CN – Lab Exercise 2

Step 1 Establish and verify connectivity to the Internet

This ensures the computer has an IP address.

Step 2 Access the command prompt

Use the Start menu to open the Command Prompt window. Press Start, type Run then type cmd which stands as Command Prompt

Step 3 ping the IP address of another computer

In the window, type ping, a space, and the IP address of a computer recorded in the previous lab.

Ping uses the ICMP echo request and echo reply feature to test physical connectivity. Since ping reports on four attempts, it gives an indication of the reliability of the connection. Look over the results and verify that the ping was successful. Is the ping successful? Yes.

If not, perform appropriate troubleshooting. 

If a second networked computer is available, try to ping the IP address of the second machine.

Note the results.

Step 4 ping the IP address of the default gateway

Try to ping the IP address of the default gateway if one was listed in the last exercise. If the ping is successful, it means there is physical connectivity to the router on the local network and probably the rest of the world.

Step 5 ping the IP address of a DHCP or DNS servers

Try to ping the IP address of any DHCP and/or DNS servers listed in the last exercise.

If this works for both server and they are not in the network, what does this indicate?

The 2 are not in the same network but have the same DNS Server.

Was the ping successful? Yes.

If not, perform appropriate troubleshooting.

Step 6 ping the Loopback IP address of this computer

Type the following command: ping 127.0.0.1 

The 127.0.0.0 network is reserved for loopback testing. If the ping is successful, then TCP/IP is  properly installed and functioning on this computer.

Was the ping successful? Yes

If not, perform appropriate troubleshooting.

Step 7 ping the hostname of another computer

Try to ping the hostname of the computer that was recorded in the previous lab. 

If the ping is successful, it means the computer was able to resolve the host name to an IP address. Without name resolution, the ping would have failed because TCP/IP only understands valid IP addresses, not names.

If the ping was successful, it means that connectivity and discovery of IP addresses can be done with only a hostname. In fact, this is how many early networks communicated. If successful, then ping a hostname also shows that there is probably a WINS server working on the network. WINS servers or a local “lmhosts” file resolve computer host names to IP addresses. If the ping fails, then chances are there is no NetBIOS name to IP addresses resolution running.

Step 8 ping the Google web site

Type the following command: ping www.google.com

The first output line shows the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) followed by the IP address. A

Domain Name Service (DNS) server somewhere in the network was able to resolve the name to an IP address. DNS servers resolve domain names, not hostnames, to IP addresses. 

Without this name resolution, the ping would have failed because TCP/IP only understands valid IP addresses. It would not be possible to use the web browser without this name resolution.

With DNS, connectivity to computers on the Internet can be verified using a familiar web address, or domain name, without having to know the actual IP address. If the nearest DNS server does not know the IP address, the server asks a DNS server higher in the Internet structure. 

Step 9 ping the Microsoft web site

Type the following command: ping www.microsoft.com

Notice that the DNS server was able to resolve the name to an IP address, but there is no response.

Some Microsoft routers are configured to ignore ping requests. This is a frequently implemented security measure.

ping some other domain names and record the results. For example, ping www.msn.de

Ping www.facebook.com

ping www.tumblr.com

ping www.amazon.com

Step 10 Trace the route to the Yahoo web site

Type tracert www.yahoo.com and press Enter.

Tracert is TCP/IP abbreviation for trace route. The preceding figure shows the successful result when running tracert.

Each router represents a point where one network connects to another network and the packet was forwarded through.

Step 11 Trace other IP addresses or domain names

Try tracert on other domain names or IP addresses and record the results. An example is

tracert www.msn.de. 

tracert www.Amazon.com

tracert  www.yahoo.com

Step 12 Trace a local host name or IP address

Try using the tracert command with a local host name or IP address. It should not take long because the trace does not pass through any routers

Reflection 

If the above steps are successful and ping or tracert can verify connectivity with an Internet Web site, what does this indicate about the computer configuration and about routers between the computer and the web site? What, if anything, is the default gateway doing?

As shown, all ping and tracert was successful,and this proves that the IP Configurations are correct and then cable are properly connected to enable internet access. Ping is used to ensure proper internet connection between a web server and a computer, where the DNS configuration need to establish a successfull connection. Tracert is used to indicate the path that packets take from a computer to the internet - when accessing a website. With tracert, administrators can also monitor any problems within a network from a router that are not functioning properly .The purpose of a default gateway is to help local networks to connect to the internet.

References:

http://hnda-farah.blogspot.com/2016/04/cn-lab-exercise-2.html (for Reflection)