ECE 529 Lab Report 1

The Fundamentals of Network

Communication

Submitted to:
Engr. Chuck Steven R. Torre

Submitted by:
Lemuel E. Gallego

December 6, 2015

Hands-On Project 1-3: Viewing Network

Software Layers
Time Required: 10 minutes
Objective: View the properties of your computers network connection and identify the
layers of the network communication process.
Required Tools/Equipment: Your classroom computer and a user account with
administrative access named NetAdmin with the password Password01
Description: In this project, you view the properties of your computers local area
connection and identify the layers of the network communication process. Each network
connection in Windows contains the software responsible for the steps of the network
communication process.
1. Start your computer and log on as NetAdmin, if necessary.
2. Open the Network and Sharing Center by clicking Start, Control Panel. Under
Network and Internet, click View network status and tasks.
3. In the left pane of the Network and Sharing Center, click Change adapter settings.
Right-click Local Area Connection and click Properties to open the Local Area
Connection Properties dialog box (see Figure 1-8).
4. The Connect using text box displays the NIC. In the list box under it, you see several
items. Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks,
and Internet Protocol Version 4 are the items youre most interested in right now, as
theyre the most necessary software components to make network communication
work.
5. Assume a user is running a word-processing program and saves a file to a Windows
server. Use the information you learned in this chapter to write which of the four layers
of the network communication process each component corresponds to. Note that some
layers can be used more than once.

 Word-processing program: User Application

NIC displayed in the Connect using text box: Network Interface
Client for Microsoft Networks: Network Software
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks: Network Interface
Internet Protocol Version 4: Network Protocol
6. Close all open windows, but leave your computer running for the next project.
Learning and Conclusion:
There are four basic layers in a network communication process. The first layer is
the User Application which is the first in contact with the user. The second layer is the
Network Software is when an application tries to access a network resource. The third
layer is the Network Protocol where the messages which the client software verified
from the second layer and then packaged to a suitable format which is then passed to
the last layer, the Network Interface. This layer converts data to signals to be
transmitted across the network medium. Each network communication must undergo
these layers before it goes to the network medium

Hands-On Project 1-4: Using Ipconfig, Ping, and ARP

Time Required: 15 minutes
Objective: Use Ipconfig, Ping, and ARP to view and test network addresses and
connectivity.
Required Tools/Equipment: Your classroom computer
Description: In this project, you use command-line tools to view your network
configuration and test your computers capability to communicate with other computers.
Ipconfig displays the IP address configuration of your network interfaces. Ping sends a
message to a computer to verify the capability to communicate with it. ARP displays the
MAC (physical) addresses your computer has discovered.
1. Start your computer and log on as NetAdmin, if necessary.
2. Click Start, type cmd, and press Enter to open a command prompt window. At the
command prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter. You should see a screen similar to
Figure 1-9, although the specific numbers you see will vary. Ipconfig lists the IP address
configuration for your network interfaces as well as other network settings.
3. To see more details about your network configuration, type ipconfig /all and press
Enter. You can scroll up the command prompt window to see all the output. Under the
heading Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection, find the row labeled Physical
Address (see Figure 1-10). The number you see in this row is the MAC address, a 12digit hexadecimal value. Also, find the IP address in the IPv4 Address row. Write down
these two addresses:
Physical Address.: 00-26-6C-A8-16-2F
IPv4 Address.: 10.4.37.205(Preferred)
4. Tell your partner what your IP address is and make note of your partners IP address.
At the command prompt, type ping IP address and press Enter (replacing IP address
with your partners IP address). You should see output similar to Figure 1-11.
5. Remember that your computer needs both the destination IP address and MAC
address to communicate with another computer. You supplied the IP address by typing
it at the command prompt. Your computer discovered the MAC address of your
partners computer by using Address Resolution Protocol (ARP). To see this address,
typearp a and press Enter. The output should be similar to Figure 1-12. You might see
more lines of output, depending on what other devices your computer has been
communicating with. ARP is discussed in more detail in Chapter 5, but for now, just
know that it works automatically without user intervention.

6. Use the ping command to communicate with other computers and devices on your
network, and use ipconfig /all to find the addresses of your default gateway (a router in
your network) and your DNS servers. Write the MAC addresses of your default gateway
and your DNS servers:
Default gateway: 10.4.37.254
DNS servers: 103.37.51.193
7. Close all open windows, but leave your computer running for the next project
Learning and Conclusion:
The command prompt window is the fastest tool to be able to determine the
users MAC address, IP address and also the network adapters. By typing ipconfig /all
it displays all the information including the IP and MAC address and also the network
adapter. Using the Ping command it enables the user to view the connectivity of the pc
to another pc on the network given the knowledge of the others IP address. The Ping
command also displays the time it takes to send a message back and forth through the
network.

Hands-On Project 1-5: Exploring

Peer-to-Peer Networking
Time Required: 15 minutes
Objective: View other computers and shared resources on a peer-to-peer network.
Required Tools/Equipment: Your classroom computer
Description: In this project, you view other computers and shared resources in a peerto-peer network. You also view and, if necessary, change the type of network (public or
private) youre connected to. All students should use the same username and
password.
1. Start your computer and log on as NetAdmin, if necessary.
2. Click Start, right-click Computer, and click Properties to open the System control
panel. In the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section, examine the
current settings. Does your computer belong to a workgroup or a domain? Is this
computer operating in a peer-to-peer or server-based environment? Write your answers
on the following lines:
My computer doesnt belong to a workgroup and its operating in a peer-topeer environment.
3. Your computer name should be NET-XX (with XX representing your student number)
and your workgroup should be NETESS. Verify with your instructor whether theyre the
right settings for your environment. If the settings are incorrect, click Change settings;
otherwise, close the System control panel and skip to Step 4. In the System Properties
dialog box, click Change. Type NET-XX in the Computer name text box (replacing XX
with your student number), type NETESS in the Workgroup text box, and click OK. Click
OK in the message box welcoming you to the NETESS workgroup, and then click OK in
the message box stating that you must restart your computer. Click Close, and then
click Restart Now to restart your computer. When the computer restarts, log on.
4. To see other computers on the network and share files, you need to verify that certain
network settings are correct. Open the Network and Sharing Center by clicking Start,
Control Panel, and under Network and Internet, click View network status and tasks. In
the View your active networks section, verify that the network is listed as Work or
Home. If the network is listed as Public, click Public network to open the Set Network
Location dialog box. Click Work network, and then click Close.
5. Click Change advanced sharing settings to open the Advanced sharing settings
dialog box (see Figure 1-22).

6. Under Network discovery, click the Turn on network discovery option button, if
necessary. Under File and printer sharing, click the Turn on file and printer sharing
option button, if necessary. Click the Save changes button, and then close the Network
and Sharing Center.
7. Windows 7 and Windows Vista no longer group computers by workgroup name in the
GUI, as in Windows XP and earlier. However, you can see the list of computers in your
workgroup by using the command line. To open a command prompt window, click Start,
type cmd in the Search programs and files text box, and press Enter.
8. At the command prompt, type net view and press Enter. You should see a list of
computers in your workgroup, similar to Figure 1-23.
9. To view shared resources on a computer, you use the net view computername
command. For example, to see whether there are any shared folders or printers on the
instructors computer, type net view net-instr and press Enter. You should see a screen
similar to Figure 1-24, in which the share name is listed as NetDocs and the type is
listed as Disk.
10. Close the command prompt window, but leave your computer running for the next
project.
Learning and Conclusion:
A computer network can be of either the two types peer-to-peer or server-based.
In a peer-to-peer network all user acts as administrators to their computer resources
which enables them to allow or restrict others to their resources. While in a serverbased network there is only one administrator who can grant access to the resources on
the computers connected to the network. The allowing and restriction of users to their
resources can be protected by logging on the network with a username and a
password.

Hands-On Project 1-6: Creating a Shared Folder

Time Required: 15 minutes
Objective: Create a new folder on your computer and share it with the rest of the
network.
Required Tools/Equipment: Your classroom computer
Description: In this project, you create a new folder and then share it so that other users
can add files to the folder via the network. Your instructor might assign you a partner.
1. Start your computer and log on as NetAdmin, if necessary.
2. Click Start, Computer. Double-click the D drive (or another drive specified by your
instructor). Click New folder, type MyData, and press Enter to name the folder. 3. Rightclick MyData and click Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click the Sharing tab.
4. Click Share. In the File Sharing dialog box, click the down arrow and click Everyone.
Click Add. Notice that the default permission level is Read. Click the Read down arrow
and then click the Read/Write permission level. Notice that the account you used to
create the share has the permission level Owner, which grants the user full access to
the share, including the ability to change its permissions.
5. Click Share to finish sharing the folder. In the confirmation dialog box shown in Figure
1-25, notice the notation under the share name: \\NET-XX\MyData. Its the network path
to the share that users on other computers can use to access the shared folder. This
notation is referred to as the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, which you learn
more about in Chapter 8. Click Done, and then click Close.
6. Try opening another students shared folder by clicking Start, typing \\NET-XX\
MyData (substituting your partners student number for XX), and pressing Enter. An
Explorer window should open. To create a new file, right-click the Explorer window,
point to New, and click Text Document. Type your initials and press Enter to name the
file.
7. To verify that your partner created a new folder in your MyData share, click Start,
Computer, double-click the D drive, and then double-click the MyData folder. If your
partner finished Step 6, a new file should be there.
8. Close all open windows. You just performed some basic tasks associated with
maintaining a network: creating shared folders and assigning permissions. You
assigned Read/Write permissions to the Everyone group, which is a special group in
Windows. All user accounts created on your computer belong to the Everyone group
automatically, and you cant change this setting. You were able to access your partners

shared folder because you were both logged onto your computers with the same
username and password, so you had the correct credentials.
9. To view the current users on your computer, click Start, Control Panel. Click User
Accounts and Family Safety, and then click Add or remove user accounts to display the
Manage Accounts dialog box (see Figure 1-26), where you can create new accounts
and change the properties of existing user accounts. In Chapter 8, you work more with
user accounts.
10. Write down answers to the following questions:
What type of networking service was used in this activity?
Which network model was used in this activity?
11. Close all open windows, but leave your computer running for the next project.
Learning and Conclusion:
It is a great way to share resources across a network. Creating a shared folder is
not only limited to peer-to-peer connection a single computer with multiple accounts can
also use this function across the network. If a user is in the network one can create
shared folders where anyone can access, read and write.

Hands-On Project 1-7: Transferring a Document to another Computer

Time Required: 15 minutes
Objective: Create a document and copy it to your instructors computer.
Required Tools/Equipment: Your classroom computer
Description: This project requires some setup by your instructor, so verify that the setup
has been finished before continuing. In this project, you write a memo to your instructor
containing the information specified in the following steps. Then you copy the file you
created to a file share on your instructors computer (or some other computer your
instructor designates).
1. Start your computer and log on as NetAdmin, if necessary.
2. Start Microsoft Word or another word-processing program; even a simple text editor,
such as Notepad, will do. Write a letter to your instructor that includes the following:
The reason youre taking this class
What you hope to get out of this class
How much time you expect to put into this class each week outside classroom hours
Whether you expect to take more computer and networking classes
3. Save the document in your Documents folder (or a folder your instructor designates),
naming it yourname. For example, if your name is Bill Smith, name the document
billsmith.
4. Start Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder where you saved the letter. Right
click the document you created and click Copy.
5. To paste the document to the instructors shared folder, use the UNC path of your
instructors computer, which should be \\Net-Instr\NetDocs, unless your instructor
specifies otherwise. Click Start, type \\Net-Instr\NetDocs, and press Enter.
6. Click OK. You should see a Windows Explorer window open. (The folder might
already contain documents if some of your classmates have already completed the
activity.) Right-click a blank space on the right and click Paste. Your document should
now be available on your instructors computer.
7. Close all open windows, but leave your computer running for the next project.

Learning and Conclusion:

A resource from a computer can be shared to another by enabling the network
sharing feature. This method of sharing files better than using a storage media because
it is faster and more secure.