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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2929 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 5, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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What's a good book about TCP/IP networking? I am currently redoing my home network setup and I've realized my knowledge of networking is very fragmented. I know the right incantations, but I have no idea what they actually do.

  • what does "default gateway" actually do? What happens when it's the "wrong" IP? When it's blank?
  • what happens when two machines claim to have the same IP?
  • how exactly does DHCP work?
  • how does UDP go through NAT?
  • what are VLANs?

I know you asked specifically for a book, but https://learn.cantrill.io/p/tech-fundamentals is a pretty good free course about the various layers of the networking stack. If you want to go deep on the protocol-level stuff then maybe Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated could be what you're after? It might be too TCP-focused, since you also have questions about VLANs and UDP.

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