This repository is a curated collection of educational examples, experiments, and mini-projects focused on network programming and network automation using Go.
The goal of this repository is not only to demonstrate how networking works in Go, but also to help build a strong conceptual foundation in computer networking by combining:
- Networking theory (TCP/IP, OSI, RFCs)
- Practical Go implementations
- Real-world use cases inspired by production systems
This repository is especially useful for:
- Network engineers (CCNA / CCNP level and beyond)
- Backend and systems developers
- Students studying computer networks
- Engineers interested in network automation and protocol-level programming
The examples in this repository cover a wide range of networking concepts, including but not limited to:
- TCP and UDP client–server models
- Echo servers and multi-client systems
- Daytime protocol (RFC 867)
- FTP-style client/server communication
- DNS-style lookup mechanisms
- ICMP and basic diagnostics
- IP addressing (IPv4 & IPv6)
- CIDR, subnetting, and prefix calculations
- ARP and Neighbor Discovery concepts
- Ethernet and link-layer fundamentals
- Raw packet and low-level networking examples
- Usage of the
netandnet/netippackages - Binary representation of IP addresses
- Serialization and deserialization
- JSON, Protobuf, and text-based protocols
- gRPC (unary and streaming)
- Goroutines and channels in network servers
- Multithreaded / concurrent echo servers
- Timeouts, keep-alive mechanisms
- Pipeline and concurrency patterns
- Symmetric hashing and Merkle trees
- X.509 certificates
- Secure communication basics
- Programmatic interaction with network components
- Protocol-aware automation examples
- Concepts applicable to SDN, cloud networking, and orchestration systems
Each directory focuses on a specific protocol, concept, or pattern, and is designed to be self-contained and easy to explore.
Examples include:
InternetLayer/– IP addressing, CIDR, and routing-related logicLinkLayer/– Ethernet, ARP, and low-level networkingICMP/– Diagnostic protocolsGRPC_Client/,GRPC_Server/,GRPC_STREAM/– gRPC communication patternsMultithreadedEcho/– Concurrent server designJSON/,ProtocolBuffers/– Data serializationIPv4_router/– Routing logic and packet forwarding concepts
- Go 1.20 or newer
- A basic understanding of networking concepts (TCP/IP, IP addressing)
- Linux or UNIX-like systems recommended for low-level examples
The concepts and examples in this repository are inspired by and aligned with the following resources:
- Jan Newmarch, Ronald Petty – Network Programming with Go
Springer, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4842-6874-8
A comprehensive and practical guide to Go’s networking capabilities.
- Go
netpackage
https://pkg.go.dev/net - Effective Go
https://go.dev/doc/effective_go
- RFC 791 – Internet Protocol (IP)
- RFC 793 – Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
- RFC 867 – Daytime Protocol
- Concurrency and Networking Patterns
https://blog.golang.org/pipelines
This repository is intentionally educational rather than framework-driven.
Instead of hiding networking details behind abstractions, the examples aim to:
- Show how protocols actually work
- Bridge the gap between theory and implementation
- Prepare readers for real-world networking and automation tasks
If you understand the code here, you will better understand:
- How operating systems handle networking
- How modern distributed systems communicate
- How network automation tools are built internally
Clone the repository and explore individual directories:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/go-network-programming.git
cd go-network-programming
go run ./InternetLayer