Routers, switches and basic network security
45 min · Intermediate
A network is built from a few kinds of boxes, and each one makes a different decision: a hub repeats, a switch forwards by MAC address and a router forwards by IP address. Security tools such as firewalls and VPNs sit on top of these, and interviewers expect you to compare them in one or two sentences each.
Topics in this lesson
- Hub vs switch vs router vs gateway
- LAN, WAN and VLAN basics
- Firewalls, VPNs and proxies
- Common attacks: DoS, man-in-the-middle and phishing
- Answering device and security questions
Interview questions this lesson answers
- What is a hub?
- What is a switch?
- What is a router?
- What is the difference between a hub, a switch and a router?
- What is a gateway?
- What is the difference between a modem and a router?
- What is an access point?
- What is a collision domain and a broadcast domain?
- How does a switch learn MAC addresses?
- What is a routing table?
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