Updated in May 2025.

This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This course provides essential skills in network security, troubleshooting, and preparation for certification exams. You will gain a deep understanding of core networking services, security practices, common network attacks, and effective defense strategies. By the end, you'll be well-prepared to handle network issues and ensure secure operations in diverse network environments. Starting with an introduction to network services like DNS, NTP, and PTP, the course guides you through essential network functionalities. You'll then explore key concepts in network security, focusing on encryption, IAM, and various authentication types. The course continues by detailing common network attacks, including DoS, VLAN hopping, ARP poisoning, and DNS spoofing, providing insights into preventing these threats. You will also learn how to implement robust network defense strategies such as device hardening, NAC, key management, and honeypot techniques. Practical troubleshooting skills are a major focus, with lessons on resolving cable, interface, hardware, and wireless issues, alongside using powerful tools like iPerf and OS-level commands. This course is perfect for aspiring network professionals and those preparing for certification exams like Network+. It is ideal for individuals seeking hands-on experience with network security, troubleshooting, and exam prep, with no advanced prior knowledge required.