LRN: APRIL 15, 2024
       
       My second entry in a series of logs used to track progress towards
       articulating and reaching my learning objectives. This entry is
       completed on a Monday, which is the beginning of my week. So I will
       use this entry to lay out what I hope to accomplish in the next six
       days.
       
       
       CCNA
       ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
       I've decided to follow an online CCNA-inspired course. I chose this
       certiface's coursework rather randomly. A few online recommendations
       suggested the subject was was good, and my review of course content
       seemed to confirm this. I intend for the course to help me understand
       at least the datalink layer in computer networking. It should help me
       reach towards another objective I've set, which is to setup my own
       home network. In this week, I intend to prepare myself for the course
       by setting up my notes, reviewing the entire curriculum in greater
       detail, and dipping my toes into the first few materials.
       
       
       Curriculum and learning methods
       ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
       I still need to layout more foundation for what and how I intend to
       learn. I have notes I've manually written that need to be entered into
       my computer. In this week, I will move all my notes into my computer
       and finalize more curriculum problem/solutions.
       
       
       Networking tools and their use
       ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
       I have been using a bit of `tcpdump' and Wireshark to debug protocols
       and interfaces. For instance: debugging the BOOTP/DHCP protocol while
       my router/firewall tries to get an IP lease, analyzing server logs for
       port 70 (Gopher) to see what kind of traffic I'm getting, capturing
       SFTP connections to see why they're failing (client/server protocol
       mismatch: ftp vs sftp). I need to document these experiences vis a vis
       the NET-101 problem/solution I set last week. In this week, I will
       note down the reasons for using `tcpdump' and Wireshark (as I just
       mentioned), note the command used to capture packets, and note any
       observations I got from the packet analysis.
       
       
       Building an application protocol
       ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
       I have started to work on building my own application protocol, a
       protocol for setting up and getting information from IoT sensor
       devices on my home network. I'm diving into this work ahead of some
       other items that shoLd logically be completed first. I think that's
       OK. At least: I'm willing to entertain this order of operations as an
       experiment to see whether leading with a hands-on activity gets me
       excited and attentive to the more theoretical activities.