AP Networking Pilot Course Guide Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering computer hardware, CLI commands, OSI/TCP models, networking topologies, IP addressing, and cybersecurity principles from the AP Networking Pilot Course Guide.

Hardware

The physical components that make up a computer system.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Commonly referred to as a processor, it is responsible for executing required arithmetic, logic, and input/output operations; often organized as multicore for faster speeds.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

A volatile form of memory that temporarily holds data being used for immediate operations; data is lost if power is removed.

Storage

Nonvolatile hardware used to hold data long term, such as solid state drives (SSD) and hard disk drives (HDD).

Software

The programs executed on a computer to perform specific tasks.

Firmware

Software that manages hardware components, including device initialization (boot) and communication between hardware; examples include BIOS and UEFI.

Operating System

Software that interfaces between the user and the hardware, managing system resources and performing tasks like launching applications (e.g., Windows, macOS, Linux).

Driver

Software that allows a specific device, such as a printer or USB drive, to communicate with the computer's operating system.

Virtual Instance (Virtual Machine)

An emulation of a physical computer running an operating system and applications, often used to provide scalability.

File System

A logical structure managed by the operating system that names and stores files on a computer system.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

An interface that uses icons, menus, and windows to allow users to interact with a computer system intuitively.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

A text-based interface used for inputting commands through a terminal, which can offer faster and more efficient administration.

Absolute Path

A file path that begins with the root directory (Linux) or a drive letter (Windows).

Relative Path

A path given in relation to the current working directory rather than starting from the root or drive letter.

sudo

A command used to temporarily elevate privileges to a superuser without needing to log in as an administrator.

mkdir / rmdir

CLI commands used to create a new directory and remove a directory, respectively.

touch

A command used to create a new file or update the timestamp of an existing file.

mv / cp

CLI commands used to move (or rename) a file and copy a file, respectively.

cat

A Mac/Linux command used to concatenate and print the contents of files.

grep

A command-line utility used to perform searches for specific text within a file.

Power Cycle

Turning a device off and back on to reset it, clear RAM, and apply software updates.

Cybersecurity

The practice of preventing, detecting, and responding to adversarial attacks or natural disasters to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of data and systems.

CIA Triad

The three pillars of security: Confidentiality (privacy), Integrity (authenticity/accuracy), and Availability (reliable access).

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

Sensitive information that can be used to identify a specific individual; its exposure is a significant consequence of a security breach.

Social Engineering

Attacks used by adversaries to manipulate users into revealing sensitive information, often by heightening emotions or creating urgency.

Phishing

A digital social engineering attack where an adversary poses as a legitimate source via email to gain credentials or sensitive data.

Tailgating / Piggybacking

Physical social engineering tactics where an unauthorized person follows an authorized person into a secure area without their knowledge or by deception/permission.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet-connected devices such as smart watches and home appliances that often feature software vulnerabilities and insecure default settings.

Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

A security requirement that an individual provide two or more types of information (factors) to log into an account.

Biometrics

Authentication using innate physical markers like fingerprint scans, facial recognition, or retina scans.

Binary

A base-$2$ numbering system using digits $0$ and $1$ (bits) to represent data.

Network Node

Any device connected to a network, such as computers, servers, switches, or routers.

Host

A specific type of network node that actively participates in the generation or consumption of data.

Networking Protocols

Rules used on computer networks to define how messages are exchanged, formatted, and sequenced between nodes.

Encapsulation

The process of a sending node adding headers and trailers to data as it moves down through the layers of the OSI or TCP/IP models.

Protocol Data Unit (PDU)

A single unit of information transmitted over a network; names change by layer (e.g., bits, frames, packets, segments).

Local Area Network (LAN)

A collection of devices connected in one physical location, like a home or office building.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A network that connects multiple LANs together or spans large geographical locations; the Internet is an example.

Bus Topology

A network arrangement where all nodes are connected to a single medium that transmits data in one direction.

Star Topology

A topology where each node is connected to a central network device (usually a switch), making it easy to scale and troubleshoot.

Mesh Topology

A resilient network arrangement where each node is connected directly to every other node.

Twisted Pair Cable

Cabling with copper conductors twisted together to cancel electromagnetic interference (EMI); includes categories like CAT$5$e and CAT$6$.

Fiber Optic Cable

High-speed cabling that carries signals using light through a glass core; immune to EMI and capable of long-distance transmission over $100\,km$.

Media Access Control (MAC) Address

A unique $48$-bit physical address assigned to a network interface card (NIC) by the manufacturer; it is portable across networks.

Internet Protocol (IP) Address

A logical address assigned based on the network a device is accessing; not portable, as it changes when moving to different networks.

IPv4 / IPv6

Addressing schemes using $32$ bits in dotted-decimal format and $128$ bits in hexadecimal format.

Subnet Mask

A $32$-bit sequence used to determine which portion of an IP address refers to the network ID and which refers to the host ID.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

A protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses and network settings to devices on a network.

Content Addressable Memory (CAM) Table

A table used by a switch to track which MAC addresses are connected to which physical ports.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

A data link layer protocol used to map MAC addresses to IP addresses for devices on a network.

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)

A method for hosts to automatically address themselves in the range $169.254.0.1$ to $169.254.255.255$ when a DHCP server is unavailable.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

A logical segmentation of a network within a switch that groups devices into separate LANs for improved security and performance.

Firewall

A security barrier that monitors and controls network traffic by admitting or denying entry based on specific rules (ACLs).

MAC Spoofing

An intrusion where a device masks its original MAC address to impersonate another device and bypass access controls.

Principle of Least Privilege

A security principle that restricts user access to the minimum levels necessary to perform their required tasks.

Network Address Translation (NAT)

A protocol that replaces private IP addresses in outgoing packets with a single public IP address to conserve public address space.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

A connection-oriented transport layer protocol that guarantees reliable delivery of data through a three-way handshake and acknowledgments.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

A connectionless transport layer protocol focused on transmission speed with minimal overhead, used for streaming and gaming.

Domain Name System (DNS)

An application layer protocol (Port $53$) that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.

Secure Shell (SSH)

A protocol (Port $22$) used to securely and remotely access a device's command line interface via encrypted communication.

Subnetting

A network segmentation method that divides a larger network into smaller logical sections to reduce congestion and improve management.

Variable-Length Subnet Masking (VLSM)

The use of custom subnet masks to allow for different-sized subnets and more efficient IP address allocation.

Defense in Depth

A layered security strategy involving multiple managerial, technical, and physical controls to protect data.

Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

A security tool that passively monitors network traffic for suspicious patterns and generates alerts.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

A security tool that actively monitors traffic and takes immediate action to block suspicious packets when threats are detected.

Screened Subnet (DMZ)

A network segment located behind a firewall that is externally accessible but separated from the internal private LAN.