Week 4 - The Cloud's Private Side

One cloud networking concept that really stood out to me is the Virtual Private Cloud or VPC. Before learning about it, I assumed everything in the cloud was just shared by everyone. After reading more about VPCs, I realized they're more like having your own private section inside a public cloud. You get to decide how your network is set up, including IP address ranges, subnets, routing, and security rules. That gives businesses more control while still taking advantage of the flexibility and scalability of cloud services.

What I like most about VPCs is that they help make cloud environments feel more secure. Companies can separate different applications or departments into their own networks while controlling who has access to what. It also makes it easier to connect cloud resources with on-premises networks when and where needed. Overall, I think VPCs are one of the most important parts of cloud networking because they combine the convenience of the cloud with the control of a traditional private network and it makes sense why a business might opt in to this service.

Week 3 - More Than Drag-and-Drop

For the longest time, I honestly thought migrating to the cloud was  just a way of saying you copied and pasted your company's files from a  server on prem to Amazon Web Services. But I learned that it is much  deeper than a simple drag-and-drop. It’s actually a more like moving  into a new house. You realize you shouldn't just bring all your old,  broken furniture into your new place. While some companies do literally  just moving their existing virtual machines over without changing a  single thing, it's important to take the time to review and modernize  their applications for their new environment.

Learning about this how I view the tech landscape. When a business finally  decides to pack up its digital life and move off-site, it's almost  rewriting its operational DNA. By taking the time to break down big, outdated applications into smaller, flexible pieces, these companies unlock a sort of superpower and totally transformation a business.

Week 2 - The Engine of Virtualization

    This week, we took a look at what makes virtualization possible. If you are spinning up virtual machines, you are most definitely relying on a hypervisor to slice up the CPU, memory, and storage. But they don't all operate the same way, and it usually comes down to whether you are dealing with a Type 1 or Type 2 hypervisor.

    Type 1, also known as "bare-metal," installs directly onto the server's physical hardware without needing an operating system beneath it getting in the way. It's like building a house directly on a fresh plot of land. It's fast, efficient, and is what data centers run. On the other hand, Type 2 hypervisors run on top of an existing OS, like Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's like renting an apartment inside an existing building. Because Type 2 hypervisors have to ask the host OS for resources, they have more overhead and are not quite as fast and efficient. However, if you just want to test a new Linux distro on your laptop without completely overwriting your main hard drive, they're great.

Week 1 - The First Instance

 Hello everyone,

    My name is Bilal, and I am pursuing a BS in Information Technology. I have an IT background from my days in the United States Air Force; however, I have always been interested in technology and how things worked under the hood. I spent a little over 9 years as a Satellite Communications Technician, working on the ground terminals used to connect to military satellites in space. It was hard work but rewarding, which led me to choose this major. 

    This blog will be where I share my knowledge, experiences, and maybe even a few lessons learned along the way. I'll be attempting to break down concepts and dissect the inner workings of network devices and protocols to help build a deeper understanding of the field. If you're also an aspiring network professional or someone curious about how computers communicate over the internet, I hope you enjoy following along as I attempt to decode networks.