This page contains links to explanations on a number of network topics. Many of these were written by current and past ITP students from the Understanding Networks class.
Protocols
- A Gentle Introduction to HTTP by Maria del pilar Gomez ruiz
- An Introduction to Websockets by Yuguang Zhang
- An Introduction to CORS by Yuguang Zhang
- An Introduction to REST by Youming Zhang
- An Introduction to Single Page Applications and Static Site Generators by Bowei Xu
- Domain Name System (external link) by Ziv Schneider
- Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) by Sam Heckle
- What We Should Know about DNS by Koji Kanao
- Proxies by Chaski No
- Blockchain, Explained by John Bezark
- VPNs: A Beginner’s Guide by Philip Andrew McCausland
- WiFi and how it works by Sebastian Morales
- 802.11: What Our WiFi Standards Allow by Rashida Kamal
- Brief Summary of Wireless Protocols by Tom Igoe
- An Introduction to Open Sound Control by Kexin Lin
- ifconfig (external link) by Aaron Arntz
Encryption
- A basic explanation of public key encryption
- An excellent explanation of the math behind public key encryption, found by Ben Gullard
- Demystifying the Dark Web: An Introduction to Tor and Onion Routing by Jacquelyn L Liu
- Cryptographic Hash Functions by Tracey Shi
Physical Networks
- Power & Puerto Rico: the Electrical Transmission Grid by Jennifer Lim
- Fiber to the Home (external link) by Sabrina Osmany
- Network Connections and Colocation Facilities by Stephanie Koltun
- An Introduction to Cell Networks by Kenzo Nakamura
- An explanation of Fiber Optic Cables and Transmission by Jasmine Soltani
- Building Management Systems – An Overview by Tushar Goyal and Ching-Hsi (Sid) Chou
Business, Governance, and Regulation
- The Bodies of Internet Governance by Tom Igoe
- Internet as Public Utility? By Sukanya Aneja
- Net Neutrality by Anna Gudnason
- The ITU and 3GPP: an introduction to the process of making 5G standards by Ming Pu Shao