Module 7 Review: Networking

Consolidate Your Learning

A review of the core concepts of networking, from physical devices and cabling to logical addressing and troubleshooting, with activities to reinforce your understanding.
Author

Chuck Nelson

Published

November 13, 2025

1 Purpose

This document provides a comprehensive review of the key concepts covered in the Networking module. Through a series of active learning exercises and review questions, you will solidify your understanding of the hardware, protocols, and services that make computer networks function. The goal of these activities is to help you connect concepts and apply your knowledge to practical, real-world situations.

2 What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this review session, you will have:

  • Reinforced your knowledge of networking hardware, cabling, and wireless standards.
  • Practiced applying concepts of IP addressing, subnetting, and VLANs.
  • Tested your ability to systematically troubleshoot common network connectivity issues.

3 Active Learning and Engagement

Complete the following exercises to actively engage with the material and deepen your understanding.

3.1 Exercise 1: Concept Mapping

This activity helps you visually organize the key terms and their relationships, strengthening your mental model of the system.

Using a digital tool like draw.io, create a concept map that connects the following terms. Draw lines between related concepts and write a short phrase on the line to describe the relationship. Export your finished map as an image and save it for your own review.

  • Router
  • Switch
  • NIC
  • MAC Address
  • IP Address
  • Subnet Mask
  • VLAN
  • DHCP
  • DNS
  • NAT
  • Cat 6a
  • Fiber Optic
  • Wi-Fi 6
  • OSI Model

3.2 Exercise 2: Scenario Challenge

This activity challenges you to apply your knowledge to a realistic problem, a key skill for any IT professional.

Read the following scenario and write your answers to the questions in your personal notes.

You are setting up a new small office. The office has 10 desktop computers, a main server, and a shared printer. The office needs a reliable connection to the internet, and for security, you want to make sure the guest Wi-Fi network is completely separate from the internal office network.

  1. Core Device: What single device would be most central to connecting the office computers and the server, ensuring they can communicate with each other efficiently on the local network?
  2. Internet Connection: What device is required to translate the signal from the ISP into a format the office network can use?
  3. Security & Segmentation: What feature, supported by modern switches and routers, would you use to create the separate guest Wi-Fi network?
  4. Cabling: To connect the desktop computers to the wall jacks, what is the minimum category of cable you should use to ensure reliable Gigabit speeds?

3.3 Exercise 3: Peer Instruction

This activity helps you solidify your own understanding by explaining concepts to others and hearing their perspectives.

This exercise is for discussion. Find a partner or a small group and choose one of the tabbed sections below. Each person should choose a different topic (A, B, or C) and take a turn explaining it to the others.

Person A explains: The difference between a hub, a switch, and a router. At which OSI layer does each primarily operate?

Person B explains: The purpose of DHCP. What is the “DORA” process?

Person C explains: The difference between a MAC address and an IP address. Use an analogy.

Person A explains: The difference between Cat 6 and Cat 6a twisted pair cabling.

Person B explains: The purpose of DNS. Why is it called “the phone book of the internet”?

Person C explains: The difference between a public IP address and a private IP address. What role does NAT play?

Person A explains: The difference between single-mode and multi-mode fiber optic cable. When would you use one over the other?

Person B explains: The purpose of a VLAN. Give a practical example of why you would use one.

Person C explains: The troubleshooting process. If you can ping 8.8.8.8 but can’t browse to google.com, what is the most likely problem?

4 Review Questions

Answer the following questions to test your knowledge.

  1. Which device makes forwarding decisions based on MAC addresses and is responsible for directing traffic within a single local network?

    1. Hub
    2. Router
    3. Switch
    4. Modem

  2. You run ip addr on your Linux PC and see that your IP address is 169.254.88.17. What does this indicate?

    1. You have a valid public IP address.
    2. The computer successfully contacted the DHCP server.
    3. The computer failed to contact the DHCP server and assigned itself an APIPA address.
    4. The DNS server is down.

  3. What technology allows multiple devices on a private network to share a single public IP address for accessing the internet?

    1. DHCP
    2. DNS
    3. NAT
    4. VLAN

  4. You need to connect two corporate buildings that are 3 kilometers apart with a high-speed backbone. Which type of cabling is the only suitable choice?

    1. Cat 6a UTP
    2. Coaxial
    3. Multi-mode fiber
    4. Single-mode fiber

  5. A user can ping the IP address of a web server but cannot browse to the website using its domain name. What network service is most likely experiencing a problem?

    1. DHCP
    2. DNS
    3. NAT
    4. WINS

  6. Which of the following is the most recent and efficient Wi-Fi standard, also known as Wi-Fi 6?

    1. 802.11g
    2. 802.11n
    3. 802.11ac
    4. 802.11ax

  7. What is the primary purpose of a VLAN?

    1. To physically separate devices onto different hardware.
    2. To logically segment a network into separate broadcast domains on the same physical hardware.
    3. To translate private IP addresses into public ones.
    4. To automatically assign IP addresses to devices.

  8. Which command-line tool is used to test basic connectivity to another device by sending an ICMP echo request?

    1. ip
    2. ping
    3. mtr
    4. nmap

  9. At which layer of the OSI model does a router primarily operate?

    1. Layer 1 (Physical)
    2. Layer 2 (Data Link)
    3. Layer 3 (Network)
    4. Layer 4 (Transport)

  10. You are installing new cabling for an office and want to ensure it can reliably support 10 Gbps speeds over 100 meters. What is the minimum cable category you should use?

    1. Cat 5e
    2. Cat 6
    3. Cat 6a
    4. Cat 7
    1. Switch
    1. The computer failed to contact the DHCP server and assigned itself an APIPA address.
    1. NAT
    1. Single-mode fiber
    1. DNS
    1. 802.11ax
    1. To logically segment a network into separate broadcast domains on the same physical hardware.
    1. ping
    1. Layer 3 (Network)
    1. Cat 6a

5 Reflect and Review

ImportantFinal Reflection: 3-2-1

You’ve reached the end of the module review. Take a final moment to synthesize your thoughts. In your personal notes, write down:

  • 3 concepts from this module that you feel most confident about now.
  • 2 topics that you found most interesting or surprising.
  • 1 area you still want to review or a question you plan to ask.
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