The Practical Network Engineer's Guide: Master routing, network diagnostics, and troubleshooting

Stop guessing when network connections fail. Follow a structured process to isolate faults, understand why traffic is not reaching its destination, and restore connectivity across everyday network environments.

Key Features

• Build foundations in IP addressing, subnetting, NAT, VLANs, and routing
• Troubleshoot wireless, VPN, routing, switching, and firewall problems
• Explore diagnostic tools for Windows, Linux, PowerShell, and Wireshark

Book Description

Networks can bring an organization to a standstill when traffic stops flowing, but effective troubleshooting starts with understanding how that traffic should move.

The Practical Network Engineer’s Guide connects essential networking theory with the skills needed to diagnose common connectivity problems. You will begin with networking fundamentals, including the OSI model, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, subnetting, NAT, and the role of packets in network communication. You will then explore VLANs, static and dynamic routing, switching, and firewalls to understand how traffic moves between devices and networks.

Building on these foundations, the book introduces practical approaches to assessing network problems and identifying their causes. You will examine common TCP/IP, home and corporate wireless, VPN, routing, switching, and firewall issues. You will also learn how Windows command-line utilities, PowerShell, Linux networking commands, routing tools, and Wireshark can support the diagnostic process.

By combining routing fundamentals with realistic troubleshooting scenarios, this book will help you understand network behavior, investigate connectivity failures, and approach everyday network problems with greater confidence.

What you will learn

• Explain how networks, IP protocols, and the OSI model work
• Interpret IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnetting
• Understand NAT, VLANs, static routes, and dynamic routing
• Determine the severity of common network problems
• Diagnose TCP/IP and network connectivity issues
• Troubleshoot home and corporate wireless networks
• Resolve common VPN, routing, switching, and firewall issues
• Use Windows, Linux, PowerShell, and Wireshark tools

Who this book is for

This book is for aspiring network engineers, IT support and help desk professionals, junior system administrators, and students who want to strengthen their understanding of routing and network troubleshooting. It will also help professionals who need to diagnose everyday connectivity, wireless, VPN, switching, or firewall issues. No advanced networking experience is required, but basic familiarity with computers and operating systems will be useful.

Table of Contents

1. How Networks Communicate
2. Seeing the Network One Layer at a Time
3. How IPv4 Addresses Organize Network Traffic
4. From Scarcity to Scale: How IPv6 Changes Addressing
5. How Network Infrastructure Moves and Protects Traffic
6. A Systematic Approach to Network Troubleshooting
7. Troubleshooting Remote and Home Networks
8. Troubleshooting Enterprise Wireless Networks
9. Troubleshooting VPNs and Remote Access
10. Essential Network Troubleshooting Tools
11. Troubleshooting Routing, Switching, and Firewalls

Robert McMillen, MBA, MCT, is an IT consultant, educator, and author with extensive experience across infrastructure, networking, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI. Over the course of his career, he has worked on large-scale and high-profile technology initiatives, including restoring email data at Enron, consulting with the White House, and managing complex network mergers and infrastructure projects for organizations valued at more than $1 billion. Alongside his consulting work, Robert has built a significant career in technology education. He has authored numerous books and created more than 150 IT courses for leading learning platforms and publishers, including LinkedIn Learning, Pluralsight, Cengage, and O'Reilly. His courses have reached millions of learners and are used by colleges and universities around the world. Drawing on decades of hands-on industry experience and classroom teaching, Robert focuses on making complex technologies practical, accessible, and relevant to the real-world challenges IT professionals face.