Introduction to Computing LAB 3: Introduction to Computer networks

LAB # 3
Introduction to Computer Networks
Objectives:
1.Types of computer networks
2.Physical topologies
3. TCP/IP address configuration

Computer Network:

A network is a group of two or more computer system or any hardware device connected to each
other.
Following are the attributes of physical network:
1. Link (copper wire, coaxial, optical fibre)
2. Connection (point-to-point, multipoint)

There are three main types of computer networks, including:

1. LAN: Local Area Network

2. MAN: Metropolitan Area Network
3. WAN: Wide Area Network

LOCAL AREA NETWORK:

A group of computers that share a common connection and are usually in a small area or even in
the same building use LAN. For example an office or home network or it can be PCs connected to
printer. It is usually connected by Ethernet cables and has high speed connections.

METROPILITAN AREA NETWORK:

This is a larger network that connects computer users in a particular geographic area or region.
For example a large university may have a network so large that it may be classified as a MAN.
The MAN network usually exists to provide connectivity to 2 or more LANs. It is larger than a
LAN and smaller than a WAN.

WIDE AREA NETWORK:

This is the largest network and can interconnect networks throughout the world and is not
restricted to a geographical location. It can be used between states, countries or even the world,
internet is an example of a worldwide public WAN. It is interconnected with connecting devices
such as switches, routers or modems. This technology is high speed and very expensive to setup.

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NETWORK TOPOLOGY:
A topology is the way of laying out the network. It is of 2 types:
 Physical topology
 Logical topology

PHYSICAL TOPOLOGY:
It tells the physical arrangement of the nodes in a network. There are 5 major physical
topologies:
1. Bus
2. Star
3. Ring
4. Mesh
5. Hybrid

LOGICAL TOPOLOGY:
It tells how the message travels in the network. There are 3 major ways of data travelling in a
network:
1. Ethernet
2. Token ring
3. FDDI

PHYSICAL TOPOLGY:

BUS TOPOLOGY:

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Advantages of bus topology:

 Works well for small networks (fewer than 10 devices).
 Inexpensive to implement on a small scale.
 Requires less cable.
 Easy to add another workstation.

Disadvantages of bus topology:

 Management costs often too high.
 Subject to congestion from network traffic.
 Adding more computers to the network degrades the performance.
 Only one node can transfer data at a time.

STAR TOPOLOGY:

Advantages of star topology:

 Easier to manage than a bus.

 Easier to locate node and cable problems.
 Well suited for expansion into high-speed networking.
 More equipment options.

Disadvantages of star topology:

 Susceptible to a single point of failure.

 Requires more network cable at the start than a bus.

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RING TOPOLOGY:

Advantages of ring topology:

 Easier to manage than a bus.

 Easier to locate node and cable problems.
 Good over long distances.
 Handles high-volume traffic well.
 Very reliable.

Disadvantages of ring topology:

 Requires more network cable and equipment at the start than a bus.
 Not as widely used as the bus topology.

Mesh topology:

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Main features of mesh topology are:

 Every device interconnected.

 Most expensive.
 Most Fault tolerant.
 Cable fault tolerant.
 Device fault tolerant.
 The Internet is Mesh Topology.

TCP/IP ADDRESS CONFIGURATION:

The builder of a house must ensure that all construction takes place on a firm foundation. The
same is true for the builder of a TCP/IP-based networking system. Fundamental network
configuration problems will plague all network users until they are resolved.

MS Windows workstations and servers can be configured either with fixed/static IP addresses or
via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). The examples that follow demonstrate the
use of DHCP and make only passing reference to those situations where fixed IP configuration
settings can be affected.
It is possible to use shortcuts or abbreviated keystrokes to arrive at a particular configuration
screen. The decision was made to base all examples in this chapter on use of the Start button.

MS WINDOWS 7 CONFIGURATION

IP Address
IP addresses are four sets of numbers separated by periods that allow computers to identify each
other. Every computer has at least one IP address, and two computers should never have the
same IP address. If they do, neither of them will be able to connect to the internet.

Dynamic vs Static IPS

Most routers assign dynamic IP addresses by default. They do this because dynamic IP address
networks require no configuration. The end user can simply plug their computer in, and their
network will work. When IP addresses are assigned dynamically, the router is the one that
assigns them. Every time a computer reboots it asks the router for an IP address. The router then
hands it an IP address that has not already been handed out to another computer. This is
important to note. When you set your computer to a static IP address, the router does not know
that a computer is using that IP address. So the very same IP address may be handed to another
computer later, and that will prevent both computers from connecting to the internet. So when
you assign a static IP addresses, it's important to assign an IP address that will not be handed out
to other computers by the dynamic IP address server. The dynamic IP address server is generally
referred to as the DHCP server.

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Setting up a Static IP for Windows

Here is paths to the Windows 7 navigate to the Control Panel, choose Network and Internet, and
then click Network and Sharing Center.
Click Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections.

The following procedure steps through the Windows 7 static IP configuration process:
1. Click the Local Area Connection to begin configuring your static IP address.

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2. From the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Details button to see your
existing connection details (most likely DHCP). If you’re running this in VMWare
Fusion, the 172.16.153.129 is the first IP address allocated. You should note the default
gateway and DNS server IP address, which should always be 172.16.153.2. Click the
Close button when you’ve made note of those IP addresses for subsequent steps

3. Back at the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Properties button. It will
show you the Local Area Connection Properties dialog. Click on the Internet Protocol
Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) in the item box of the dialog window.

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4. Click the Use the following IP address radio button and enter the appropriate values for
your static IP address. The default gateway and DNS server are generally different but
are the same when you’re using NAT addressing inside VMWare.

IPCONFIG Command

IPCONFIG Command Is used to find out your current TCP/IP settings. With IPCONFIG you can
find out your IP Address, find your Default Gateway and find your Subnet Mask. This is a very
handy network tool for finding your local IP address.

IPconfig /all Command

IPconfig /all Command are used to display all your IP information for all adapters. With ipconfig
/all you can also find out your DNS Server and MAC Address. This will show your full TCP/IP
configuration for all adapters on your Windows machine. You can find out your own IP Address
as well as your default gateway.

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IPconfig /release
IPconfig / release Command is use to release your current IP information and obtain a new IP
Address from the DHCP server.

IPconfig /renew
IPconfig / renew Command is used to renew your IP Address if you have it set to obtain IP
Address automatically.

IPconfig /displaydns
This shows your current DNS Resolver Cache Logs.

IPconfig /flushdns
This flushes or clears your current DNS Resolver Cache Logs.

Ping Command

The Ping command is a network tool used to determine if you are able to send packets between
your computer networks on the internet to another computer without losing packets along the
way. By doing this you can determine if you're online or if a website is down. It also calculates
round trip time and Time to Live. This can let you know if your NIC card is working properly
and if you're able to reach your router or modem. It can also be used as a network tool for
troubleshooting.

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Lab Task

3.1) Explain important OSI layers with the help of diagram.

3.2) What do you mean by Hybrid network, explain with the help of diagram.

3.3) Run all the commands mentioned above in your system and add screenshots.

3.4) Check network configuration of your computer & ping your IP in CMD
(Command Prompt-line interpreter).

Note: Attach a snap shot of every above mentioned task.

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