Cisco Packet Tracer:

Packet Tracer is a cross-platform visual simulation tool designed by Cisco Systems

that allows users to create network topologies and imitate modern computer
networks. The software allows users to simulate the configuration of Cisco routers
and switches using a simulated command line interface. Packet Tracer makes use
of a drag and drop user interface, allowing users to add and remove simulated
network devices as they see fit. The software is mainly focused towards Cisco
Networking Academy students as an educational tool for helping them learn
fundamental CCNA concepts.

Switch:

A switch is a networking device that connects multiple devices on a single

computer network.

You can use a switch to open or close a connection. When the switch is opened, a
signal or power can pass through the connection. The flow is stopped, and the
circuit connection is broken when the switch is closed.

A switch keeps a table of the addresses of the computers connected to it. When
traffic passes through, the switch reads the address of the destination and routes it
to the relevant computer rather than all connected computers. The traffic is routed
to all connected computers if the destination address is not in the table.

There are mainly four types of switches, such as:

 Manageable switch: As the name suggests, a manageable switch has a

console port and an IP address that can be assigned and configured.
 Unmanageable switch: An unmanageable switch is a switch that cannot be
configured as there is no console port; hence it is not possible to assign an IP
address.
 LAN Switch: This type of switch connects devices in an organization’s
internal .This switch allocates bandwidth so that data packets are not
overlapping in a network.
 PoE Switch: This type of switch is used in PoE (Power over Ethernet)
Gogabit Ethernets. A PoE switch delivers greater flexibility and simplifies
the cabling connections.
Application of switch

There are various applications of a switch, and some of the most important ones
are:

 The switch can create a virtual LAN.

 A switch maintains a MAC address table.
 A switch can also work as a multi-port bridge.
 Small office applications make extensive use of switches.
 A switch aids in the management of data flow across a network.
 A switch can be used to connect devices in a computer network physically.
 The switch can send data to any device in either half-duplex or full-duplex
mode.

Hub:

A hub is a network device in a computer network where data from various

directions converge and are then distributed to various devices.

In layman’s terms, a hub is a device that allows various computers/PCs and other
devices to connect to a single network.

A hub sends data packets to all network devices, regardless of whether the data
packet contains any MAC addresses. A hub has many ports, and a computer that
wants to connect to the network plugs into one of them. When a data frame arrives
at a port, the hub broadcasts it to all other ports, regardless of whether it is destined
for a specific destination or not.

There are two types of hubs, such as:

 Active hub: This type of hub has its own power supply and can clean,
improve, and relay network signals.
 Passive hub: This type of hub collects power from active hub devices and
wiring from nodes. Aside from that, a hub sends signals into the network
without cleaning or boosting them

Applications of Hub

There are various applications of a hub, and some of the most important ones are:

 Hub is used to monitor networks.

  A hub can establish small home networks.
 A hub can provide connectivity in organizations
 Hub can create a device that is accessible from outside the network.

IP address (Internet Protocol address):

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique numerical identifier for every device
or network that connects to the internet. Typically assigned by an internet service
provider (ISP), an IP address is an online device address used for communicating
across the internet.

There are two versions of IP addresses that are commonly used on the
internet: IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv4 address is expressed as a set of four dotted
decimal numbers, where each octet is separated by a period, such as 192.168.35.4.
The three digits in the first octet represent a particular network on the internet
while the rest of the digits represent the actual host address within the local
network, such as a workstation or a server. An IPv6 address represents eight
groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons, such as
2620:cc:8000:1c82:544c:cc2e:f2fa:5a9b.

Each internet protocol address can send information to other IP addresses through
discrete chunks known as packets. Each network packet contains the data being
transferred along with a header containing the metadata of the packet.

How do IP addresses work?

An IP address is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. It works behind the scenes,
helping devices and websites connect with each other on the internet.

Every time a request is made to access a website, the requesting computer needs to
know where the website resides and how to reach it. This is where the IP address
comes into play. The requesting computer connects to the network router, which
connects to the web server where the website lives. The web server then pulls the
website information and sends it back to the requesting computer. Each device in
this process -- including the computer, router and web server -- carries a uniquely
identifiable IP address, without which the transfer of information will not take
place.

DEFINITION
IP address (Internet Protocol addresss)
An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique numerical identifier for every device
or network that connects to the internet. Typically assigned by an internet service
provider (ISP), an IP address is an online device address used for communicating
across the internet.

There are two versions of IP addresses that are commonly used on the
internet: IPv4 andIPv6. An IPv4 address is expressed as a set of four dotted
decimal number, where each octet is separated by a period, such as 192.168.35.4.
The three digits in the first octet represent a particular network on the internet
while the rest of the digits represent the actual host address within the local
network, such as a workstation or a server. An IPv6 address represents eight
groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons, such as
2620:cc:8000:1c82:544c:cc2e:f2fa:5a9b.

Each internet protocol address can send information to other IP addresses through
discrete chunks known as packets. Each network packet contains the data being
transferred along with a header containing the metadata of the packet.

How do IP addresses work?

An IP address is part of theTCP/IP suite of protocols. It works behind the scenes,
helping devices and websites connect with each other on the internet.

Every time a request is made to access a website, the requesting computer needs to
know where the website resides and how to reach it. This is where the IP address
comes into play. The requesting computer connects to the network router, which
connects to the web server where the website lives. The web server then pulls the
website information and sends it back to the requesting computer. Each device in
this process -- including the computer, router and web server -- carries a uniquely
identifiable IP address, without which the transfer of information will not take
place.

IPv4 vs IPv6: What’s the difference?

Both IPv4 and IPv6 identify connected devices on the network. However, there are
slight differences in the way they operate. IPv6 is the newer IP version and was
introduced to address the limitations IPv4 posed on the availability of IP addresses.

The following is a list of differences between IPv4 and IPv6:

 IPv4 is 32-bit, whereas IPv6 is 128-bit.

 In IPv4, binary bits are separated by a dot (.); IPv6 separates binary bits
by a colon (:).
 IPv4 follows the numeric addressing method and IPv6 is alphanumeric.
 IPv4 offers 12 header fields and IPv6 offers eight header fields.
 IPv4 haschecksum fields but IPv6 doesn't.
 IPv4 supports broadcast address, which is a type of special address that
transmits data packets to every node on the network. IPv6 doesn't support
broadcast, but instead uses a multicast address, which is a logical
identifier for a collection of hosts on a network.
 IPv4 supports Variable length subnet masking, but IPv6 doesn't.
When mapping to Media access control addresses IPv4 uses the Address
Resolution protocol. IPv6 uses the Neighbor Discovery Protocol, which uses
stateless auto-configuration and address resolution.
Types of IP addresses
Here is a list of the five most common types of IP addresses:

1. Private IP addresses
Each device connected to a home network or a private network carries a private IP
Address. Private IP addresses are non-internet facing and are only used on an
internal network. Devices with private IP addresses might include computers,
tablets, smartphones, Bluetooth devices, smart TVs and printers. With the
increasing popularity of internet of things products, the use of private IP addressing
is likely to keep growing.

2. Public IP addresses
An ISP assigns these addresses, which enable a router to communicate with the
internet or an outside network. Public IP addresses cover the entire network,
meaning multiple devices sharing the same internet connection will also share the
same public IP address.

3. Dynamic IP addresses
These IP addresses are constantly changing and a new dynamic IP address is
assigned to a device every time it connects to the internet. ISPs buy large pools of
IP addresses to assign to their customers automatically. They revolve and reuse
these addresses between different customers to generate cost savings and to
provide easier network management. A dynamic IP address also offers security
benefits, as it's harder for cybercriminals to hack into a network interface if its IP is
constantly changing.

4. Static IP addresses
Unlike dynamic IP addresses, static IP address never change once they're assigned
by the network. While most internet users and businesses don't require static IP
addresses, they're a requirement for businesses that wish to host their own web
servers. A static IP address ensures that all websites and email addresses associated
with a certain web server will always have a consistent IP address so it can be
reached on the internet.

5. Website IP addresses
These are IP addresses for website owners who don't host their websites on their
own servers but rely on a hosting company to do so. Website IP addresses are
composed of the following two types:

 Shared. This IP address is shared among many different websites and is

mostly used by small businesses that use a managed hosting service, such
as Wordpress.
  Dedicated. This is a unique IP address assigned to an individual website.
Dedicated IP addresses help website owners avoid getting
blocked/blacklisted, something that owners of shared IP addresses might
face when malicious behavior is exhibited by other websites sharing the
same IP. Owners of dedicated IP addresses can access their websites
while waiting for a domain transfer.
Subnet Mask Definition

Every device has an IP address with two pieces: the client or host address and the
server or network address. IP addresses are either configured by a DHCP server or
manually configured (static IP addresses). The subnet mask splits the IP address
into the host and network addresses, thereby defining which part of the IP address
belongs to the device and which part belongs to the network.

The device called a gateway or default gateway connects local devices to other
networks. This means that when a local device wants to send information to a
device at an IP address on another network, it first sends its packets to the gateway,
which then forwards the data on to its destination outside of the local network.
What is Subnet Mask?

A subnet mask is a 32-bit number created by setting host bits to all 0s and setting
network bits to all 1s. In this way, the subnet mask separates the IP address into the
network and host addresses.

The “255” address is always assigned to a broadcast address, and the “0” address is
always assigned to a network address. Neither can be assigned to hosts, as they are
reserved for these special purposes.

The IP address, subnet mask and gateway or router comprise an underlying

structure—the Internet Protocol—that most networks use to facilitate inter-device
communication.

When organizations need additional subnetworking, subnetting divides the host

element of the IP address further into a subnet. The goal of subnet masks are
simply to enable the subnetting process. The phrase “mask” is applied because the
subnet mask essentially uses its own 32-bit number to mask the IP address.

IP Address and Subnet Mask

A 32-bit IP address uniquely identifies a single device on an IP network. The 32

binary bits are divided into the host and network sections by the subnet mask but
they are also broken into four 8-bit octets.

Because binary is challenging, we convert each octet so they are expressed in dot
decimal. This results in the characteristic dotted decimal format for IP addresses—
for example, 172.16.254.1. The range of values in decimal is 0 to 255 because that
represents 00000000 to 11111111 in binary.

IP Address Classes and Subnet Masks

Since the internet must accommodate networks of all sizes, an addressing scheme
for a range of networks exists based on how the octets in an IP address are broken
down. You can determine based on the three high-order or left-most bits in any
given IP address which of the five different classes of networks, A to E, the
address falls within.

(Class D networks are reserved for multicasting, and Class E networks not used on
the internet because they are reserved for research by the Internet Engineering
Task Force IETF.)
A Class A subnet mask reflects the network portion in the first octet and leaves
octets 2, 3, and 4 for the network manager to divide into hosts and subnets as
needed. Class A is for networks with more than 65,536 hosts.

A Class B subnet mask claims the first two octets for the network, leaving the
remaining part of the address, the 16 bits of octets 3 and 4, for the subnet and host
part. Class B is for networks with 256 to 65,534 hosts.

In a Class C subnet mask, the network portion is the first three octets with the hosts
and subnets in just the remaining 8 bits of octet 4. Class C is for smaller networks
with fewer than 254 hosts.

Class A, B, and C networks have natural masks, or default subnet masks:

 Class A: 255.0.0.0
 Class B: 255.255.0.0
 Class C: 255.255.255.0

You can determine the number and type of IP addresses any given local network
requires based on its default subnet mask.

An example of Class A IP address and subnet mask would be the Class A default
submask of 255.0.0.0 and an IP address of 10.20.12.2.

How Does Subnetting Work?

Subnetting is the technique for logically partitioning a single physical network into
multiple smaller sub-networks or subnets.

Subnetting enables an organization to conceal network complexity and reduce

network traffic by adding subnets without a new network number. When a single
network number must be used across many segments of a local area network
(LAN), subnetting is essential.

The benefits of subnetting include:

 Reducing broadcast volume and thus network traffic

 Enabling work from home
 Allowing organizations to surpass LAN constraints such as maximum
number of hosts
Network Addressing

The standard modern network prefix, used for both IPv6 and IPv4, is Classless
Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation. IPv4 addresses represented in CIDR
notation are called network masks, and they specify the number of bits in the prefix
to the address after a forward slash (/) separator. This is the sole standards-based
format in IPv6 to denote routing or network prefixes.

To assign an IP address to a network interface since the advent of CIDR, there are
two parameters: a subnet mask and the address. Subnetting increases routing
complexity, because there must be a separate entry in each connected router’s
tables to represent each locally connected subnet.

What Is a Subnet Mask Calculator?

Some know how to calculate subnet masks by hand, but most use subnet mask
calculators. There are several types of network subnet calculators. Some cover a
wider range of functions and have greater scope, while others have specific
utilities. These tools may provide information such as IP range, IP address, subnet
mask, and network address.

Here are some of the most common varieties of IP subnet mask calculator:

 A IPv6 IP Subnet Calculator maps hierarchical subnets.

 An IPv4/IPv6 Calculator/Converter is an IP mask calculator that supports
IPv6 alternative and condensed formats. This network subnet calculator may
also allow you to convert IP numbers from IPv4 to IPv6.
 An IPv4 CIDR Calculator is a subnet mask adjustment and Hex conversion
tool.
 An IPv4 Wildcard Calculator reveals which portions of an IP address are
available for examination by calculating the IP address wildcard mask.
 Use a HEX Subnet Calculator to calculate the first and last subnet addresses,
including the hexadecimal notations of multicast addresses.
 A simple IP Subnet Mask Calculator determines the smallest available
corresponding subnet and subnet mask.
 A Subnet Range/Address Range Calculator provides start and end addresses.
What Does IP Mask Mean?

Typically, although the phrase “subnet mask” is preferred, you might use
“IP/Mask” as a shorthand to define both the IP address and submask at once. In
this situation, the IP address is followed by the number of bits in the mask. For
example:

10.0.1.1/24

216.202.192.66/22

These are equivalent to

IP address: 10.0.1.1 with subnet mask of 255.255.255.0

IP address: 216.202.196.66 with a subnet mask example of 255.255.252.0

However, you do not mask the IP address, you mask the subnet

TCP configuration
Alternatively, a JGroups-based cluster can also work over TCP connections.
Compared with UDP, TCP generates more network traffic when the cluster size
increases. TCP is fundamentally a unicast protocol. To send multicast messages,
JGroups uses multiple TCP unicasts. To use TCP as a transport protocol, you
should define a TCP element in the JGroups Config element. Here is an example of
the TCP element.
<TCP start_port="7800"
bind_addr="192.168.5.1"
loopback="true"
down_thread="false" up_thread="false"/>

Below are the attributes available in the TCP element.

 bind_addr specifies the binding address. It can also be set with the -
Djgroups.bind_address command line option at server startup.
 start_port, end_port define the range of TCP ports the server should bind to.
The server socket is bound to the first available port from start_port. If no
available port is found (e.g., because of a firewall) before the end_port, the
server throws an exception. If no end_port is provided or end_port <
start_port then there is no upper limit on the port range. If start_port ==
end_port, then we force JGroups to use the given port (start fails if port is
not available). The default is 7800. If set to 0, then the operating system will
pick a port. Please, bear in mind that setting it to 0 will work only if we use
MPING or TCPGOSSIP as discovery protocol because TCCPING requires
listing the nodes and their corresponding ports.
 loopback specifies whether to loop outgoing message back up the stack.
In unicast mode, the messages are sent to self. In mcast mode, a copy of the
mcast message is sent. The default is false.
 recv_buf_size, send_buf_size define receive and send buffer sizes. It is good
to have a large receiver buffer size, so packets are less likely to get dropped
due to buffer overflow.
 conn_expire_time specifies the time (in milliseconds) after which a
connection can be closed by the reaper if no traffic has been received.
 reaper_interval specifies interval (in milliseconds) to run the reaper. If both
values are 0, no reaping will be done. If either value is > 0, reaping will be
enabled. By default, reaper_interval is 0, which means no reaper.
 sock_conn_timeout specifies max time in millis for a socket creation. When
doing the initial discovery, and a peer hangs, don't wait forever but go on
after the timeout to ping other members. Reduces chances of *not* finding
any members at all. The default is 2000.
 use_send_queues specifies whether to use separate send queues for each
connection. This prevents blocking on write if the peer hangs. The default is
true.
 external_addr specifies external IP address to broadcast to other group
members (if different to local address). This is useful when you have use
(Network Address Translation) NAT, e.g. a node on a private network,
behind a firewall, but you can only route to it via an externally visible
address, which is different from the local address it is bound to. Therefore,
the node can be configured to broadcast its external address, while still able
to bind to the local one. This avoids having to use the TUNNEL protocol,
(and hence a requirement for a central gossip router) because nodes outside
the firewall can still route to the node inside the firewall, but only on its
 external address. Without setting the external_addr, the node behind the
firewall will broadcast its private address to the other nodes which will not
be able to route to it.
 skip_suspected_members specifies whether unicast messages should not be
sent to suspected members. The default is true.
 tcp_nodelay specifies TCP_NODELAY. TCP by default nagles messages,
that is, conceptually, smaller messages are bundled into larger ones. If we
want to invoke synchronous cluster method calls, then we need to disable
nagling in addition to disabling message bundling (by
setting enable_bundling to false). Nagling is disabled by
setting tcp_nodelay to true. The default is false.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol:

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a client/server protocol that

automatically provides an Internet Protocol (IP) host with its IP address and other
related configuration information such as the subnet mask and default gateway. RFCs
2131 and 2132 define DHCP as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard
based on Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), a protocol with which DHCP shares many
implementation details. DHCP allows hosts to obtain required TCP/IP configuration
information from a DHCP server.
Windows Server 2016 includes DHCP Server, which is an optional networking server
role that you can deploy on your network to lease IP addresses and other information to
DHCP clients. All Windows-based client operating systems include the DHCP client
as part of TCP/IP, and DHCP client is enabled by default.
Why use DHCP?
Every device on a TCP/IP-based network must have a unique unicast IP address to
access the network and its resources. Without DHCP, IP addresses for new computers
or computers that are moved from one subnet to another must be configured manually;
IP addresses for computers that are removed from the network must be manually
reclaimed.
With DHCP, this entire process is automated and managed centrally. The DHCP server
maintains a pool of IP addresses and leases an address to any DHCP-enabled client
when it starts up on the network. Because the IP addresses are dynamic (leased) rather
than static (permanently assigned), addresses no longer in use are automatically
returned to the pool for reallocation.
The network administrator establishes DHCP servers that maintain TCP/IP
configuration information and provide address configuration to DHCP-enabled clients
in the form of a lease offer. The DHCP server stores the configuration information in a
database that includes:

• Valid TCP/IP configuration parameters for all clients on the network.

• Valid IP addresses, maintained in a pool for assignment to clients, as well as
excluded addresses.
• Reserved IP addresses associated with particular DHCP clients. This allows
consistent assignment of a single IP address to a single DHCP client.
• The lease duration, or the length of time for which the IP address can be used before
a lease renewal is required.
A DHCP-enabled client, upon accepting a lease offer, receives:
• A valid IP address for the subnet to which it is connecting.
• Requested DHCP options, which are additional parameters that a DHCP server is
configured to assign to clients. Some examples of DHCP options are Router (default
gateway), DNS Servers, and DNS Domain Name.
Benefits of DHCP
DHCP provides the following benefits.
• Reliable IP address configuration. DHCP minimizes configuration errors caused by
manual IP address configuration, such as typographical errors, or address conflicts
caused by the assignment of an IP address to more than one computer at the same time.
• Reduced network administration. DHCP includes the following features to reduce
network administration:
o Centralized and automated TCP/IP configuration.
o The ability to define TCP/IP configurations from a central location.
o The ability to assign a full range of additional TCP/IP configuration values by means
of DHCP options.
o The efficient handling of IP address changes for clients that must be updated
frequently, such as those for portable devices that move to different locations on a
wireless network.
o The forwarding of initial DHCP messages by using a DHCP relay agent,
which eliminates the need for a DHCP server on every subnet.