Packet Tracer is a wonderful development program put out by Cisco: a leader in computer networking hardware. Creating a basic network can be tough going, but it’s necessary in learning in order to qualify for the CCNA certification exam.
Two computers that are connected through a router are actually on separate networks if properly configured. Having a computer communicate another on a different network is a complex process, but Packet Tracer makes it easy to setup the design and configuration.In about 10-15 minutes, the most basic of all networks can be constructed and working.
Make certain that you are using a crossover cable when connecting the desktop to the Ethernet port of the router. Computers and routers are both “like” devices, so you wouldn’t want to use a straight-through cable to connect them. Also make sure that you have a console cable if you plan on configuring the router on a real network, as you will not be able to access the running configuration otherwise.
Each of the computers on the network will need an IP address for routing information from one network to another. You will also have to assign an IP address to each Ethernet port of the router. The Ethernet port connected to a single desktop machine will share the same network address, but will have a different host address. There will be two separate networks; one on each of the Ethernet ports. The IP address you assign may not be a reserved number or duplicated among ports.
The gateway address is also very important: it allows a computer to connect to a network. The gateway address is configured on the desktop, and it’s value is the same IP address as the Ethernet interface that it is connected to. Without the gateway, information wouldn’t have a way of getting from one network to another. It’s one of the most common rookie mistakes to accidentally leave the gateway address blank.
Troubleshooting is what computer network technicians are known for. If you find that your network isn’t working at this point, you shouldn’t be surprised. There are hundreds of reasons a network can go wrong, ranging from physical connections to input errors. The trick is to troubleshoot the symptoms of the network to see where you went wrong and how to fix it. Try to complete the troubleshooting process by yourself, as it will be more of a meaningful lesson for the future.
In Conclusion
Packet Tracer makes the process of designing a network so easy, that it’s hard to imagine what computer network operators had to endure in the past. More tutorials and information can be downloaded from the Internet if you feel that you would like to learn more about setting up small networks.
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