AM University Data communication & Computer network lab

Second Year/ Second semester

Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

Introduction to Packet Tracer

I. Lab Objectives
1. Cisco Packet Tracer 5.1 Overview
2. Creating Devices
3. Adding Modules
4. Making Connections
5. Creating Networks

II. Lab Content

1. Cisco Packet Tracer 5.1 Overview
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

1 Menu Bar This bar provides the File, Edit, Options, View, Tools,
Extensions, and Help menus. You will find basic commands such
as Open, Save, Print, and Preferences in these menus. You will
also be able to access the Activity Wizard from the Extensions
menu.
2 Main Tool Bar This bar provides shortcut icons to the File and Edit menu
commands. This bar also provides buttons for Zoom, the drawing
Palette, and the Device Template Manager. On the right, you
will also find the Network Information button, which you can
use to enter a description for the current network (or any text you
wish to include).
3 Common Tools Bar This bar provides access to these commonly used workspace tools:
Select, Move Layout, Place Note, Delete, Inspect, Add Simple
PDU, and Add Complex PDU. See "Workspace Basics" for more
information.
4 Logical/Physical You can toggle between the Physical Workspace and the Logical
Workspace and Workspace with the tabs on this bar. In Logical Workspace, this
Navigation Bar bar also allows you to navigate through levels of a cluster, create a
new New Cluster, Move Object, Set Tiled Background, and
Viewport. In Physical Workspace, this bar allows you to navigate
through physical locations, create a New City, create a New
Building, create a New Closet, Move Object, apply Grid to the
background, Set Background, and go to the Working Closet.

5 Workspace This area is where you will create your network, watch
simulations, and view many kinds of information and statistics.
6 Realtime/Simul You can toggle between Realtime Mode and Simulation Mode with the
ation Bar tabs on this bar. This bar also provides buttons to Power Cycle Devices
as well as the Play Control buttons and the Event List toggle button in
Simulation Mode. Also, it contains a clock that displays the relative
Time in Realtime Mode and Simulation mode.
7 Network This box is where you choose devices and connections to put into
Component Box the workspace. It contains the Device-Type Selection Box and the
Device-Specific Selection Box.
8 Device-Type This box contains the type of devices and connections available in
Selection Packet Tracer 5.1. The Device-Specific Selection Box will change
depending on which type of device you choose.
9 BoxDevice-Specific This box is where you choose specifically which devices you want
Selection Box to put in your network and which connections to make.
10 User Created This window manages the packets you put in the network during
Packet simulation scenarios. See the "Simulation Mode" section for more
Window* details.
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

2. Creating Devices
a. Choose a device type from the Device- Type Selection box

b. Click on the desired device model from the Device-Specific Selection box.

c. Click on a location in the workspace to put your device in that location.

d. If you want to cancel your selection, press the Cancel icon for that device.

e. Alternatively, you can click and drag a device from the Device-Specific Selection box onto the workspace.

f. You can also click and drag a device directly from the Device-Type Selection box and a default device
model will be chosen.
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

2. Adding Modules
a. Click on a device to bring up its configuration window.

b. By default, you will be in the Physical Device View subpanel of the device.

c. You can browse (by clicking) through the list of modules and read their description in the information box
at the bottom.

d. When you have found the module you want to add, simply drag it from the list into a compatible bay on
the device picture.

e. You can remove a module by dragging it from the device back into the list.
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

3. Making Connections
a. To make a connection between two devices, first click the Connections icon from the Device-Type
Selection box to bring up the list of available connections.

b. Then click the appropriate cable type.

c. The mouse pointer will change into a "connection" cursor.

d. Click on the first device and choose an appropriate interface to which to connect.

e. Then click on the second device and do the same.

f. A connection cable will appear between the two devices, along with link lights showing the link status on
each end (for interfaces that have link lights).
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu

5. Creating Networks
a. Start creating a network by first selecting the End Devices. Add a Generic PC and a Generic Server to the
workspace.

b. Under Connections, select the Copper Straight-through cable (solid black line) and connect the devices
with it. The red lights on the link indicate that the connection is not working. Now, use the Delete tool to
remove the Copper Straight-through cable, and use a Copper Cross-over cable (dashed line) instead. The
lights should turn green at this point, and if the mouse pointer is held over either the PC or the Server, the
link status will be shown as “Up.” The network should look similar to the picture below.

c. Click on the PC. While paying attention to the link lights, turn the power on, off, and on again. Follow
the same steps for the server. The link lights turn red when the device is off. This means that the link is
down or is not working. The link lights turn green when the device is turned back on.
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu
d. Try all three ways to learn about the devices. First, mouse over the devices to see basic configuration
information about them. Second, click on each device with the Select tool to show the device
configuration window, which provides several ways to configure the device. Third, use the Inspect tool
to view tables the network device will build as it learns about the network around it. In this example, only
the ARP tables will appear. Since the devices have not been configured yet, the ARP tables are empty.
Always remember to close windows after viewing them or they will clutter the workspace.

e. Open the PC configuration window and change the settings using the Config tab. Change the display
name to Client and set the DNS server to 192.168.0.105. Under Interface, click FastEthernet and set the
IP address as 192.168.0.110. Packet Tracer automatically calculates other parameters. Make sure that the
Port Status box is checked. For future reference, note that other Ethernet interface settings, such as
bandwidth, duplex, MAC address, and subnet mask can be modified using this window.

f. Go to the Desktop Tab and click on IP Configuration. Notice that the IP address, subnet mask and DNS
server can be changed here as well.

g. Open the Server configuration window and go to the Config tab. Change the display name to Web Server.
Click FastEthernet and set the IP address as 192.168.0.105. Make sure that the Port Status is also on. Click
DNS and set the domain name as www.firstlab.com. Set the IP address as 192.168.0.105 and click Add.
Finally, check to make sure that the service for DNS is on.

h. Reposition the network devices by dragging them to a new location. Add a network description by using
the “i” button on the upper right corner. Then add some text labels within the Logical Workspace by using
the Place Note tool.

i. Load a background grid using the Set Tiled Background button.

j. Save your work using the File > Save As option and create a meaningful filename.
AM University Data communication & Computer network lab
Second Year/ Second semester
Faculty of Computing and software Engineering Prepared by: Lect. Gashaw Alemu