DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGG.

BHILAI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DURG (C.G.)

COMPUTER NETWORK LAB MANNUAL
EXPERIMENT NO. 7
Objective
• Create a simple network with two PCs using a switch.
• Identify the proper cable to connect the PCs to the switch
• Configure workstation IP address information
• Test connectivity using the ping command

SWITCHES:
Switches are hardware and/or software devices capable of creating temporary connections
between two or more devices linked to the switch but not to each other.
The idea of a bridged LAN can be extended to a switched LAN. Instead of having two to four
networks, why not have N networks, where N is the number of stations on the LAN. In other
words, if we can have a multiple-port bridge, why not have an N-port.

A switch is essentially a fast bridge having additional sophistication that allows faster
processing of frames. Some of important functionalities are:
 Ports are provided with buffer
 Switch maintains a directory: #address - port#
 Each frame is forwarded after examining the #address and forwarded to the proper
port#
 Three possible forwarding approaches: Cut-through, Collision-free and Fully-buffered
as briefly explained below.

Cut-through: A switch forwards a frame immediately after receiving the destination address.
As a consequence, the switch forwards the frame without collision and error detection.
Collision-free: In this case, the switch forwards the frame after receiving 64 bytes, which
allows detection of collision. However, error detection is not possible because switch is yet to
receive the entire frame.
Fully buffered: In this case, the switch forwards the frame only after receiving the entire
frame, So switch can detect both collision and error free frames are forwarded.
In a switched network some of these nodes are connected to the communicating devices and
others are used only for routing.

Resources/Apparatus required:
• Two workstations with an Ethernet 10/100 NIC installed
• Ethernet 10BaseT or Fast Ethernet switch
• Several Ethernet cables, which are both straight-through and crossover, to choose from for
connecting the two workstations.

PROCEDURE
Step 1 Identify the proper Ethernet cable and connect the two PCs to the switch
a. The connection between the two PCs will be accomplished using a Category 5 or 5e
crossover cable. Locate two cables that are long enough to reach from each PC to the
Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)
 switch. Attach one end to the NIC and the other end to a port on the switch. Be sure
to examine the cable ends carefully and select only a straight-through cable.

b. What kind of cable is required to connect from NIC to switch?

___________________
c. What is the category rating of the cable? ______________________
d. What is the AWG wire size designation of the cable? ______________________
Step 2: Verify the physical connection
Plug in and turn on the computers. To verify the computer connections, insure that the link
lights on the both PC NICs and the switch interfaces are lit. Are all link lights lit?
Step 3: Access the IP settings window
Windows XP users should do the following:
• Click on Start > Settings > Control Panel and then click the Network Connection icon.
• Select the Local Area Network Connection and click on Change settings of this
connection.
• Select the TCP/IP protocol icon that is associated with the NIC in this PC.
• Click on Properties and click on Use the following IP address.

Windows 7 users should do the following:

 Open Control panel from the start menu and click on Network and Internet and click
on Network and Sharing center.
 From the left sidebar, click on Change adapter settings.
 Under the Network connections window select the appropriate icon for your LAN
adapter and right-click on it, and then choose Properties.
 Under the Network tab select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on
the Properties button.
 Now set the addresses as mentioned below in each computer and click OK.
Step 4: Configure TCP/IP settings for the two PCs
a. Set the IP address information for each PC according to the information in the table.
See the example below:

Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)
 b. Note that the default gateway IP address is not required, since these computers are
directly connected. The default gateway is only required on local area networks that
are connected to a router.

Computer Computer IP Address Subnet mask Default Gateway

PC – A : 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0 Not Required

PC – B : 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0 Not Required

Step 5: Access the Command or MS-DOS prompt

Use the Start menu to open the Command Prompt (MS-DOS-like) window:

Windows XP users should do the following:

Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt

Step 6: Verify that the PCs can communicate

A) Test connectivity from one PC to the other by pinging the IP address of the opposite
computer.
Use the following command at the command prompt.
C:>ping 192.168.1.1 (or 192.168.1.2)

Step 7 Confirm the TCP/IP network settings

Windows 95 / 98 / Me users should do the following:
Type the winipcfg command from the MS-DOS Prompt. Record the results.
Windows NT / 2000 / XP users should do the following:
Type the ipconfig command from the Command Prompt. Record the results.
Step 8 Restore the PCs to their original IP settings, disconnect the equipment, and
store the cables.

Precautions:
Write down the existing IP settings, so that they can be restored at the end
These include IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers. If the workstation
is a DHCP client, it is not necessary to record this information.

RESULT?

Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)