BSIT Networking Curriculum Learning Path

This comprehensive curriculum track is tailored for Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) students taking undergraduate networking courses (Networking 1: Fundamentals & Switching, and Networking 2: Routing & Network Security).

It organizes hands-on lab activities by academic competency, preparing students for university lab exams, practical evaluations, and capstone implementations.

Term 1: Local Area Networks and Switching (Networking 1)#

Focuses on Layer 2 switching architectures, virtual LANs, switch management security, and link aggregation.

1. Initial Device Hardening and Management#

• PTL-0008: Cisco IOS Navigation and Initial Device Configuration Command modes, banner MOTD, encrypted enable secret, console/VTY timeouts, synchronous logging, and NVRAM persistence.
• PTL-0003: Securing Switch Management with SSH Configuring domain name, 2048-bit RSA keys, local user authentication, SSHv2 enforcement, and disabling plaintext Telnet.

2. VLANs and Broadcast Containment#

• PTL-0016: MAC Address Learning and ARP Operation Switch CAM table population, frame forwarding rules, ARP broadcast/unicast exchange, and dynamic table aging.
• PTL-0024: CDP Neighbor Discovery and Topology Audit Layer 2 discovery protocol mechanics, neighbor topology reconstruction, TLV inspection, and edge switchport hardening.
• PTL-0009: VLAN Segmentation and Access Port Configuration Creating department VLANs, access mode configuration, static VLAN database management, and collision/broadcast domain isolation.

3. Switch Port Hardening and Link Bundling#

• PTL-0004: Implementing Switchport Port Security MAC limiting, sticky MAC learning, violation handling (protect, restrict, shutdown), and errdisable recovery.
• PTL-0018: Dynamic Trunking Protocol and Native VLAN Security Static 802.1Q trunking, disabling DTP frame negotiation (switchport nonegotiate), dedicated Native VLAN 999, and allowed VLAN list pruning.
• PTL-0044: VLAN Trunk Allowed-List Troubleshooting Diagnosing trunk allowed-list omissions, non-destructive allowed list remediation using add, Native VLAN alignment, and cross-switch broadcast isolation.
• PTL-0017: Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol, PortFast, and BPDU Guard IEEE 802.1w Rapid PVST+ configuration, deterministic root bridge priority, alternate blocking roles, edge PortFast, and BPDU Guard protection.
• PTL-0045: Spanning Tree Root and Blocked-Port Investigation Investigating unexpected access root bridge takeovers, root path cost calculation, primary/secondary priority alignment, and core trunk unblocking.
• PTL-0007: Cisco Switch Security Hardening Best Practices Disabling DTP (switchport nonegotiate), dedicated native VLANs, parking lot blackhole VLAN, PortFast, and BPDU Guard.
• PTL-0006: Configuring Layer 2 EtherChannel with LACP Multi-link bundling using IEEE 802.3ad LACP, Port-channel logical interfaces, and trunking over aggregated links.
• PTL-0046: LACP EtherChannel Member Mismatch Diagnosis Diagnosing LACP member interface parameter mismatches, resolving suspended member ports, and verifying trunk link aggregation.
• PTL-0049: Campus Distribution and Access VLAN Design Multilayer campus distribution switching, 802.1Q trunking, SVI inter-VLAN routing, and end-to-end multi-VLAN service reachability.

Term 2: Routing Protocols, Services, and Perimeter Defense (Networking 2)#

Focuses on Layer 3 routing mechanisms, inter-VLAN routing, dynamic OSPF routing, automatic IP addressing, and packet filtering.

4. Router Interfaces and Connected Subnets#

• PTL-0015: IPv4 Subnetting and VLSM Network Design VLSM subnet calculations, prefix allocation (/26, /28, /30), and multi-site WAN point-to-point addressing.
• PTL-0047: VLSM Address Plan Fault Investigation Auditing enterprise VLSM allocations, diagnosing directed broadcast host assignments, remediating gateway capacity deficits, and optimizing WAN prefix lengths.
• PTL-0002: Configuring Cisco Router Interfaces IPv4 subnetting, dual-stack IPv6 interface configuration, link-local addresses, and loopback verification.
• PTL-0005: Verifying Directly Connected Networks Routing table interpretation, directly connected C routes, and local host L (/32 and /128) route verification.
• PTL-0014: Default Gateway Operation and Troubleshooting Host routing decisions, ARP resolution boundaries, and systematic troubleshooting of missing and misconfigured gateways.
• PTL-0026: IPv6 SLAAC and Neighbor Discovery Stateless address autoconfiguration, ICMPv6 router advertisements, host prefix derivation, and neighbor discovery table audit.

5. Inter-VLAN and Static Routing#

• PTL-0010: Router-on-a-Stick Inter-VLAN Routing 802.1Q subinterface routing (g0/0/0.10), default gateway assignment, and cross-VLAN packet delivery.
• PTL-0019: Layer 3 Switch SVIs and Routed Ports Multilayer switching, hardware CEF routing, Switch Virtual Interfaces (SVIs), SVI autostate, routed ports (no switchport), and default gateway routing.
• PTL-0001: Dual-Stack IPv4 and IPv6 Static Routing Recursive and next-hop static routes, ipv6 unicast-routing, default static routes (0.0.0.0/0 and ::/0).
• PTL-0027: IPv6 Static and Default Route Troubleshooting Recursive next-hop routing, default routes (::/0), multi-router transit verification, asymmetric return path troubleshooting.
• PTL-0028: Floating Static Routes and Administrative Distance Administrative distance hierarchy, primary vs. floating backup routes, link failure convergence, preemption upon circuit restoration.
• PTL-0048: Multi-Site Routing with Branch Networks Multi-site hub-and-spoke static routing, spoke default gateway egress, next-hop resolution troubleshooting, and symmetric return route provisioning.

6. Dynamic Routing and Infrastructure Services#

• PTL-0011: Single-Area OSPFv2 Configuration and Verification OSPF Area 0, router IDs, wildcard masks, passive interfaces on LAN segments, cost calculation, and neighbor states.
• PTL-0029: OSPFv2 DR and BDR Elections Multi-access broadcast OSPF networks, interface priority configuration (ip ospf priority), DR/BDR election hierarchy, DROTHER state, failover and non-preemption.
• PTL-0030: OSPFv2 Passive Interfaces and Neighbor Control OSPF Hello suppression, passive-interface default with selective interface activation, stub network propagation, and transit link hardening.
• PTL-0031: OSPFv2 Neighbor Adjacency Troubleshooting Diagnosing Hello/Dead timer mismatches, resolving Area ID conflicts, fixing missing network statements, and verifying full multi-router SPF convergence.
• PTL-0032: HSRP First-Hop Gateway Failover Configuring HSRPv2 priority, preemption, and virtual IP addresses across dual edge routers to provide high-availability default gateway services and transparent failover.
• PTL-0034: Single-Area OSPFv3 for IPv6 Configuring single-area OSPFv3 for IPv6, setting 32-bit Router IDs, activating interface Area 0, optimizing point-to-point transit links, and verifying full multi-router IPv6 convergence.
• PTL-0054: Dual-Stack IPv4 and IPv6 Branch Network Enterprise dual-stack architecture, simultaneous IPv4 and IPv6 static routing, hub-and-spoke transit design, and route next-hop fault isolation.
• PTL-0055: Integrated Branch Network Troubleshooting Challenge Enterprise multi-domain troubleshooting isolating Layer 2 trunk allowed VLAN pruning, DHCP relay failure, asymmetric WAN return routing, and perimeter ACL filtering.
• PTL-0012: Configuring Cisco IOS DHCPv4 Server and Relay Agent Centralized IOS DHCP server, address exclusion pools, lease options, and ip helper-address forwarding across subnets.
• PTL-0020: IPv4 Dynamic PAT at the Edge Port Address Translation (NAT Overload), standard ACL interesting traffic classification, inside/outside boundaries, and translation table inspection.
• PTL-0021: Static NAT and Inside Server Publishing One-to-one inside static NAT, public IP publishing, translation table analysis, and host security isolation.
• PTL-0022: DNS Records and HTTP Web Services Authoritative DNS resolution, A and CNAME resource record management, HTTP web portal delivery, and client name lookup.
• PTL-0023: NTP and Syslog Network Monitoring Network Time Protocol clock synchronization, millisecond log timestamping, centralized remote Syslog forwarding, and event correlation.
• PTL-0025: TFTP Configuration Backup and Restore Centralized configuration archiving over UDP port 69, simulated disaster alteration, complete state restoration, and failure diagnostic handling.
• PTL-0033: Stateful DHCPv6 Address Assignment Cisco IOS Stateful DHCPv6 server pools, ICMPv6 Router Advertisement Managed-config flags, client DUID lease tracking, and end-to-end IPv6 routing.
• PTL-0037: DNS Resolution Failure Troubleshooting Diagnosing and remediating client resolver address misconfigurations, disabled DNS daemon services, and missing A/CNAME resource records across routed enterprise subnets.
• PTL-0043: NAT and PAT Troubleshooting Challenge Diagnosing NAT inside/outside interface role errors, fixing translation ACL subnet mismatches, restoring dynamic PAT overload, and verifying translation tables.
• PTL-0052: DHCP Helper-Address Multi-Subnet Troubleshooting Diagnosing and remediating multi-subnet DHCP helper-address forwarding failures, subinterface helper-address misdirection, and central server pool scope mismatches.
• PTL-0035: WPA2 Wireless LAN Fundamentals Autonomous 802.11 access point integration, WPA2-Personal (Pre-Shared Key with AES encryption), Cisco IOS DHCP pool allocation, and authorized client verification.
• PTL-0036: Wireless VLAN Separation and Guest Access Multilayer switch SVIs, corporate vs guest VLAN isolation, multi-pool DHCP, WPA2-PSK security, and Extended ACL guest traffic restriction.

7. Traffic Filtering and Access Control#

• PTL-0013: Configuring Standard and Extended IPv4 Access Control Lists Standard ACLs near the destination, extended ACLs near the source, TCP/UDP port filtering, ICMP control, and implicit deny.
• PTL-0038: DHCP Snooping and Rogue DHCP Detection Cisco IOS DHCP snooping implementation, Option 82 configuration, trusted uplink definition, untrusted port rate limiting, and rogue DHCP mitigation.
• PTL-0039: Dynamic ARP Inspection and Spoofing Defense Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) deployment, trusted uplink definition, untrusted interface rate limiting, multi-attribute validation checks (src-mac, dst-mac, ip), and ARP spoofing mitigation.
• PTL-0040: Port Security Violation Troubleshooting Switchport port security troubleshooting, sticky MAC conflict resolution, administrative recovery of error-disabled ports, and violation mode auditing.
• PTL-0041: IPv4 ACL Troubleshooting with Traffic Matrix Traffic matrix validation, shadowed access list entry remediation, directional placement auditing, and wildcard mask calculation corrections.
• PTL-0042: Named Extended IPv4 ACL for Server Access Named extended ACL configuration, server farm perimeter defense, port-level DNS/HTTP filtering, and internal network segmentation.
• PTL-0050: Guest Network Segmentation with ACLs Enterprise guest network perimeter isolation, named extended IPv4 ACLs, least privilege service access, and unauthorized internal subnet blocking.
• PTL-0051: DMZ Services with Edge ACL Policy Three-legged perimeter DMZ architecture, edge router extended ACLs, outside inbound service filtering, and strict DMZ-to-corporate isolation.
• PTL-0053: Secure Management Network Design Dedicated management VLAN segmentation, cryptographic SSHv2 access, VTY access-class filtering, and data-plane boundary defense.

Term Capstone Integration Project#

• PTL Capstone: Small Office Multi-VLAN Network Design A complete synthesis project simulating a real-world multi-department corporate branch network integrating all competencies covered across both terms.