An introduction to the organization of the Internet Lab

Course Description This is a lab based course. The goal of the course is to reinforce some of the networking concepts that were taught in an introductory networking course. The lab is structured around lab exercises that highlight topics such as IP addressing and forwarding, data link and ARP, LAN switching, routing (RIP, OSPF), TCP, ICMP, NAT, DHCP, etc. The course consists of a sequence of labs that build upon each other. Lab quizzes are used to evaluate the students’ understanding of the material and ensure that students have completed the assigned lab exercises. All networking concepts that appear in the labs are covered weekly in class. A final written exam tests students on the concepts covered in class.  Prerequisites: Introduction to Networking Course (a strict requirement!) Class Notes: Available on my course website Software: Available online and on UCI/ICS servers. Labs: Available on my course website Piazza: Online class discussion group Lab Quizzes: Follows lab format Final: Closed book based on lecture material

Course Structure Lectures – in class, each lecture reviews background material of a lab Labs – Students download and install lab software Students work on labs independently (alone or in groups) TA office hours to assist students with lab exercises Piazza – use to communicate and discuss course related issues 2 Hands-on Lab quizzes held in ICS labs – similar in format to lab exercises Quiz 1 based on labs 1-3 Quiz 2 based on labs 4-6 (note that labs 1-3 are foundation for all subsequent labs) Closed Book Final – based on lecture material

Course Outline Topic 1 - Introduction to the Internet Lab Lecture: Overview of the course and the lab software. A TCP/IP example. Internet Architecture and protocols. IP addressing. Lab1: Software installation Topic 2 - Single Segment Networks Lecture: Local Area Networks, multiple access and Ethernet. Lab2: Configuring a network interface for IP networking; address resolution with ARP. Traffic capture. Topic 3 - Static IP routing Lecture: IP forwarding, subnetting and routing between IP networks Lab3: configuring a Cisco router; static configuration of routing tables Topic 4 - LAN switching Lecture: Bridging in Ethernet networks. Transparent bridging, forwarding of Ethernet frames between LAN switches/bridges; spanning tree protocol for loop free routing between interconnected LANs. Lab4: configuring a bridge; loop free forwarding; mixed router/switch topologies.

Cont. Topic 5 - Dynamic Routing Protocols Lecture: Routing protocols: OSPF and BGP Lab5: OSPF; BGP. Topic 6 - Transport  Protocols: UDP and TCP Lecture: Transport protocols. UDP and TCP. TCP connection management, TCP flow control, retransmissions in TCP, TCP congestion control. Lab6: Using UDP and TCP for data transport, fragmentation, Connection Management; Path Discovery; Error Control. Topic 7 - NAT and  DHCP Lecture: DHCP, Public vs private networks, different NAT configurations/usage scenarios. Lab7: Configuring DHCP; Setting up various NAT scenarios.

“Virtual” Lab Equipment GNS3 network simulation software is used to create network topologies The software uses virtual Ethernet hubs and switches and Cisco 3640 routers. Routers are labeled: R1, R2, R3, R4,….. Switches are labeled: SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4,….. Routers run Cisco IOS 12.x version The labs use VirtualMachine to run GNS3 on a virtual platform IPTerm is used to simulate hosts Hosts are labeled as: PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4….. The labs use Wireshark Traffic Capture and Analyzer software to view data transmissions between the various devices

Structure of the Labs Each lab has multiple exercises. Each exercise has two components: network configuration setup, traffic analysis and discussion. Lab Exercises Students follow the steps for each lab exercise that are performed using the GNS3 software. All lab exercises can be completed without supervision. The time to complete a lab session should be 3-5 hours on average, but may vary. The activities during the lab session are not graded nor are the results/outputs of the lab exercises. Lab Analysis At the end of most lab exercises are a series of questions. Answer the questions using the data you collected whilst doing the lab the exercises. Lab Quizzes Follow same format as Labs. You will be required to configure the virtual hardware, setup traffic scenarios, analyze the data and explain network behavior. Pre-Quiz is a dry run of a Lab Quiz. Highly recommended you participate.