Cisco provides a different level of certification called CCNA, CCNP, CCIE for its products, and general network topics. We have already examined CCNA certifications in the following tutorial.
Cisco certification exams mostly depend on practical experience. So a person who wants to get certified needs practical experience. Here is a list of ways to get practical experience.
This document is Cisco Public. Page 1 of 15 Packet Tracer – Create a Simple Network Using Packet Tracer Topology Addressing Table Device Interface IP Address Subnet Mask Default Gateway PC Ethernet0 DHCP 192.168.0.1 Wireless Router LAN 192.168.0.1.
- CISCO Certified Network Associate.
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- At work
- Rent remote labs
- Using GNS3 simulator
- Using Packet Tracer
In this tutorial we will look how to download, install and setup basic lab with Packet tracer.
What Is Cisco Packet Tracer?
Cisco Packet Tracer is a network simulation which mainly runs Cisco and generic network devices. Cisco Packet Tracer supports languages like English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Arabic, Portuguese. Even there is a subscription for Cisco Packet Tracer it can be also used for free easily with Guest Login. Cisco Packet Tracer can run unlimited devices with no restriction. Generic devices like PC, Laptop, Server Printer, IP Phone, TV, Tablet are supported.The network can be simulated in a step by step or time based method for detailed and deep inspection. Also Cisco Packet Tracer can be installed and run on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 32-bit and 64-bit, Linux for 64-bit, MacOSX.
Download Packet Tracer
Packet Tracer can get in different ways. A google search will provide a lot of results to get packet tracer. I know that Packet tracer is a licensed application but recently it can be downloaded like a trial or personal use for free from different sites. The latest version 7.3.0 of the Cisco Packet Tracer can be downloaded from the following links. Cisco Packet Tracer is provided for Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 as 32 and 64 bit, Linux for 64 bit, MacOSX.
Install Packet Tracer
In this part we will look how to install Packer tracer.
In this step we will accpet the license agreement with the I accept the agreement and clicking Next.
In this part we will provide the installation path or directory. Generally we left the default path provided which is “C:Program Files(x86)Cisco Packet Tracer 6.3” where the 6.3 is version number which can be different for different versions of the Packet Tracer.
This is another default step where we will leave the default name which will be shown as “Cisco Packet Tracer” in the start menu. But for customization we can change it whatever we want.
In this step we can create a desktop icon or create a quick launch icon.
This is the latest step about configuration for Cisco Packet Tracer installation. General information about installation options are displayed in this screen.
When the installation is completed successfully we will see the following screen. When we click the Finish button the Cisco Packet Tracer will be launched automatically.
Start Cisco Packet Tracer For The First Time
Even Cisco Packet Tracer is a paid software it can be used with a guest login. When starting the Packet Tracer we will see the following screen where we can subscribe to the netcad.com or use with the Guest Login. The bottom right corner contains a Guest Login button that can be clicked to start the Cisco Packet Tracer. When clicked a 10 seconds timer will start and at the at we will see the next screenshot.
When the timer countdown is completed we can click to the Confirm Guest button and start Cisco Packet Tracer.
Create Simple Project
Download Cisco Packet Tracer Student
After we opened Cisco Packet Tracer we will see an empty topology. We can add the required devices from the menu below.
For example, by dragging and dropping an 1841 router to the empty topology we can add a router. We can also use other tools to connect these devices too.
Add Connection
We ca connect two routers by using following icon and related connection type which is required by selected devices port type like CAT cable.
Cisco Packet Tracer Alternatives
Cisco Packet Tracer provides a lot of useful and easy to use features for learning Cisco devices and environment. There are some alternatives to the Cisco Packet Tracer which provides fewer and more features.
GNS3 is a beast for the network and system lab and virtualization. GNS3 supports real Cisco and other software and operating systems. GNS3 can run different devices and operating systems like Linux, Ubuntu, Windows, CentOS, Cisco IOS, Fortinet, PfSense, etc over different virtualization technologies like Qemu/KVM, VirtualBox, VMware, Docker. GNS3 provides far more features and devices than Cisco Packet Tracer but installation and usage may be a bit harder than Cisco Packet Tracer.
CCNA is one of the top paying IT certifications, a Cisco certified network associate with most valuable routing and switching knowledge. I have collect the step by step guides of CCNA articles in this post, named Packet Tracer CCNA Practical Labs for those who are new in CCNA.
The best way to learn about networking is to do it. Hands-on equipment gets students started, but is limited to the number of devices in the lab. That’s why the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum includes Cisco Packet Tracer, an innovative network configuration simulation tool used for teaching, gaming, and assessment. Cisco Packet tracer is a network simulator software for CCNA exams preparation. This simulation software will help you quickly create a lab and start configuring like a real Cisco devices. It support most routing, switching, wireless, and basic firewall devices with latest IOS.
Cisco Packet Tracer CCNA Practical Labs
The labs are downloadable with step by step configuration guide. To practice and test this labs, you need to have Cisco packet tracer installed on your computer.
1. Configure Static Routing in Packet Tracer
- A complete guides to configure static routing that network administrator need to configure the network routers manually instead of using routing protocols, RIP or OSPF. The benefits of static routing is minimum bandwidth usage, no overhead on router CPU and many more and perfect for small network with a few routers. But it is not without cons. Difficult to configure all routers manually in the large network and troubleshooting is always harder than configuration.
2. How to Configure Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
- This is about how to configure Routing Information Protocol (RIP) on the Cisco Routers. The RIP is one of the oldest distance-vector routing protocols and work perfectly with IPv4. The next generation of routing information protocol for IPv6 is know as RIPng (RIP next generation). So in this article we are going to test the RIP with IPv4.
3. How to Configure OSPF Routing Protocol
- Configuration of OSPFrouting protocol is easy as RIP Routing. The Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a routing protocol for wide area networks and enterprise network. OSPF is perhaps the most widely used interior gateway protocol (IGP) in large enterprise networks. The IS-IS, is another link-state dynamic routing protocol, which is more common in large service provider networks. The most widely used exterior gateway protocol is the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the principal routing protocol between autonomous systems on the Internet.
4. How to Configure DHCP on Cisco Router?
- Configure DHCP on Cisco Router. The last week we had send a topic about installation and configuration of DHCP Server in Windows Server 2012 R2. We have introduced the DHCP Server and told the necessary services and network protocols requirement. If you don’t know the basic of DHCP Server? you must read the article first.
5. How to Configure Standard Access List On Cisco Router?
- The Standard Access List (ACL) on Cisco router works to permit or deny the entire network protocols of a host from being distinguishing. These decisions are all based on source IP address which filter network traffic by examining the source IP address in a packet. We can create the standard IP access list by using the access-list command with numbers 1 to 99 or in the expanded range of 1300 to 1999.
6. Configure VLAN on Cisco Switches Using Cisco Packet Tracer
- Configuring VLAN or Virtual Local area network on Cisco Switches is a most important subject of CCNA exam. A VLAN is a switched network that is logically segmented by function, project team, or application, without regard to the physical locations of the users. VLANs have the same attributes as physical LANs, but you can group computers even if they are not physically located on the same LAN segment. Any switch port can belong to a VLAN, and unicast, broadcast, and multicast packets are forwarded and flooded only to end stations in the VLAN. Each VLAN is considered a logical network, and packets destined for stations that do not belong to the VLAN must be forwarded through a router or bridge or layer 3 switches. Because a VLAN is considered a separate logical network.
7. Configure Inter VLAN Routing on a Cisco Router and Layer 3 Switches
- This is another Packet Tracer CCNA Practical Labs about how to configure Inter VLAN Routing on the Cisco router or layer 3 switches? Basically on a VLAN no host can communicate with hosts within other VLANs. It means only hosts that are members of the same VLAN can communicate with each other. So if you want your VLANs hosts can communicate with each others, you must configure inter VLAN routing using a router or a layer 3 switch. Here we completely show you the Inter-VLAN configuration using a Cisco router and a layer 3 switch.
Cisco Packet Tracer Application
8. How to Enable Telnet and SSH on Cisco Router and Switches?
- This article focus on configuring and enabling telnet and ssh on Cisco routers and switches. The Telnet is an old and non secure application protocol of remote control services. You can configure telnet on all Cisco switches and routers with the following step by step guides. But it’s not the best way on the wide area network. However we just going to enable telnet and ssh to test them for CCNA Certification exams.
9. Configure SNMP Protocol on Cisco Packet Tracer?
- Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used for network monitoring and management. It is made up of 3 parts, the SNMP manager, SNMP agent and Management Information Base (MIB). In Packet Tracer there is not a lot you can actually do with SNMP but it is possible to set up a router or switch as an SNMP agent and use a PC or laptop as an MIB browser. So although you can’t set SNMP traps or informs it is still a valuable learning tool to show the sort of information that can be retrieved and even a few things that can be set on an SNMP agent.
10. Configure Frame Relay In Cisco Router Using Packet Tracer
- Frame relay is a packet-switching protocol for connecting devices on a Wide Area Network (WAN). Here we are going to show you, how to configure Frame relay in Cisco routers using Cisco Packet Tracker. The Frame relay originally designed for transport across Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) infrastructure, it may be used today in the context of many other network interfaces. Read more about Frame relay on Wikipedia.
It’s not all, we will updates this post with fresh new articles related to CCNA as Packet Tracer CCNA Practical Labs.
If you have any questions about Packet Tracer CCNA Practical Labs post, feel free to ask and suggest us about how we can improve out topic and site services. So wish you success and all the best for achieving your CCNA certification.