can anyone recommend just things to read up on so I can get a better grounding here?
Thank you!
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TomosRider
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Re: Beginner Basics
Hello there.
We have all been there. For me, the best thing for understanding the basics of networking was reading books for CCNA certiffication, watching CBT videos, doing labs on GNS3 and YT. Todd Lammle is my favorite, cuz i started from scratch, with very little previous experience. Grasp the concepts, and move on only when you fully undestand the topic.
I feel like im a noob even years after working job related to networks. Its constant learning, you must accept that
We have all been there. For me, the best thing for understanding the basics of networking was reading books for CCNA certiffication, watching CBT videos, doing labs on GNS3 and YT. Todd Lammle is my favorite, cuz i started from scratch, with very little previous experience. Grasp the concepts, and move on only when you fully undestand the topic.
I feel like im a noob even years after working job related to networks. Its constant learning, you must accept that
Re: Beginner Basics
Learn about the OSI model - in particular, learn what layers 1 - 4 do.
I find that many people posting here have problems that come from a lack of fundamental understanding about what's going on.
The OSI model helps you break down the various things that are happening into much more easily-understood components.
Once you know those pieces, and what they do, you'll be able to understand that some given set of symptoms must be coming from TCP ports, for instance, so you wouldn't even waste time thinking about vlans or MAC addresses...
Here's a starting list of examples of where things fit in the OSI model:
Layer 1 - fiber, cat5e cable, coaxial cable, 5.8Ghz wireless, etc....
Layer 2 - Ethernet, WiFi, PPP, DOCSIS, ATM (usually just DSL in today's world)
Layer 3 - IP, IPv6,
Layer 4 - TCP, UDP (these are the two most common - these are the "port numbers" protocols)
Layer 5 - 7 are a bit ambiguous in TCP/IP - most people just refer to the whole group as "layer 7" - and these are the things you may have heard of: DNS, http, ftp, smtp, pop3, imap, ssh, etc....
The first time I was ever taught this, it sounded like more of that "this is boring theory crap that doesn't really apply to real life" but I was pretty wrong. It really does come in VERY handy to understand this theory and apply it to network design and troubleshooting.
Next, I'd say to learn the basic functions of things like routers, switches, and access points. The words get thrown around alot as if they're all the same, but in networking, each one is a certain kind of device that does certain things. Many devices (like lots of Mikrotik devices) combine the functions of many of these into one piece of gear, but you need to know what the components are and what jobs they do.
I find that many people posting here have problems that come from a lack of fundamental understanding about what's going on.
The OSI model helps you break down the various things that are happening into much more easily-understood components.
Once you know those pieces, and what they do, you'll be able to understand that some given set of symptoms must be coming from TCP ports, for instance, so you wouldn't even waste time thinking about vlans or MAC addresses...
Here's a starting list of examples of where things fit in the OSI model:
Layer 1 - fiber, cat5e cable, coaxial cable, 5.8Ghz wireless, etc....
Layer 2 - Ethernet, WiFi, PPP, DOCSIS, ATM (usually just DSL in today's world)
Layer 3 - IP, IPv6,
Layer 4 - TCP, UDP (these are the two most common - these are the "port numbers" protocols)
Layer 5 - 7 are a bit ambiguous in TCP/IP - most people just refer to the whole group as "layer 7" - and these are the things you may have heard of: DNS, http, ftp, smtp, pop3, imap, ssh, etc....
The first time I was ever taught this, it sounded like more of that "this is boring theory crap that doesn't really apply to real life" but I was pretty wrong. It really does come in VERY handy to understand this theory and apply it to network design and troubleshooting.
Next, I'd say to learn the basic functions of things like routers, switches, and access points. The words get thrown around alot as if they're all the same, but in networking, each one is a certain kind of device that does certain things. Many devices (like lots of Mikrotik devices) combine the functions of many of these into one piece of gear, but you need to know what the components are and what jobs they do.
Re: Beginner Basics
Start with this
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Testwiki
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Testwiki
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