Thinking in Packets
A conceptual mental model for computer networks — signals, frames, IP addressing, routing, TCP/UDP, DNS, TLS, HTTP, and cloud and container networking — built up from the smallest possible problem.
Thinking in Packets is a conceptual introduction to how computer networks actually work — signals, frames, IP addressing, routing, TCP/UDP, DNS, TLS, HTTP, performance, cloud and container networking, and production troubleshooting — written for curious, technically-adjacent readers with no networking certification and no prior familiarity with the OSI model.
Most introductions to networking begin with a stack of acronyms or a seven-layer diagram to memorize. This one starts from the smallest possible problem — moving information between two machines — and follows it outward until it becomes the Internet, the Web, cloud networking, and production troubleshooting.