Ok so the TLDR is I just had an interview, and during it I was asked about domain names and finding IP addresses, which I immediately recognized as an easy question, kind of a feeler, and yet, due to my complete lack of experience in the field, or with networking at all, I wasn’t sure about the answer. Needless to say, I think I bombed. Or at least they weren’t impressed. I was honest though, I suppose that counts for something? I was also exceedingly nervous for some reason, even though everyone was very professional. Anyways, I figure I would use CMD and get into command line and then do a ping command? But during the interview, I just totally blanked out. I’m actually kind of embarrassed. Needless to say, it showed me a gap in my knowledge I need to address, so I will start here, cause I like it here.
This is your “bible*”
*insert any holy book of choice here 
It covers much, much more then just networking, but it’ll give you a firm footing in IT matters.
thanks so much! I’ll give it a read!
In your downtime, you could work your way through something like the A+?
It’s achievable! (A stub like me can get it, anyone can) CompTIA 220-1101 A+ Training Course - YouTube
The course / tests themselves are kind of agnostic, and cover more than just Linux / Windows. I’ve not checked this version of the course, but I doubt you wanna sink a load of money in to a paid course…
Take an old PC from your pile, and make it a home router. You’ll learn a lot and it’s fun. … (no fancy router distros with webui, that’d be cheating)
(also if you have time, you can do ccna, but not take the test, and just skip the practical exercises)
what money? I’m pretty much destitute.
And these are free knowledge 
THE BEST KNOWLEDGE! This seems fairly technical, thanks! If I could mash the heart more than once I would. Looks like I have lessons 1-8 down, but after that is kinda where I’m lacking.
There is a standardised course called IT Fundamentals. If the A+ seems… a struggle, then check that out? but I reckon people who stick around here, are probably a bit beyond that.
And I’ve only really looked at the CompTIA reange. there are whole other groups of courses, but they are more specific.
Like a bunch of cloud based ones, for AWS / Azure etc, and a whole bunch of Cisco ones, as well as specific Linux ones like Red hat.
But I say, start realistic, and move on as you grow / decide which way to move.
I DON’T WORK IN IT and am just a stub. but the big brains can give the Real true-true advice…
on an unrelated topic, what do you guys thing about this box as a flipper? HP EliteDesk 800 G1 TWR Desktop PC 3.20GHz Intel Core i5-4570 4GB RAM No HDD | eBay
it seems to include a GPU, so at least I’ll have a video out. that 4gb of sys ram though… I have some DDR3 kicking about, though so it could be an easy/free upgrade to sell on. Think I could make any profit? It’s got good documentation. And the case looks kinda cool. Maybe some paint, or some stickers might give it the edge?
well despite his silly house metaphor, I like his presentation style. He’s very direct.
You could try the Juniper networking courses. They’re quite similar to the Cisco versions, but aimed at Juniper equipment of course.
But more importantly; all the material is freely available. You would only need to pay if you want to take the exam itself.
Just take a look at what they’re offering:
https://learningportal.juniper.net/juniper/user_activity_info.aspx?id=JUNIPER-OPEN-LEARNING
You don’t need to use that particular set of video’s.
I like the idea of the compTIA “agnostic” approach, and there are a bunch of YT creators that do the same kind of courses. (there are only so many certs out there, and more places instructing for them)
I would say, check out a few courses for an instructor you that is informative, and least annoying to you
What I mentioned about the money earlier, is that there are paid versions, but you will probably be fine with the stuff published free-of-charge on Youtube.
Context is a little vague, but given the reference to “CMD”, I can’t agree with the Linux Administration book because that’s going to do absolutely NOTHING for you in a Windows environment. Since it’s “Networking” you’re worried about and we’re talking M$ environment, I’d go with some CompTIA Network+ reference material (like these: CompTIA Network+) as well as some Microsoft MCP materials that has emphasis on server (moreover, DNS/DHCP/etc) and/or network administration.
yes, I’ve been studying that list. Or perhaps another? But either way, it’s the same knowledge.
Here are a few M$ study guides in no particular order:
I suggest you learn the nslookup command. Ping will indeed turn a DNS name into an IP address, but what if you have an IP address and want to see what name it resolves to (reverse DNS/“in-addr.arpa”)? What if you want to compare the results of two different DNS servers (commonly needed when your internal DNS server provides different records than public DNS)? What if you need to find the MX (mail server) or other records?
Comes as no surprise I disagree on that. The Linux Administration book gives the reader a thorough foundation in networking in general before diving into Linux specific stuff, so unless you understand the basics, learning it the M$ way isn’t going to enhance your knowledge nor understanding of networking. You only learn which buttons to click in the GUI, 'case that’s what Win-OS effectively does.
Do note I took the Comptia A+ exams a few years ago (900 series, now retired) and found it highly M$-centric. For instance, I had to learn the M$ disk-manager tool during my exam. I’m a Linux user, never saw that tool ever before 
During the whole of those exams, Linux was mentioned exactly once. 
Needless to say, Comptia is dead to me as a certification tool 
YMMV on whatever, and you’re welcome to disagree, of course.
But the OP was asking the question in context of a job interview that was a Microsoft environment. He’s asking about getting educated in THAT context. Therefore, a Linux book IS completely useless since the M$ methods of managing networking things are completely different.
HOWEVER, gaining knowledge of the fundamentals of various aspects of networking WILL be applicable to the Linux world even if attained via the M$ world. DNS does the same thing in M$ as it does Linux. HOW YOU MANAGE those things will vary greatly between those 2 worlds.
He’s asking for education advice on Networking for a job interview he just had with a M$-based organization. READING LINUX IS VERY NEARLY OF NO VALUE WHATSOEVER IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE.
But like I said, disagree if you like. That is certainly entirely up to you. Just thought I’d clarify the context of the OP’s question and the context of my response were rooted in very specific terms (networking education because of a recent job interview with a M$-based organization… nothing to do with Linux…).
Well, ifconfig and ipconfig are one letter off so I guess you’ve got one there…
ping, telnet, ftp, nslookup, tracert/traceroute, etc., work on Windows mostly the same as they do on Linux.
And it’s certainly not useless to learn Linux in an Microsoft shop. Practically everything runs Linux these days, INCLUDING WINDOWS as a matter of fact… There’s a pretty good chance your network switches, routers, firewalls, VMWare ESXi/vCenter, embedded devices, smart phones, printers, TVs, light bulbs, etc., are all running Linux. Knowing how to get in and monitor and troubleshoot them sure comes in handy. If nothing else, knowledge of the Linux world helps you to know what’s out there, and avoid falling into traps like relying on Microsoft’s proprietary services.