Zero knowledge → degree → professional → expert

Computer Systems & Networking

Hardware, operating systems, networking and architecture

79 structured topics, each reinforced with plain-language teaching, memory hooks, hands-on practice, retrieval, teach-back, speed recall, professional transfer and spaced review.

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How mastery works

1. Five-year-old simple

Every new term is explained without assumed knowledge and linked to a familiar picture.

2. Do it

Guided labs, typing, diagrams, configurations, queries or professional artefacts turn words into usable skill.

3. Retrieve it

No-peeking recall, teach-back and 60-second checks force the brain to retrieve instead of recognise.

4. Use it professionally

Failure modes, security, evidence, capstones and spaced repetition build degree and workplace fluency.

Course topics

  1. Computer Architecture — Von Neumann model
  2. CPU Fundamentals — ALU, CU, registers
  3. Fetch-Execute Cycle — Instruction processing
  4. Memory Hierarchy — Cache, RAM, storage
  5. Storage Devices — HDD, SSD, NVMe
  6. Motherboard & Buses — System bus, expansion slots
  7. I/O Devices — Input/output peripherals
  8. GPU Fundamentals — Graphics processing
  9. Operating Systems Intro — OS purpose and functions
  10. Process Management — Processes and threads
  11. Memory Management — Virtual memory, paging
  12. File Systems — FAT, NTFS, ext4
  13. CPU Scheduling — FCFS, SJN, Round Robin
  14. Linux Basics — Command line essentials
  15. Shell Scripting — Bash automation
  16. Networking Introduction — What is a network?
  17. Network Types — LAN, WAN, MAN, PAN
  18. OSI Model — 7 layers of networking
  19. TCP/IP Model — 4-layer internet model
  20. IP Addressing — IPv4 and IPv6
  21. Subnetting Basics — Subnet masks and CIDR
  22. DNS — Domain name system
  23. DHCP — Dynamic IP assignment
  24. TCP vs UDP — Transport layer protocols
  25. HTTP & HTTPS — Web protocols
  26. Routing Basics — How data finds its path
  27. Switching — Layer 2 switching
  28. VLANs — Virtual LANs
  29. NAT & PAT — Address translation
  30. Cloud Computing — IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
  31. Virtualization — VMs and hypervisors
  32. Containers — Docker basics
  33. Server Administration — Managing servers
  34. Network Security — Firewalls and encryption
  35. Network Troubleshooting — Ping, traceroute, netstat
  36. Little Man Computer — Simple CPU model
  37. LMC Instructions — ADD, SUB, STA, LDA, BRA
  38. Writing LMC Programs — Input, output, branching
  39. LMC Loops & Counting — Iteration in assembly
  40. Assembly Language Intro — Low-level programming
  41. Instruction Set Architecture — RISC vs CISC
  42. CPU Pipelining — Instruction-level parallelism
  43. Cache Strategies — Write-through, write-back, mapping
  44. RAM Types — SRAM, DRAM, DDR generations
  45. Bus Architecture — Address, data, control buses
  46. Interrupts — Hardware and software interrupts
  47. DMA (Direct Memory Access) — Bypassing the CPU for I/O
  48. BIOS & UEFI — Firmware and boot process
  49. Boot Process — POST to OS loading
  50. Deadlocks — Detection and prevention
  51. Concurrency in OS — Semaphores and mutexes
  52. Disk Scheduling — FCFS, SSTF, SCAN
  53. File Permissions — chmod, ownership, ACLs
  54. Ethernet — Wired networking standards
  55. Wi-Fi Standards — 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
  56. ARP Protocol — IP to MAC resolution
  57. ICMP Protocol — Ping and error reporting
  58. FTP & SMTP — File transfer and email protocols
  59. Network Topologies — Star, bus, ring, mesh
  60. Advanced Subnetting — VLSM and supernetting
  61. IPv6 Addressing — 128-bit addressing scheme
  62. Routing Protocols — OSPF, RIP, BGP
  63. Network Design — Planning enterprise networks
  64. Software-Defined Networking — Programmable network control
  65. Kubernetes Introduction — Container orchestration
  66. Disaster Recovery — Backup and recovery strategies
  67. Performance Monitoring — SNMP, Nagios, Prometheus
  68. Visual Studio Code — Essential shortcuts and extensions
  69. IDEs & Code Editors — IntelliJ, Eclipse, VS Code, PyCharm
  70. Python Introduction — Syntax, functions, and data types
  71. Python Data Structures — Lists, dicts, loops, comprehensions
  72. Git & GitHub Workflow — Branching, PRs, Actions, CI/CD
  73. SQL Fundamentals — CRUD, JOINs, aggregation, normalization
  74. Networking Fundamentals — OSI model, TCP/UDP, handshake
  75. Operating Systems Overview — OS types, processes, threads
  76. Terraform & IaC — Infrastructure as Code with HCL
  77. Ansible Automation — Agentless config management
  78. AWS Core Services — EC2, S3, Lambda, IAM, VPC
  79. Cloud Certifications — AWS CCP, SAA, Azure, GCP paths

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