How I started learning Computer Networking.

Exactly One Year Back, Our Previous Client Product Road Map changed suddenly Me and our Team had to exit and move on to our next exciting adventure.

My New Client is a Computer Networking Giant. Luckily I cleared the interview and onboarded remotely. A new Team of Strangers whom I didn't meet in person till now. How can I establish myself? How can I make them trust in my capabilities? With too many questions in my mind, I started my journey in the new Client Location.

By the way, let me share some of the techniques which I use to build a strong working relationship with engineers before the Pandemic. I used to share lunch with them or else I used to have a Tea Break with my Client Manager or some days a short walk around the Office Park with TeamMates. Now with remote working, all my existing techniques are of no Use. Time for me to reinvent myself or else I will be fading away from the Industry, Fingers Crossed!!

Let's get back to the main topic.

Honestly speaking I don't even know basic troubleshooting commands like ping, traceroute, packet capture, etc which are related to Computer Networking. I clearly lack domain knowledge in this particular Niche.

My Job role was also very unusual where I am supposed to do chip Level Synthesis/Formality/STA and provide netlists to the third-party Design service providers for Physical Design activities. It was a Big Chip with almost 40+ blocks to work on. However, it was a stable Design due to which I was able to manage successfully.

All my previous projects were mostly processor Chips where Innovation used to come naturally for me while Deep Diving in my work. Networking ASICs was something New and Challenging to me. How can I manage my usual Job responsibilities and also learn parallel Networking Architectures in greater detail? I hope you guys stay with me for few more minutes so that I can walk you through my Journey.

Slowly my exploration started in the new Client location, where I was able to get a free course on "Computer Networking Basics in Udacity", I was able to successfully complete all Videos. I felt a bit comfortable now. I felt I can survive however I still don't see light at the other end of the tunnel.

Link for Udacity course:

Then I felt Reading a proper Academic-Text Book on Networking Architectures will help me in learning at my own Pace and also go into Granular Details. Luckily I got a book named "Principles and Practices of Interconnection Networks" by Bill Dally.

You might be thinking I finished this book easily right? The answer is "NO". I was not able to understand the high-level explanations in the book. I discontinued reading the book even though it was valuable for my career ??

Immediately I felt it would be good to refresh my basics in general Computer Architecture. I completed a free course on "Computer Architecture by David Wentzlaff" in Coursera.

Link for the course:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/comparch/home/welcome

After Computer Architecture Course, I went back and restarted reading the "Interconnection Networks Book of Bill Dally" again, Now I am able to grasp a lot of content in an insightful manner. I finished reading it 2 times as of now. I want to keep it as my reference book for my engineering practice.

My Curiosity didn't end here. I wanted to learn even more. When I approached one of the engineer in our Client location he immediately helped me with some of the on-demand training which are available for FREE to all the partner employees like me. I enrolled for a course where they explained high-level fundamentals of how the network fabric will be deployed in an on-premise building(college/airports/corporate offices etc). It was quite a useful course where I learned how edge computing works in Networking Infrastructure. Today's networks are so smart that they automatically can identify a Host device, the Networking Chips can authorize/authenticate and create group policies on which other devices it can talk to, and many more.

Finally, I thought I can relax on my couch. I learned all the fundamentals of On-Premise Networking and granular details of how VLSI engineers build Resilient Network Chips at an Architectural Level. I thought at least now I can see light at the other end of the tunnel.

But the reality is our world is moving towards a public/private Cloud Infrastructure. Most of the Giants like Microsoft(Azure), Google ( Google Cloud), Amazon (AWS), and Oracle ( Oracle Cloud) are building their own Chips. What if in the future Amazon wants to give me an opportunity to work on Graviton Chip? What if Someone gives me an opportunity to work on Google Networking ASIC? I should not be a Fool to let go of some fantastic opportunities the unconventional Chip Design companies offer me (maybe in the future). Luckily I got a free coupon ( 900$ worth usually) to enroll for the Multi-Cloud Networking Infrastructure course provided by a Startup company named Aviatrix. I was able to learn a ton about how a Virtual Private Network (VPN) works in the public cloud and how SAAS companies use the AWS/GCP/Azure/Oracle Service Cloud products.

Suddenly my Performance improved dramatically at my Work Place. Our Clients and Me started speaking the same language. We are easily able to get into the brains of each Other easily. This helped in purposeful conversations. I was able to come up with a Good number of Innovations in the project and got Good appreciation. In a Nutshell, I was able to achieve my Over Night Success.

That's it, friends, I am done.

You might be wondering do I need to push myself so Hard just for such a short stay in a Client Location? Can't I be an average engineer like others? What Drives me? What is my Purpose in Life and Career? Any Hidden agenda behind these Mammoth Efforts?

The answer is pretty simple. I just want to provide World Class Customer Experience to our Clients, it doesn't matter whether the Client is a Small Player or Big Player as long as they provide me Good Opportunities I am Happy to stand Tall on behalf of them.

Finally, I want to wrap up the article. Please treat every New client as an "Opportunity provider" to understand this Beautiful world. Engineering is a Roller Coaster Ride and We need to get the Skin in the Game.

See you at the top.

Regards,

Sriharsha Pudi @spicaworks