I'm a third-year computer science student gearing up for a junior software engineer position, especially in web or mobile development. I'm currently taking a networking class focused on CCNA1, and I'm wondering how much I really need to know about networking concepts like topologies, OSI layers, LANs, WANs, and various protocols such as VoIP, HTTP, and TCP. Are there certain topics I should delve into, or others I can just aim to pass?
2 Answers
You should definitely have a basic understanding of the OSI model and TCP/IP. Knowing HTTP well is crucial too, along with the differences between HTTP v2 and v3. Just remember, you don't need to master all this at once. It’s totally fine to learn as you tackle different tasks.
If you're aiming for a junior web development job, you should know the basics of the OSI model, how data travels over networks, a bit about IP addressing, TCP/UDP, and HTTP message structures like headers and error codes. You won’t need to be an expert, but knowing not to send someone links to localhost or private IP addresses will help!
For sure! If you ever have a connectivity issue, understanding where the problem might lie in the OSI model can help you troubleshoot better. For instance, if your app isn't communicating properly, knowing it might be a transport layer issue could guide your debugging.
Can you give me an example when the OSI model might come into play? Like, did you ever face a situation where you needed that knowledge?