You can spend another few months watching random YouTube videos, saving tutorials, and jumping between resources without knowing what to learn next.

Or you can start building your networking knowledge with a clear direction.

If you're aiming for a Network Engineer role, preparing for CCNA, or planning to move into cybersecurity, these resources can help you get started:

Computer Networking All-in-One for Dummies
Need to strengthen your fundamentals? Start here.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/computer-networking-all-in-one-for-dummies/

Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1, L2 & L3)
One collection covering the journey from networking foundations to advanced network architecture.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

Enterprise Network Penetration Testing
Already interested in cybersecurity? Learn about testing enterprise networks for security weaknesses.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/enterprise-network-penetration-testing/

Think about it: when a networking opportunity comes along, will you be ready to explain the concepts, understand the architecture, and work through technical problems? Or will you still be trying to figure out where to begin?

Your career won't change just because you bought a book. It changes when you finally put the right knowledge to work.

Choose the resource that fits your goal, start learning, and build from there.

💬 Learning alongside others? Join the Codelivly community: https://discord.gg/adX98594jg

Everyone starts somewhere.

You don’t need to know everything about networking on day one. Start with the fundamentals: OSI model, TCP/IP, IP addressing, subnetting, VLANs, routing, switching, DHCP, DNS, NAT, ACLs, and then actually practice what you learn.

If you’re serious about getting into network engineering, CCNA is a solid place to build that foundation.

Learn the concepts.
Build the labs.
Break things.
Troubleshoot them.
Repeat.

If you’re looking for a structured way to get started, here are two resources:

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

🌐Free Network Engineer Career Path
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/network-engineer

No need to rush it. Start with the basics, practice consistently, and build your way up.

Future Network Engineer loading… 👶🌐

I’ve been going through SOC Analyst interview prep recently, and I’m realizing that knowing definitions isn’t really enough.

You can memorize what a SIEM is, what an IOC means, or what the incident response lifecycle looks like. But when someone gives you an actual alert and asks “What would you do next?”, you need to be able to think through it.

The areas I’m focusing on:

• SOC fundamentals and analyst responsibilities
• SIEM and security monitoring
• Windows and Linux log analysis
• Common attacks and suspicious activity
• Incident response
• Basic malware analysis
• Networking fundamentals
• MITRE ATT&CK, IOCs, TTPs and hashing
• Scenario-based questions

One scenario I’m practicing:

>You notice multiple failed login attempts coming from a foreign IP. What do you do?

I’d want to explain how I would validate the alert, check the source IP, identify the targeted account, look for a successful login afterward, correlate other logs, determine the scope, and decide whether it needs escalation or containment.

That seems much more useful than simply saying “it could be a brute-force attack.”

A lot of current SOC interview prep also emphasizes explaining your investigation process and reasoning, rather than just recalling terminology.

For anyone else preparing for SOC roles, what questions or scenarios are you practicing?

Learn → Practice → Investigate → Improve

Free Learning : https://www.codleilvy.com

I’ve started going through the basics of Digital Forensics, and honestly, it’s one of those areas of cybersecurity that makes you look at incidents differently.

It’s not just about finding a suspicious file.

You’re trying to figure out what happened, when it happened, what was involved, and whether the evidence can actually be trusted.

So far, I’m focusing on:

• Evidence collection and preservation
• Chain of custody
• Disk and memory artifacts
• Browser and email artifacts
• File metadata
• Deleted file recovery
• Hashing and evidence integrity
• Timeline analysis
• Basic forensic tools like Autopsy, FTK Imager, Volatility, Wireshark and Plaso

I’m also following a Digital Forensics career path that puts these topics into a more structured learning order.

If anyone else is learning DF or planning to get into it, these might be useful:

Digital Forensics Playbook:
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/digital-forensics-playbook/

Free Digital Forensics Career Path:
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/digital-forensics

Codelivly Discord:
https://discord.gg/kY88n2X2re

Still learning, but figured I’d share it for anyone else getting started with digital forensics.

Free malware analysis, reverse engineering and exploit development resources

If you're learning malware analysis, reverse engineering, or exploit development, there are a lot of genuinely good free resources available.

Here’s a list worth bookmarking:

🔴 Malware & Reverse Engineering

• Exploit Reversing — 700+ pages of malware analysis and exploit research
https://exploitreversing.com

• Malware Unicorn — RE101, RE102, macOS reverse engineering and PE injection
https://malwareunicorn.org

• Malware Research / University Course — Full malware analysis course
https://class.malware.re

• Azeria Labs — ARM assembly, shellcode and heap exploitation
https://azeria-labs.com

• revers.engineering — Applied reverse engineering and hypervisor development
https://revers.engineering

🔴 Binary & Kernel Exploitation

• pwn.college — From buffer overflows to kernel exploitation
https://pwn.college

• P.Ost2 — 30+ courses covering WinDbg, IDA, Ghidra, UEFI and kernel exploitation
https://p.ost2.fyi

• Corelan — Exploit development tutorials covering years of research
https://corelan.be

• Windows Internals — Windows internals, secure kernel, VBS, KDP and dynamic analysis
https://windows-internals.com

For beginners

If you're completely new to malware analysis, I also put together a beginner-focused book covering the fundamentals, lab setup, static/dynamic analysis and practical concepts:

📘 Malware Analysis for Beginners
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/malware-analysis-for-beginners/

And for a more structured learning path:

https://codelivly.com/career-paths/malware-analyst

Save these somewhere. There’s enough material here to keep you busy for a long time.

What other free malware/reversing resources would you add to this list?

If you’re interested in digital forensics / DFIR and want something more structured than jumping between random tutorials, Codelivly has a free Digital Forensics career path.

It covers things like:

• File systems and evidence handling
• Disk forensics
• Memory forensics
• Network forensics
• Log analysis and timeline reconstruction
• Malware analysis
• Chain of custody
• Digital investigation

The path includes 18 learning paths and practical work with tools like Autopsy, FTK Imager, Volatility, and Wireshark. You can work through it at your own pace and track your progress as you go.

It's completely free to study:

https://codelivly.com/career-paths/digital-forensics

There’s also a Discord community if you want to discuss cybersecurity, labs, or learning with other people:

https://discord.gg/RTZyZXATE

If you're learning DFIR right now, would be interested to hear what you're working on.

If you're trying to build practical skills instead of just collecting courses, these are worth checking out:

• Splunk: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Splunk-Projects-For-Beginners
• Windows Forensics: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Windows-Forensics-Projects-for-Beginners
• Log Analysis: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Log-Analysis-Projects-for-Beginners
• Active Directory: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Active-Directory-Monitoring-Projects
• Security Assessments: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Security-Assessments-projects-for-Beginners
• Vulnerability Management: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Vulnerability-Management-Projects-for-Beginners
• Malware Analysis: https://github.com/0xrajneesh/Malware-Analysis-Projects-for-Beginners

If you're looking for a structured roadmap:

SOC Analyst Level 1:
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/soc-analyst-level-1

Malware Analyst:
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/malware-analyst

You type “Hello”, hit send, and it looks instant.

But behind that one message, the data goes through several layers before it reaches the other device.

This is encapsulation:

Data → Segment → Packet → Frame → Bits

At the sender:

• Layer 7 – Application: The app creates the data.
• Layer 6 – Presentation: Data can be formatted, compressed, or encrypted.
• Layer 5 – Session: The communication session is managed.
• Layer 4 – Transport: TCP/UDP and port information are added.
• Layer 3 – Network: Source and destination IP addresses are added.
• Layer 2 – Data Link: MAC addresses and frame information are added.
• Layer 1 – Physical: Everything becomes bits/signals traveling through the network.

At the other end, the process happens in reverse:

Bits → Frame → Packet → Segment → Data

That's decapsulation.

Once you understand this, troubleshooting becomes much easier. Instead of thinking “the network isn't working”, you can start asking:

Is it the application?
The port?
The IP/routing?
The MAC/VLAN?
Or the physical connection?

I put together this diagram as a quick reference while studying networking. Thought it might be useful for anyone working through CCNA, Network+ or general networking fundamentals.

And if you're currently learning networking, having something more structured than random tutorials helped me a lot. These are a few resources worth keeping around depending on where you're at:

📘 Complete L1 → L2 → L3 Network Engineer bundle — useful if you want everything in one place:
Network Engineer Complete Bundle L1–L3

📗 Computer Networking All-in-One — a broader reference for networking fundamentals:
Computer Networking All-in-One for Dummies

📕 CCNA Practical — more focused on the hands-on side of networking and Cisco concepts:
CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide

Honestly, I'd rather have one solid reference open while doing labs than keep jumping between 15 browser tabs. 😅

What part of the OSI model took you the longest to understand?

SOC work has changed a lot.

It used to be mostly log checking, signature-based alerts, manual investigation, and following playbooks. Now there’s a lot more focus on automation, threat hunting, behavioral detection, EDR/XDR, SOAR, threat intel, and actually understanding what’s happening across the environment.

Made this quick comparison for anyone learning SOC or trying to figure out what skills to work on next.

What would you add to the “New SOC Analyst” side?

How on earth do ppl learn this in only few months?

I have a full time job and a family. It tool me a little more than a year to prep for CCNA.

Now I’m doing ENCOR, but with my progress it will definitely take at least 2 years.

And here ppl bragging on Linkedin it took them only 3.5 months? Like what the fuck…this really just makes me feel like an idiot to IT.

I’m just curious to read your take on this.

When I first started looking into SOC analyst roles, I kept running into the same problem — there was a lot of information, but not much of a clear path.

One resource would cover SIEM. Another would jump straight into threat hunting. Then I'd find something about detection engineering without really knowing what I should learn first.

So I started putting together a structured path around the progression from SOC Analyst L1 → L2 → L3.

The idea is pretty simple:

L1 → alert triage, investigation, and the fundamentals
L2 → deeper investigations and threat hunting
L3 → detection engineering and building better detections

I ended up turning the material into three practical playbooks, along with a complete bundle for anyone who wants to go through all three levels.

L1: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/soc-analyst-level-1-the-practical-playbook/

L2: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/soc-analyst-level-2-the-threat-hunters-playbook/

L3: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/soc-analyst-level-3/

Complete bundle: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/soc-analyst-the-complete-l1-l2-l3/

And if you're just starting out, I also made the SOC Analyst career path free:

https://codelivly.com/career-paths/soc-analyst-level-1

Hopefully this saves someone else from spending weeks jumping between random resources like I did.

Put together this Nmap cheat sheet as a quick reference for common scanning commands.

Nothing fancy, just the commands I find useful when practicing Nmap and working through labs.

Sharing it here in case it helps someone else. Save it for later if you're learning network scanning.

If you're working toward an L2 Network Engineer role, having a basic troubleshooting flow and knowing what to check first can save a lot of time.

I put together a quick cheat sheet covering:

• Basic switch & router commands
• VLANs and trunking
• STP and root bridge
• Native vs allowed VLANs
• EtherChannel (LACP/PAgP)
• Switching troubleshooting
• Common network issues and fixes
• Routing basics
• Useful show commands
• Wireless troubleshooting
• Important networking protocols
• Subnet masks and VLAN ranges
• ITIL and change management reminders

The main troubleshooting flow is pretty simple:

Check → Verify → Isolate → Fix → Test → Document

The biggest thing I've learned is that knowing the command isn't enough. You need to understand what the output is actually telling you.

If you're learning networking or already working in L1/L2 support, hope this helps.

Also, if anyone wants to discuss networking, labs, troubleshooting or career stuff, we have a Discord community here:

https://discord.gg/RTZyZXATE

Sharing some handwritten networking notes for anyone learning networking or preparing for networking exams.

If you want to go deeper, we also have the Codelivly Network Engineer Complete Bundle, covering L1, L2 and L3 from the basics to advanced network architecture.

Hope these are useful.

Network Engineer Complete Bundle

If you're trying to get into networking and keep seeing “experience required” on every job posting, this might be useful.

I'm running a 35% discount on our Network Engineering training right now.

The focus is practical stuff you actually need for a Network Engineer / Network Administrator role networking fundamentals, routing, switching, subnetting, troubleshooting, network administration and hands-on work.

The idea is simple: learn it, practice it, and have something meaningful to put on your CV.

Good fit if you're:

• Starting networking from scratch
• Studying for a networking career
• Trying to move into network administration
• Preparing for your first Network Engineer job
• Looking to strengthen your CV with practical projects

35% off:
https://training.codelivly.com/programs/network-engineering

Worth checking out if networking is the direction you're trying to move into.

It’s knowing what to do when something breaks.

You can spend weeks learning TCP/IP, subnetting, routing, switching and protocols.

Then you’re suddenly looking at a real network and thinking:

“Okay… where do I even start troubleshooting this?”

That gap between knowing networking and actually working with networks is what I wanted to focus on.

I’m running a hands-on Network Engineering training program built around practical labs, troubleshooting, real-world scenarios and project experience.

The goal is simple: stop just memorizing networking concepts and start getting comfortable actually working with them.

Live classes are included, and if work or other commitments prevent you from attending, the live sessions are recorded so you can catch up later.

If you’re trying to get back into networking, transition into the field, or build stronger practical skills, you can check out the program here:

https://training.codelivly.com/programs/network-engineering

Enrollment closes September 14.

One thing that took me a while to understand about ethical hacking:

Knowing a bunch of tools doesn't automatically make you good at penetration testing.

The real skill is knowing how to approach a target.

You start with reconnaissance.
Then enumeration.
Then you figure out what is actually exposed.
From there, you look for weaknesses, test your assumptions, build an attack path, and see how far you can legitimately go.

A solid ethical hacking workflow usually looks something like:

• Reconnaissance and information gathering
• Network and service enumeration
• Web application testing
• Vulnerability identification
• Exploitation
• Privilege escalation
• Post-exploitation
• Credential and access analysis
• Lateral movement in controlled environments
• Maintaining a clear record of what you discovered
• Writing a proper penetration testing report

The important part is connecting these stages.

Finding an open port isn't the goal.

Finding out what that port tells you about the target is.

Finding a vulnerability isn't the goal either.

Understanding whether it can actually be exploited and what impact it has is where the real work starts.

If you're learning ethical hacking, I'd recommend spending less time trying to memorize tool commands and more time building labs, attacking intentionally vulnerable machines, taking notes, and learning to explain why you took each step.

That's where hacking starts feeling less like running commands and more like solving a problem.

TCP 3-Way Handshake — SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK

One of those networking concepts that sounds more complicated than it actually is.

Before a TCP connection starts sending application data, the two endpoints perform a 3-way handshake:

1. SYN
Client → Server
“I want to establish a TCP connection. Here’s my initial sequence number.”

2. SYN-ACK
Server → Client
“I received your SYN, and here’s my own sequence number.”

3. ACK
Client → Server
“Got it. We’re synchronized.”

The connection then moves into the ESTABLISHED state and data transmission can begin.

A simple way to remember it:

SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK → ESTABLISHED

The interesting part is that the handshake isn't just a formality. TCP uses sequence and acknowledgment numbers to synchronize both sides and establish the state needed for reliable communication.

If you're learning networking for CCNA, cybersecurity, SOC, firewalls, penetration testing, or network troubleshooting, understanding this properly is one of those fundamentals that keeps coming back.

We're also running a Network Engineering Live Training + Industry Project Experience for people who want to go beyond just reading networking theory and actually work through practical concepts and projects.

Training: https://training.codelivly.com/programs/network-engineering

You can enroll directly through the site, or reach out on WhatsApp: +9779815834931

I’ve been working on a Network Engineering track recently, and one thing kept coming up.

A lot of people want to get into networking, but the learning process often ends up being:

Course → follow a few labs → finish the course → forget half of it → start another course.

And honestly, I think the missing piece is actually working through networking problems and projects.

That’s the idea behind the Network Engineering Live Training + Industry Project Experience we’ve been building.

Instead of making it another collection of videos to watch, the focus is on:

• Live instructor-led training
• Practical networking exercises
• Troubleshooting and problem-solving
• Real project-based work
• Working through concepts instead of just memorizing commands
• Experience you can actually talk about when building your portfolio

We’ve opened enrollment for the current round and are keeping the number of seats limited so the training doesn't turn into a massive lecture with hundreds of people.

There’s also a 33% launch discount currently available.

If you're seriously trying to move deeper into network engineering, here's the program:

👉 https://training.codelivly.com/programs/network-engineering

I also put together a Network Engineer guide covering L1 → L2 → L3 for anyone who wants something structured to study alongside the training:

👉 https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

And if you have questions before joining, you can find us on Discord:

👉 https://discord.gg/RTZyZXATE

Curious what other network engineers think, too — what's the biggest gap you see between learning networking from courses and actually being ready to work with networks?