Curriculum

MacTech InDepth's curriculum is set by MacTech with a combination of speakers from both the region, and nationally.

Topics

MacTech InDepth: Network and WiFi Design and Troubleshooting will spend the entire day focused on network design. Topics will include:

• Local Area Networking
• VLAN's
• Wireless LAN Design
• DNS
• Routing
• Planning, Deploying, and Troubleshooting Ethernet
• Troubleshooting Wireless Interference
• Designing the Perfect Network Firewall
• 802.1x Network Security

Networking Overview

An overview of all the aspects of networking and the terminology is covered in this session. We discuss what a network is and the different topologies and basic hardware differences. The OSI model is covered and its importance in networking.

Local Area Networking

Learn the components of what local area networking is. If you’ve ever wondered how to plan a successful LAN, WAN, and in-between, we’ve got you covered. Once you know what a LAN is, we cover VLAN and its differences from LAN and when you should be using VLANs.

What’s on your network?

Once you know how set up your network and gone through the process, it’s time to learn how to control it. We discuss the benefits and consequences between choosing to monitor or to manage your network. Then we cover how to figure out what’s on your network. Quality of service is key and we go over how to stay on top of it.

DNS

Find out why DNS is important and what it is. Then we go over how DNS works, going over forward and reverse queries, fully qualified domain names, and record types. For LAN DNS, we show you how to define a primary zone. WE talk about when and why to use slave servers. If you don’t have a public static IP, we go over what you can do to implement DNS. Finally, we cover DNS debugging, whether to us built in resolution libraries or to us query tools.

Designing the Perfect Network Firewall & Understanding Network Routing

For those looking to decipher WAN routing and configuring a top performing firewall, we have the steps and information to help you out. We show you how to get data into your network. We, also, go over best practices for content filtering.

Planning, Deploying, and Troubleshooting Ethernet

When planning, deploying, and troubleshooting ethernet, the right knowledge can turn a difficult situation into a breeze. For planning, we cover cabling a location and building out the physical infrastructure. We go over Power over Ethernet; what the different classes are and specifically covering 802.3af and 802.3at. You’re only as good as your troubleshooting skills, we cover how to troubleshoot cabling problems so you’re not left in the lurch when problems arise.

Wireless LAN Design and Troubleshooting

When dealing with wireless LAN, planning and design are vital to success. We go over planning for whatever system you have in place. We go over best practices for deployment and tools and techniques that you can employ. Along with this, we’ll show you the tools of the trade. Troubleshooting is important and necessary, we go over how to track down problems and how to deal with problems when you find them.

Managing who’s on your network

To manage who’s on your network, we go over 802.1x network security and how to design a secure but usable system. We cover captive portal and RADIUS authentication. If you’ve been wondering how your bandwidth is being used and by who, we go over how to find out. Find out the difference between Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS).