Internetworking with TCP/IP

Course
  • Internet

Internetworking with TCP/IP

Have you ever thought about how often you turn to the Internet throughout the day? Whether it be ordering a book or ticket online, checking the latest news or writing an email, everyday life without the Internet is nearly unimaginable. But wouldn’t it be nice to know how all of this is possible? This course will teach you about the technological foundation of this worldwide network. You will learn about its physical foundation of data transmission based on the functional principles and technologies of local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). The TCP/IP reference model – the “heart” of the Internet – and its protocols and countless applications, will be presented in the units to follow. Participants will gain comprehensive insight into the complex world of Internet technologies. In clear terms, you will receive the knowledge to unlock the mysteries of the Internet.

Offered by Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel | Last updated on Sep 17, 2026 | 12170 enrollments

Enroll now
  • Intermediate
  • EN
  • Certificate
Course information

Have you ever thought about how often you turn to the Internet throughout the day? Whether it be ordering a book or ticket online, checking the latest news or writing an email, everyday life without the Internet is nearly unimaginable. But wouldn’t it be nice to know how all of this is possible? This course will teach you about the technological foundation of this worldwide network. You will learn about its physical foundation of data transmission based on the functional principles and technologies of local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). The TCP/IP reference model – the “heart” of the Internet – and its protocols and countless applications, will be presented in the units to follow. Participants will gain comprehensive insight into the complex world of Internet technologies. In clear terms, you will receive the knowledge to unlock the mysteries of the Internet.

You'll find additional video lecturing material on www.tele-task.de.

Attention: This course is currently in self-study mode, in which you do not have access to graded assignments/exams. Therefore, we can only issue you a certificate of participation.

Course contents

  • Week 1 :

    Introduction - The Internet is great, but is it really so complex?

  • Week 2 :

    Network Technologies - How can messages be transferred from one computer, by way of electrical or optical signals, to the computer next door or to one that is halfway around the world?

  • Week 3 :

    Internetworking with IPv4 - How does a data packet find its way through an Internet that consists of different but interconnected single networks with completely different technologies?

  • Week 4 :

    The New Internet Protocol IPv6 -How will it be possible in the future for smartphones, household appliances, cars, etc. to also be able to communicate with each other via the Internet?

  • Extra knowledge:

    Hands-on Wireshark exercises

  • Week 5 :

    Transport Protocols TCP and UDP - Who can guarantee that my data will reach its goal intact after its long journey through the Internet across different networks?

  • Week 6 :

    Internet Applications - What else do we need to know in order to send an email or a video through the Internet?

  • Final Examination:

    Final Examination

Enroll me for this course

The course is free. Just register for an account on openHPI and take the course!
Enroll me now

Learners

Current
Today
12,170
Course End
May 23, 2014
4,977
Course Start
Mar 31, 2014
4,977

Requirements for Proofs of Achievement

  • Confirmation of Participation: You will automatically receive a free Confirmation of Participation once you have completed at least 50% of the content.
  • Certificate: You will receive your official openHPI Certificate by earning at least 50% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.

Find out more on our page for Proofs of Achievement and Guidelines.

Our teachers

Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel

Christoph Meinel (Univ.-Prof., Dr.rer.nat., Dr.sc.nat., 1954) was Managing and Scientific Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH (HPI) until March 2023. He is a full professor (C4) for Informatics at the university of Potsdam and has the chair for "Internet Technology and Systems" at the HPI. From 2017 to 2021 he was the founding dean of the Digital Engineering Faculty of the University of Potsdam. Now he is president of the German University of Digital Science, the first digital university in Germany.
His research interests are broadly diversified in the area of innovative Internet applications and systems, especially in digital education, e-learning & tele-teaching, artifical intelligence and deep learing, and Internet and information security. He is also active in the field of innovation research and investigates the Stanford innovation method design thinking. Former research interest were in telemedicine, as well as in the theoretical foundations of computer science in the areas of complexity theory and efficient OBDD-based algorithms and data structures.