CMIT 265       Lab exercise

"Bold edit" in your answers.
Name:_______________________________

Looking at LAN workstation and connectivity hardware: Port, NIC, cable, switch

Using the PCs in the lab or our classroom network.

On the PC:
Network interface adapter (NIA or NIC (card)) is a built-in port of the motherboard.
  (all PCs now have a built-in Ethernet port.  Expansion card maybe for extra port,
   maybe at faster speed.)
Built-in port or expansion bus card?: _______
Port LEDs: Number of them, what labeling, color(s), behavior:  _______
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
(laptops save a nickel by not having any LEDs on the NIC port.
If your laptop lacks them, go to lab to see the exciting blinking lights.)

Patch cable label (what is printed on the cable): 
_________________________________________________________

This cable is UTP (unshielded twisted pair).  It consists of 8 copper wires, 
in 4 pairs; each pair is twisted together to reduce interference (viz. crosstalk)
with the other pairs. The pairing is for reducing external interference.

What does the other end of the patch cable plug into (make and model, #ports):
_________________________________________________________________
Which port on that switch is your PC's patch cable plugged into:_______
What are its LED(s) doing:___________________________________
Any labels of the rows on that connectivity device, colors of the LEDs and their behavior:
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Windows: Hovering on the network icon in the system tray says what:
______________
______________
______________

left-click networking icon in System tray / Taskbar
Connections says what:______________________

 right-click networking icon in System tray, choose "Open Network and Sharing Center"
8/10 calls it "Connections" and "Ethernet" (which is the correct term).

Ethernet Status:
7/8/10: Media State:_____________
Duration: _______
Speed:  _______
        Ethernet runs at 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps (million bits per seconds)
#bytes sent: ____________    (since last reboot or Enable of NIC?)
#bytes received: ____________
 (All data/information/messages/bits travel in bundles called packets (or frames).)

Details:
7/8/10: DHCP Enabled:_______
using DHCP the computer will get its networking configuration automatically from the network.

IPv4 address:  ____________  
        each computer in the network will have a different IP address.
Collaborating with your neighbors, what is the common part of your IP addresses:__________
Subnet mask:  ____________
        used with IP address to determine network address.
Default gateway:  ____________
    IP address of the router in this network that this computer sends packets that
    need to go to other networks.
DNS server(s):  _____________________________
    IP address of computer that provides a DNS name to IP address translation service.
Physical address:  _______________________
    also known as MAC address.  Used for intra-LAN communication: each frame that leaves
    your computer is going to a computer in the same network and is addressed by its MAC address.
DHCP server: ______________________
    IP address of the computer that gave this computer its networking configuration.
Lease obtained: _____________________
Lease expires:  _____________________
    the DHCP networking configuration is valid only for a certain amount of time.
Description:________________________________________________
    the hardware/chip device that does the Ethernet networking.

(Note: to find duplex setting: Admin Tools | Event Viewer | System  event messages)

Ethernet Status | Properties 
Properties of Internet Protocol Version 4:
  IP Address Obtained Automatically?:____  (yes means uses DHCP, i.e. dynamically
    vs. statically) 
  DNS server address obtained automatically?:_____

Ethernet Status | Properties 
  Configure          (or Device Manager|Network Adapters )
Manufacturer:______________
Location:_____________
Device status:______________________________
Driver|DriverDetails file(s):  _______
Advanced|Speed & Duplex setting:__________ Other choices:________Duplex, speeds
All this information is rarely needed.

CMD Command Prompt:
Start | Run | cmd       or hold WindowsKey and r  then cmd
type:  ipconfig /all
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Notice this is the same information as the Ethernet Status window.

Unplug the RJ45 from its jack at the network port on PC by squeezing its snappy tab/clip and pulling.
Any visible (eg. window alert, tray icon) or audible reaction: 
_____________________________________________ _______
LED(s) on the switch are what:_______________

Look closely at the RJ-45 connector, its pins and the wire strands.
Cable wires layout (i.e. order of colors of the wires 1-8, left to
right on bottom opposite of tab):
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Connect cable back into port, watching the LEDs.
What LED goes on first:____________  (the connectivity LED).
Then what LED:________________ (activity LED flickers?)