Welcome to Book 3
Networking vocabulary and the Workshop Co. office lab.
In this book
- Read and write IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
- Explain public vs private space and NAT
- Plan subnets with CIDR notation
- Choose static IPs vs DHCP for devices
- Design a small office LAN for Workshop Co.
- Troubleshoot connectivity with ping, traceroute, and mtr
Why networking matters for Workshop Co.
Workshop Co. started online-only. Now they lease a storefront in Edmonton with a wood shop, front office, point-of-sale tablet, security cameras, and guest Wi‑Fi for class attendees. Every device needs an IP address. The router shares one public IP to the internet. This book teaches you to plan that LAN without guessing.
Workshop Co. — physical location
- Address
- 12406 82 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB (fictional)
- ISP
- Fibre with one static public IPv4 (
198.51.100.44) - Router
- Business gateway — handles NAT, DHCP, guest VLAN
- Cloud
- Website still on Swift Host VPS at
203.0.113.10 - Staff
- 6 laptops, 2 printers, 4 cameras, POS, Wi‑Fi for ~20 guests in class
Book 2 → Book 3
Book 2 ended at the server. Book 3 zooms out to addresses and routing — the plumbing that lets packets leave Workshop Co.’s shop and reach workshopco.ca on the other side of the country.
Draw diagrams as you read. Subnetting clicks faster on paper than in your head. Use a /24 calculator only after you can estimate usable hosts manually.
What you need
- Books 1–2 helpful but not required
- Calculator for CIDR exercises (phone is fine)
- Optional: home router admin access to compare real settings
Try it yourself — inventory your network
List every device on your home or office Wi‑Fi. For each, note wired vs wireless and whether you know its IP address (fixed or unknown).
Discussion notes
Most homes have 10–30 devices — phones, TVs, thermostats. Few people know all IPs because DHCP assigns them automatically. Workshop Co. needs a plan for devices that must stay reachable (printers, cameras, POS).
Key terms introduced
- IP address
- A numeric label for a host on a network (IPv4 or IPv6).
- LAN
- Local Area Network — devices in one building or site.
- Gateway
- Router interface that forwards traffic to other networks (usually the internet).
- NAT
- Network Address Translation — many private IPs share one public IP.