How to get started in IT/Networking?

Hey there guys. I've been thinking about getting into the IT/Computer industry when I get out of Marine Corps. Now I'm pretty knowledgeable about hardware. That's not my down fall.

I'd like to begin learning about networking, IT management, and more. Specifically, internet security systems, GPO, Active Directory, and basic network architectures/setups. I'll admit I only roughly know what a domain is and what DNS has to do with resolving those domains name to ip addresses.

What I'd like to know are the basics. Here are some of my questions:

- What is a Domain
- What is a trunk
- What is a forest
- What is IPv4 and IPv6 and the difference (besides the obvious 32 bit and 128 bit difference)
- What are GPO and how to apply them
- basic networking architecture and models
- what is traffic shaping
- what is Active Directory
- What are SQL, Apache, etc.
- How networks operate and communicate
- different protocols and what each one does

And so much more.... I know its a lot. I'm thinking about pursuing a bachelor's in Internet Security Systems when I get home in December, and I'd just like to start getting a handle on basic network terminology, functionality, construction, and operation. I figure if I'm going to try and pursue a computer-related job, I need to get a started ASAP.

If anyone could point me to some good getting started guides or links, or share some knowledge, it would be *most* appreciated. People always refer to me as "the computer guy," but the truth is that I'm only really good at hardware issues and basic day to day software issues and troubleshooting. I'd like to expand my knowledge to networks and databases, since that's the way the IT world works now.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

-Dave

Great field to get into if you love computers and constant learning of new things.

If you search around the internet a bit you might be able to find pdf copies of Cisco & Microsoft Server certification books. These have a lot of good information in them.

Wikipedia is even a pretty good resource for getting a high level overview on many of the topics you listed. I would recommend reading some of those articles in your free time. If you have some spare computer hardware to play with you could practice setting up your own domain and clients. It would also work with VMs. A long while back I bought a few of the Microsoft Certification books and they came with trial server software. Although more recently MS seems pretty slap happy with giving out trial versions and even full blown versions to students.

Great idea, I graduated with a degree in computer network security and I love it. Like the people said above, the best thing is to read some books and hook up with people who are doing it as a job and just as all the questions above. I am sure if you find someone who knows networking and they love, they probably won't stop talking about it .

The other main idea I have is to go to the local book store and get a CompTIA Net + book. Not only will you learn about networks and such, but you could get a cert out of it as well, win win!

Think it over!!!

+1 for CompTIA Net+ it is an entry level easy certification to get and the book will get you started with all the basics.

Thanks for the replies guys. I forgot that I raped a guy's Hard Drive here a few months ago before he went south to a different base. He has ~ 15Gb in pdf's/chm books on everything from linux/unix to DNS to Networking to Wireless Networks to Network+ study guides, to Java/C++ guides to IPv6 and more. lol I got a lot of reading to do The first book I'm going to read I think is on Networking.. only 592 pages lol. I have nothing but time here, so I best get started!

Hi there i have just started a 2yr course doing ccna (cisco) and there is so much to learn but its fun if you can get your head round it i would say look up anything you can if your interested, you will soon find yourself reasearching every little detail. hope you find what ur good at and then keep doing it

SuperDave... not sure if you are aware... but the Marines will pay for you to go to college right now and it won't be using any of your GIBILL, you can do it in Afghanistan as well talk to AMU(American Military University) trust me man, you won't regret it

yeah I'm registered with AMU. But the internet is so slow out here, its just not practical to do classes, plus with my job, I wouldn't have much time. And there are more bodies than computers, so having a dedicated computer to read and work on is not going to happen. All my pdf/chms are on my netbook, so I can read on it, but as far as classes go, I just don't see it happening out here. Thats why I'm waiting till I get home in December so I can build my new PC and actually be able to download faster than 1.2K/sec lol

-Dave

Well I'm enrolled with American Military University. I plan on completing the Certificate in IT Infrastructure Security and then once I complete that, I plan on pursuing my Bachelor's of Science in IT. This way, I will have a degree in IT overall, as well as some certifications on the security side of the house. Since my first classes don't start until Feb 1st, I plan on taking as many online training/prep/certification courses that I can so that the actual schoolwork won't be so bad, as well as maybe get some basic certifications done. What do you guys that are in tht IT field think of my plan? Any ideas?

-Dave

SuperDave,

looks like a good plan, and almost the same I took when i was in the Marines. I stuck more to the Linux/Unix route. Not sure where your home is, but if you decide to move to Florida, and you understand Linux/Unix shot me a PM i can get you a job.

I should be doing this too.

Try splitting what you want to learn up to smaller more manageable pieces. You've listed quite a lot of stuff there... If you try to learn all of that without any practical experience you might end up quite confused.

For networking I quite liked this book. Most networking books start from the bottom layers and move upwards. This can be pretty confusing unless you already have a pretty strong understanding of how networking works. This book starts from the top which is much clearer, and then moves downwards until you are talking about electricity current in the wires. It does it in a very clear and simple way.

I would recommend trying to get some practical knowhow on everything you study. For example with networking you can try to make a very isolated environment and monitor your traffic with ethereal (or something). Try to get an understanding of what happens when you get an ip-address via dhcp, open a webpage etc. Another example could be in regards to all the basic services you listed (AD, apache, SQL...). Try setting up virtual machines running those services and get them talking to each other.

But please note, that you listed loads of stuff in your first post. Most people end up specializing in a part of those. Of course some fields like security benefit from understanding all of them.

Thanks Lotec. I'd like to learn the Linux/Unix side of the house once I've gotten a handle on the basics. Hell I can't even figure out how to install Xine in Ubuntu properly lol.

Thanks Dropadrop. I completely agree. The courses I'm taking online through the Marines have exercises built into them as well as end of course test to measure your comprehension. Plus, I've probing the network here, learning how it's configured and such. Trying to figure out the network's routing paths, it's topology, how its assigning ip addresses, etc has been a big help.

I understand networking and how it works for the most part. How routers route, how ip addresses are assigned, etc. By layers, I'm assuming you're referring to the OSI model?

the only thing I have a little bit of confusion on is what exactly is a subnet and it's purpose. And a gateway. If I understand correctly, a subnet is used to delineate different portions of a network, as well as allow multiple clients to use 1 shared static IP address. Am I correct? And a gateway is simply the address that a client uses on a router to connect to other subnets and routers.

If anyone could shed a little light on those 2, I'd be most appreciative.

-Dave

I'm currently taking the Cisco CCNA course in college and it's covers a lot of the stuff you mentioned above.

If you plan on writing any certifications with Cisco, make sure you're familiar with the OSI network model.

This is the text book we're using. It's got some very useful information about IPv4 and subnetting in it.
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587132087

If a computer wants to send a packet to a different subnet/network, it will forward it to the default gateway (router interface) then the router will decide where to send it next based on the destination in the IP header.

A subnet is part of a network that's been divided into a smaller network based on geographical location, purpose or ownership.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

That helps a little bit ebug. Thanks! I think I'm going to try and complete the CompTIA Net+ first and then move on from there