(a)

Characteristics of networks and the importance of protocols and standards

(b)

The Internet structure:

  • IP stack
  • Domain Name Server (DNS)
  • Protocol layering
  • Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN)
  • Packet switching and circuit switching

(c)

Network security and threats, use of firewalls, proxies, and encryption

(d)

Network hardware

(e)

Network models:

  • client-server
  • peer-to-peer