Detailed Course Description

Telecom, Datacom and Networking for Non-Engineers is our core training, organized into three modular parts: telecom, datacom and... networking.  We'll start at the beginning of the story, progress through key concepts in a logical order, and finish at the end.  Our goal is to bust the buzzwords, cut through the jargon and doubletalk to put in place a clear, structured understanding of telecom, datacom, IP and networking.

Part 1: Fundamentals of Telecommunications The first part covers the Public Switched Telephone Network, equipment and call centers, the telecom business, carriers, digital voice transmission, T1, fiber and SONET backbones, and wireless ... the groundwork for understanding everything.

Objectives s   Understand telecom fundamentals: s   Telephony and the telephone network s   The telecom business s   Digital transmission systems and services s   Fundamentals of wireless. s   Fill in the gaps in your knowledge. s   Form a solid base on which to build.

What you will learn s   The structure and operation of the telephone network. s   What analog means.  The voiceband.  Loops and trunks.  s   Plain Ordinary Telephone Service. s   What CO switches, PBXs, IVRs, ACDs and modems do. s   All about LECs, CLECs, IXCs and interconnections. s   What digital means.  What a DS0 is. s   The difference between a DS1 and a T1. s   DS3, T3, SONET, and ISDN.  Time-Division Multiplexing. s   What fiber is and how backbones are built with fiber. s   Wireless and cellular concepts, terminology, standards.

1-1. Fundamentals of Telephony

Whether you're interested in telecom, datacom, wireless, Wide Area Networking or Voice over IP, everything begins with the Public Switched Telephone Network and Plain Ordinary Telephone Service. We'll begin with a model for the PSTN, explaining analog circuits and circuit switching, as well as common telephony buzzwords and jargon, and an overview of SS7.

A.   History of Telecommunications

B.   The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

C.   Analog Circuits

D.   What is Sound?

E.   The Voiceband

F.    Plain Ordinary Telephone Service (POTS)

G.   DTMF Address Signaling

H.   Signaling System 7 (SS7)

1-2. Telecom Equipment

We'll round out our discussion of telephony with a practical overview of different types of equipment that can be connected to the telephone network.  Without bogging down on details, we'll sort out switches, PBXs, ACDs, IVRs, Call Centers and modems, including a discussion of DSL and how it is provided.

A.   Telephone Switches

B.   PBXs vs. Centrex

C.   Voice VPNs

D.   Call Centers: IVRs and ACDs

E.   Modems

F.    DSL Technologies: Beyond the Voiceband

G.   DSLAMs

1-3. The Telecommunications Industry

With a basic framework in place, we'll review the telecommunications business, including companies, alliances, services and competition, and understand how each organization fits into the picture, including how CLECs can provide Voice over IP over DSL on existing phone lines.

A.   Local Exchange Carriers (LECs)

B.   PSTN Switching Centers

C.   Inter-Exchange Carriers (IXCs)

D.   Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs)

1-4. Digital Communications Concepts

With the fundamental structure in place, we'll understand how - and why - voice is digitized.  We'll discuss what is really meant by "digital" and explain DS0s, channels, the 64 kb/s rate and the DS0-DS1-DS3 digital hierarchy. We'll provide a practical overview of digital services, including T1, T3, SONET and ISDN. At a high level, we'll explore the different types of traffic that can be carried over these circuits, and how voice, data and video can be integrated.

A.   Why Digital?

B.   Analog and Digital: What Do We Really Mean?

C.   Voice Digitization (Analog-Digital Conversion)

D.   The Digital Hierarchy: DS0-DS3

E.   Carrier Systems Overview: T1, T3, SONET, ISDN

F.    Digital Circuit Applications

G.   Integration: Voice, Video, Data

1-5. Transmission Systems

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and digital carrier systems are technologies at the heart of telecommunications networks. Without getting bogged down on technical details, we'll use T1 as an example to explain multiplexers and how TDM and channels are implemented and what repeaters do.  With concepts in place, we'll cover fiber optics, SONET rings and Dense Wave-Division Multiplexing (DWDM): the backbone of networks.

A.   Channelized Time Division Multiplexing

B.   TDM Example: T1 Carrier System

C.   Multiplexers

D.   Framing and Channels

E.   Pulses and Repeaters

F.    How T1 is Actually Provided

G.   Fiber Optics and Fiber Cables

H.   SONET and DWDM: Core Networks

I.      International Digital Hierarchies

1-6. Wireless Communications

We'll round out your knowledge of telecom fundamentals with wireless. We'll cover jargon and buzzwords in the mobility business, the idea of cellular, and sort out different cellular technologies, including analog, PCS and 3G and understand CDMA vs. TDMA/GSM.  We'll conclude with an overview of Wi-Fi and satellite communications.

A.   Wireless

B.   Mobile Networks and Cellular Concepts

C.   First Generation: AMPS

D.   Second Generation: PCS

E.   Digital Cellular

F.    CDMA vs. TDMA/GSM

G.   3G

H.   Wireless LANs and Wi-Fi

I.      Satellite Communications

Part 2: Understanding Data Communications The second part covers datacom basics including the crucial concepts of IP packets and LAN frames; all about modems including DSL and cable modems, data over digital cellular, how digital circuits and services are provided, muxes vs. switches vs. routers, and finishes with LANs: building blocks for the Networking part.

Objectives s   Understand datacom fundamentals s   The components of a circuit s   How data is organized for transmission s   How data is actually moved from A to B.  s   Get the big-picture view. s   See how carrier circuits are actually provided. s   Understand and compare different services.

What you will learn s   DTEs, DCEs, media, and how they form a circuit. s   Common configurations: parallel, serial, multidrop, multipoint, LANs and WANs. s   An overview of binary and hex. s   Asynchronous: ASCII and start/stop/parity. s   Newer ideas: frames and packets.  IP packets. s   All about modems, modulation, concepts and standards. s   DSL vs. Cable: which is faster?  Cable TV systems. s   Network equipment: switches vs. muxes vs. routers. s   All about LANs: Ethernet, cable categories, switches.

2-1. Introduction to Datacom and Networking

We'll begin the second module by introducing a model for data circuits, reviewing each component in the model, and exploring practical examples of circuit and network configurations. With this framework in place, you'll be able to categorize and compare different types of equipment and circuit configurations.

A.   Data Circuit Model: DTEs and DCEs

B.   Analog and Digital Data Circuits

C.   Serial and Parallel

D.   Multidrop Circuits

E.   Local Area Networks (LANs)

F.    Wide Area Networks: Routers

G.   TCP/IP for Networking

2-2. How Data Is Formatted for Transmission

In this chapter, we'll put in place a solid understanding of the key concepts of IP packets and LAN frames, ensuring that you have a solid foundation on which to build an understanding of routers, bandwidth-on-demand services and the Internet.

A.   Bits and Bytes

B.   Binary and Hexadecimal

C.   ASCII

D.   "Asynchronous"

E.   Frames

F.    Packets

G.   Packets and IP Addresses vs. Frames and MAC Addresses

H.   IP Packets

2-3. All About Modems

In this chapter, we'll learn how modems transmit 1s and 0s over analog circuits. We'll explain jargon like baud rate and half duplex, and you'll receive practical guidelines on current modem standards and what connection speeds to expect.

A.   Data over the PSTN

B.   Recap: The Voiceband

C.   Representing Data in the Voiceband: How Modems Work
... Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
... Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
... Phase shifting: PSK, QPSK, QAM

D.   Voiceband Modem Standards

E.   Jargon and Buzzwords: Baud Rate, Half-Duplex

F.    Factors Affecting Connection Speeds

2-4. Broadband Modems

With an understanding of how modems work over phone lines, we'll look at broadband modem technologies: DSL and Cable modems, and discuss which is faster.  We'll also understand how digital cellular can be used for data communications and internet access. 

A.   DSL Technologies: Beyond the Voiceband

B.   Dial-up vs. DSL Connectivity

C.   VSDL Technologies and Speeds

D.   Cable TV Distribution Systems

E.   Cable Modems

F.    Using Digital Cellular for Broadband Internet Access

2-5. Data Services and Network Equipment

In this chapter, we'll build on the basic discussion of digital from module 1 to show how digital circuits are used for data communication. We'll show you the three basic kinds of datacom services available, and the circuits and equipment used by carriers to actually provide these services... highly useful knowledge when evaluating, ordering or troubleshooting carrier services.  We'll introduce the idea of statistical multiplexing and bandwidth-on-demand to prepare for the discussion of packet networks and services in Module 3.

A.   Digital Access and Transmission Technologies

B.   Anatomy of a Digital Circuit

C.   Common Carriers' Transmission Networks

D.   ... How Circuits are Actually Implemented by Carriers

E.   Network Equipment: How and Where Each Is Used

F.    ... Routers vs. muxes. vs. switches

G.   Channelized TDM

H.   Statistical TDM

I.      Summary: How Circuits are Actually Provided

2-6. Understanding LANs

LANs are the standard method of implementing circuits in-building.  We'll complete this module with a basic, solid understanding of LANs: Ethernet and the original idea of a bus, how this changed to 100 Mb/s and now Gigabit Ethernet connected with LAN switches.  You'll learn about categories of cables, hubs and switches.  We'll conclude interconnecting LANs using routers and TCP/IP to form a WAN... leading in to Module 3.

A.   Bus Topology

B.   802.3 and Ethernet

C.   Evolution of Ethernet

D.   Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet

E.   LAN Cables: Category 5, 5e and 6

F.    Repeaters and Bridges

G.   Ethernet Switches

H.   Interconnecting LANs with Routers

Part 3: Understanding IP and Networking The third part brings it all together with a structured discussion of networking: protocol stacks, routers, IP addresses, bandwidth-on-demand services, Voice over IP (VoIP) and IP VPNs, the Internet, and finishes with a top-down review and templates for mainstream solutions you can put to immediate use.

Objectives s   Understand networking fundamentals as well as current practical technologies, services and solutions.  s   Understand protocol stacks and OSI, IP addressing and routers s   Understand carrier packet network services s   Gain an overview of Voice over IP and how VoIP connects to the PSTN. s   Understand Internet structure and operation. s   Learn technology deployment steps.

What you will learn s   Truly understand the OSI layers and protocol stacks. s   Routers, IP address classes, DHCP, private addresses s   NAT for sharing network connections  s   Private networks and dealing with carriers. s   Bandwidth-on-demand and Virtual Circuit concepts. s   How TCP and IP are used with Frame Relay. s   MPLS as the replacement for Frame Relay. s   The need for QoS.  Implementing QoS with MPLS. s   The components of a Voice over IP (VoIP) system. s   How VoIP connects to the PSTN. s   What an IP VPN is. s   The history, structure and operation of the Internet. s   Internet issues like ISPs, MIME, domain names. s   Practical mainstream solutions for networks.

3-1. Understanding Protocol Stacks

Standards and protocols play a key role in the understanding of networks, particularly how TCP, IP and LANs fit together. We'll begin the third module by exploring the Open Systems Interconnect 7-layer reference model. You'll learn what a layer is, the purpose of each layer, see examples of protocols used to implement each layer, and learn how a protocol stack really works.

A.   Protocols and Standards

B.   Open Systems vs. Proprietary Solutions

C.   Protocol Stacks: The ISO OSI 7-Layer Reference Model

D.   Understanding the Layers

E.   Understanding How a Protocol Stack Works

F.    Key Standards Organizations

3-2. IP Addressing, Routers and Private Networks

With a structure in place for discussing what we need to do, we'll look at popular mainstream solutions for how networks are implemented. The first stop is private networks, composed of dedicated lines connected with routers, allowing us to understand the functions routers perform and cover what you need to know about IP: IP addressing, dynamic addresses and DHCP, private addresses and NATs.  You'll learn how multiple computers can share a single Internet connection.  We'll complete the chapter with practical guidelines on how to order and manage dedicated lines and deal with carriers.

A.   Review: Integrating Applications on High-Speed Circuits

B.   Efficient Use of Voice Channels for Bursty Data

C.   Case Study: Dedicated-Line WAN - Integrated Data, Voice, Video

D.   Edge Routers as a Point of Control

E.   IP Address Classes

F.    Dynamic IP Addresses and DHCP

G.   Private IP Addresses

H.   Network Address Translation
... Connect Multiple Computers to a Single Internet Connection

I.      Case Study: Private Network Using LANs, T1, Routers and TCP/IP

J.     Practical Issues
... Dealing With Carriers - Ordering Circuits
... Circuit Troubleshooting Basics; BERT
... In-Service Monitoring and ESF

3-3. Bandwidth-On-Demand: Packet Network Services

Bandwidth on demand or "packet-switched" services have strong cost and flexibility advantages over dedicated lines. We'll understand packet network concepts, how and why Virtual Circuits are implemented, and what the jargon and buzzwords really mean.  You will understand the widely-used TCP/IP over Frame Relay and discuss performance issues... which leads into understanding the need for Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees, ATM and MPLS.

A.   Bandwidth on Demand Service Concepts

B.   Virtual Circuit Technologies

C.   X.25 and Jargon

D.   Frame Relay: DLCIs, CIR and BIR

E.   TCP/IP over Frame Relay to implement a WAN

F.    Frame Relay Performance: CIR and BIR

G.   QoS Requirements for Voice over IP

H.   ATM

I.      MPLS

J.     TCP/IP over MPLS

3-4. IP Network Services: Voice over IP (VoIP) and IP VPNs

In this chapter, we focus on two primary services that can run on an IP/MPLS network: voice and secure data communications.  We'll begin with an introduction to Voice over IP components, jargon and buzzwords, and understand how VoIP will mesh with the PSTN covered in Module 1.  You'll also understand how IPsec protocols and equipment implement IP VPNs for secure business data communications over IP networks.

A.   Voice over IP

B.   Net to Phone: Reseller-Type VSPs (DS0 Interconnect to LEC)

C.   Internet Telephony from LEC / CATV

D.   Managed-IP Telephone Service (MIPT)

E.   Customer-Premise-Based VPN

F.    Carrier VPNs: Network-based IPsec with QoS

3-5. Understanding the Internet

Let's not forget the Internet!  In this chapter, we'll review the Internet's past and present, understand what an ISP does, and gain a real understanding of TCP and IP. We'll review HTML, HTTP, secure web pages, Web servers and browsers, and details like the Domain Name System, MIME and Base-64 encoding.  We'll complete the picture with a review of connection methods and current Internet issues including IPv6.

A.   Internet History

B.   Internet Fundamentals: connectionless, unreliable service; routing tables

C.   TCP and UDP

D.   Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

E.   Commonly Used Internet Protocols

F.    Domain Name System

G.   MIME and Base-64 encoding

H.   The World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP and SSL

I.      Accessing the Internet: Residences and Organizations

J.     Current Internet Issues

3-6. Wrapping Up

The final chapter brings all of the concepts together with a top-down review.  You'll learn valuable insight in how technology should be deployed, and review mainstream services and solutions.  We'll conclude with a view toward the future: the IP Packet-Switched Telecommunications Network... the first slide from course 401.

A.   Technology Deployment Steps

B.   Requirements Checklist

C.   High-Level Design

D.   Review: Circuits and Services

E.   Access Circuit / Network Service Cross-Reference Matrix

F.    Private Network

G.   Frame Relay

H.   Native IP Services

I.      The IP-PSTN

Appendix A:  History of Canadian Telecommunications

Appendix B: Voice Services and Jargon

Additional reference material covers jargon and buzzwords like tie lines, foreign exchange circuits and WATS used in voice communication services.

Appendix C:  More About T1

Fractional T1 and Cross-Connects, Bit Robbing and 56 kb/s, B8ZS and 64 kb/s Clear Channels.

Appendix D:  Start Bits, Stop Bits, Parity Checking

Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations