jdfive

Syllabus

From packets and TCP to HTTPS, DNS, load balancers, and reliability — explain every hop between a browser and your service.

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Getting started

What this course covers and how to build a mental model of the Internet.

  1. 1Networking Overview

Foundations

The core story: packets, TCP/UDP, HTTP vs HTTPS, TLS — then how names become addresses.

  1. 2How HTTPS Works
  2. 3DNS

HTTP

Request/response semantics, headers, cookies, and caching that APIs rely on.

  1. 4HTTP Semantics
  2. 5Headers & Caching

Transport & security

Deeper TCP, UDP/QUIC/HTTP3, and how certificates prove identity.

  1. 6TCP Beyond the Basics
  2. 7UDP, QUIC & HTTP/3
  3. 8TLS Certificates & PKI

Network systems

Load balancers, CDNs, and private networks — how production traffic is shaped.

  1. 9Load Balancers
  2. 10CDN & the Edge
  3. 11NAT & Firewalls

Reliability

Timeouts, retries, and a checklist of explanations interviewers expect out loud.

  1. 12Timeouts & Retries
  2. 13Interview Checklist