Audience: IT support staff, junior network engineers, system admins, or anyone transitioning into data center operations.
Day 1: Foundations of Data Center Networking
Module 1: Introduction to Data Centers
What is a Data Center?
Types of Data Centers (Enterprise, Hyperscale, Colocation, Edge)
Components: Servers, Storage, Network, Cooling, Power
Key Concepts: Redundancy, Availability, Scalability
Module 2: Basics of Networking
Network Topologies and Models (OSI, TCP/IP)
Switches, Routers, Firewalls: Roles and Functions
IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics
VLANs and Trunking Explained
Module 3: Data Center Network Architecture
Core, Aggregation, Access Layers
North-South vs East-West Traffic
Physical and Logical Network Design
Understanding Fabric Networking and Spine-Leaf Topology
Day 2: Technologies and Protocols in the Data Center
Module 4: Layer 2 Technologies in the Data Center
Ethernet, MAC Addressing, ARP
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and Variants
Link Aggregation (LACP), Redundancy
Module 5: Layer 3 Technologies
Routing Protocols Overview (OSPF, BGP basics)
Default Gateway, Static vs Dynamic Routing
Inter-VLAN Routing
Module 6: Key Data Center Protocols and Services
DHCP, DNS in a Data Center Context
Network Address Translation (NAT)
VXLAN (Intro), SDN Concepts
Load Balancing Basics
Day 3 : Tools, Trends, and Hands-On
Module 7: Network Management and Monitoring
SNMP, NetFlow, Syslog
Introduction to Monitoring Tools (e.g., SolarWinds, PRTG)
Fault, Configuration, and Performance Management
Module 8: Trends in Data Center Networking
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Network Virtualization
Converged and Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)
Edge Computing and Cloud Networking Basics
Module 9: Hands-On / Lab Session
Simulating VLANs and Trunks (Packet Tracer or GNS3)
Basic Switch and Router Configuration
Inter-VLAN Routing Setup
Simple Network Design Scenario (Group Exercise)