Bryce Fox

Bryce Fox, an Enterprise IT Architect at the University of Utah with 30+ years in IT, delivered 'Networking 101,' an introductory talk on fundamental networking concepts for beginners. The session covered the evolution of Local Area Networks (LANs) from bus topologies using hubs to modern star topologies with switches. Fox explained how switches reduced collision domains to just the wire between the switch and host, improving network efficiency. He detailed MAC addressing and the ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) protocol for device discovery within LANs, explaining that MAC addresses are identified by manufacturer through the first three hexadecimal digits.

The talk introduced VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) as a way to segment networks virtually on physical switches, and VLAN tagging (IEEE 802.1Q) for carrying multiple VLANs across interconnected switches. Fox presented the OSI seven-layer model—Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, and Application—and contrasted it with the practical TCP/IP model, which consolidates the upper layers into software-handled functions.

Fox provided detailed instruction on IPv4 addressing, including how octets work in binary and decimal (0-255), subnet masks for defining network boundaries, and the evolution from classful networking (Class A, B, C with fixed masks) to Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) using slash notation (e.g., /27). He compared TCP (connection-oriented, reliable, ordered, with handshaking) and UDP (connectionless, fast, lossy, without handshaking). Additional topics included DNS for name-to-IP translation, routing between networks, and practical use of ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) to look up IP address ownership and network registration. The speaker emphasized this was foundational material and directed experienced attendees to advanced talks such as Wireshark packet analysis.