Lesson 018 min
How Networks Move Information
Start with the purpose of a network, the jobs performed by endpoints and switches, and the vocabulary that makes everything else easier.
Start lesson
Discuss a project BMT learning series · Course 01
IT for AV.
A progressive networking and security course for commercial AV people who know the equipment—and want the missing IT details filled in properly.
19 lessons available8–16 minutes eachFree no sign-in
Why this exists
AV runs on networks.
That makes networking part of the job.
This course starts at the physical cable and works upward—without assuming that recognizing an acronym means understanding what it actually does.
Each lesson connects first principles to systems AV engineers encounter in the field: Dante, Q-SYS, control processors, cameras, wireless presentation, AV-over-IP, and the switches underneath all of it.
Current path
Start at the top.
Build the whole model.
Lesson 0210 min
The OSI and TCP/IP Models
Use the seven-layer model as a troubleshooting map—not certification trivia—and connect each layer to familiar AV equipment and failures.
Start lessonLesson 0312 min
Copper, Fiber, SFPs, and PoE
Understand what the link lights are sitting on: copper categories, multimode and single-mode fiber, transceivers, optical diagnostics, and PoE budgets.
Start lessonLesson 0411 min
Ethernet, MAC Addresses, Switching, and LLDP
See what a switch actually reads, how it learns device locations, when it floods traffic, and how LLDP reveals neighboring equipment.
Start lessonLesson 0512 min
IPv4 Addresses, Subnets, and Gateways
Learn how an endpoint decides whether a destination is local, what a subnet mask really does, and when the default gateway becomes involved.
Start lessonLesson 0613 min
ARP, DHCP, DNS, and Network Time
Connect names and IP addresses to Ethernet delivery, see how automatic addressing works, and separate ordinary clock setting from precision media synchronization.
Start lessonLesson 0712 min
VLANs, Access Ports, and Trunks
Learn how VLANs create separate Layer 2 networks, how endpoints receive untagged traffic, and how trunks carry several VLANs over one link.
Start lessonLesson 0815 min
Routing, ACLs, and Firewalls
Follow a packet across VLAN boundaries, separate routing from permission, and decide whether a router, firewall, or Layer 3 switch should own each gateway.
Start lessonLesson 0915 min
Multicast, IGMP, and the Querier
See how one source reaches many receivers, how switches learn which ports need each stream, and why snooping without a querier eventually gets weird.
Start lessonLesson 1015 min
QoS, Latency, Jitter, and Packet Loss
Learn why available bandwidth does not guarantee clean media, how packets are prioritized, and what QoS can—and absolutely cannot—fix.
Start lessonLesson 1116 min
Wi-Fi Fundamentals: Channels, Airtime, and Roaming
Understand channels, airtime, signal quality, adaptive data rates, and why a client with full bars can still cling to the wrong access point.
Start lessonLesson 1214 min
Wi-Fi Security and Identity
Separate authentication, encryption, and authorization; then see how 802.1X, RADIUS, and private passphrases place wireless clients into the right AV policy.
Start lessonLesson 1310 min
Identity for AV: LDAP, AD, Entra, and Kerberos
Understand enough enterprise identity to specify and troubleshoot AV logins, group-based roles, and cloud access—without becoming the client's domain administrator.
Start lessonLesson 1410 min
SNMP and Syslog: Giving the AV Network a Memory
Use polling, traps and timestamped logs to diagnose AV failures before the evidence disappears.
Start lessonLesson 1511 min
Certificates and PKI: Why Every AV Web Interface Is “Not Trusted”
Understand browser trust warnings, certificate names, trust chains and practical AV certificate management.
Start lessonLesson 1611 min
Secure Remote AV Support: Getting In Without Leaving the Door Open
Build a support path that reaches the right AV devices without exposing the whole network.
Start lessonLesson 1712 min
Firmware, CVEs and Vulnerability Management for AV
Prioritize vulnerabilities, stage firmware updates and verify the room still works after maintenance.
Start lessonLesson 1811 min
USB for AV: Data, Cameras, Extension, USB-C, PD and DP Alt Mode
Understand USB hosts, bandwidth, extension, USB-C, Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alt Mode.
Start lessonLesson 1911 min
AV-over-IP Architecture: What Is Actually Moving?
Map media, control, discovery and timing flows to a network that can actually carry them.
Start lessonWhere we are headed
From packets to production.
Continue into practical monitoring, certificates, remote access, USB and AV-over-IP architecture. Future lessons explore individual media platforms and complete AV network commissioning.