Packet networks incorporate two main concepts: packet-switching and bandwidth-on-demand.
Packet-switching refers to relaying user data in packets between two pieces of network equipment. This is implemented using routers to relay packets between circuits, and IP addresses to establish onto which circuit to relay them.
Bandwidth-on-demand refers to eliminating the reserved capacity between two devices, and connecting many devices to the circuit instead, each with the possibility of transmitting. When a device has nothing to transmit, another device may use the available capacity. The term bandwidth refers to transmission capacity, so this is called a bandwidth-on-demand or capacity-on-demand strategy.
Private networks are the beginning of our discussion of networking: using private lines - also called full-period services or dedicated lines - connected with routers, which is the simplest starting point to discuss packets, routers, addresses and bandwidth-on-demand.
In the next course, we make the discussion much more complex by eliminating the dedicated lines and using carrier packet network services, which are IP managed with MPLS.
We explain bandwidth-on-demand beginning with a recap of how - using channelized Time Division Multiplexing - voice, data and video are aggregated onto one high-speed circuit.
Then we turn to the issue that channels continually move bits, however, data traffic comes in bursts. We examine how to do this efficiently which is by overbooking also called statistical multiplexing.
Next, we understand how a network is implemented using routers relaying packets between circuits, and how routers are a control point for network security. We introduce the term Customer Edge router.
With that in place, we cover IP addressing: address classes, dotted decimal notation, DHCP, static and dynamic addresses, private and public addresses, network address translation, then end with an overview of IPv6 including looking at how IPv6 addresses are first allocated and then assigned.