Everything runs on the network, and almost nobody is taught how it actually works.
You will terminate your own cables, configure switches and routers by hand, subnet on paper until it is automatic, and stand up a working network from an empty rack. Then you will break it and fix it.
Maps to CompTIA Network+.
Jobs this leads towards
Real roles people do after this course and the ones that follow it.
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Network technician
Installs, cables and fixes the networks in offices, schools and hospitals.
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Network administrator
Keeps an organisation's network running, secure and fast.
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IT support with networking
Most 'the internet is down' calls end at someone with these skills.
Certifications
What this course prepares you to sit. Exam vouchers are included.
- CompTIA Network+
Is this for me?
Ninety seconds, no wrong answers, nothing recorded. It tells you how closely this course matches what you enjoy — and where to look if it does not.
What a week looks like
Day to day, so nobody is surprised.
- One evening on how it works, one evening building it: cables, switches, routers, Wi-Fi.
- You crimp your own cables and test them; a bad crimp is how you learn.
- Small networks are built, broken on purpose, and fixed.
- A capture-the-flag night near the end, in teams.
Three questions from week one
Get them wrong and you belong here. Get them right and you belong here too. Nothing is recorded.
Books worth having
None of these is required — the course lends what it needs. These are the ones worth owning.
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Professor Messer's Network+ videos (free, YouTube)
Free and exam-aligned.
What to bring
Usually nothing. Where something small helps, it is here.
- ▸A crimping tool and a bag of RJ45 connectors.
- ▸A few metres of Cat 6 cable.
- ▸A notebook: draw every network you touch.
Do this at home
Between sessions. Ten to twenty minutes; the people who do this are the ones who finish.
- Habit 1Log into your home router and write down every device you see connected.
- Habit 2Run ipconfig / ifconfig and explain each line to yourself.
- Habit 3Draw your home network on paper, including the internet side.
What you will be able to do
- Subnet IPv4 confidently, without a calculator
- Configure VLANs, trunks and inter-VLAN routing
- Terminate and test copper and fibre
- Set up and secure a wireless network
- Diagnose a network fault using ping, traceroute and a packet capture
What you will use
- Cisco switches
- Cisco routers
- Wireshark
- Fluke testers
- UniFi
What the course covers
The lesson plan for this course is being written. Register and we will tell you the moment it opens.