Packet Tracer is a wonderful development program put out by Cisco: a leader in computer networking hardware. Creating a basic network can be tough going, but it’s necessary in learning in order to qualify for the CCNA certification exam.

Having a networked based on a hub is easy enough- there isn’t any significant configuration. Putting a router in the network is a different story, however, since it will separate networks. Because it does so, any network containing a router will have at least two different network addresses for proper communication. Configuring them is just a matter of assigning the correct addresses and settings.

Make certain that you are using a crossover cable when connecting the desktop to the Ethernet port of the router. Computers and routers are both “like” devices, so you wouldn’t want to use a straight-through cable to connect them. Also make sure that you have a console cable if you plan on configuring the router on a real network, as you will not be able to access the running configuration otherwise.

The IP addresses you assign will be the logic of the operation. It’s up to you which network numbers and addresses you use, but they must follow a certain convention in order to work. You will be using at least four IP addresses total, counting your two desktop machines and two Ethernet ports on the router. Assign each Ethernet port and IP address that corresponds to a certain network. If you assign both to the same network, you will quickly see the configuration won’t work.

After configuring the IP addresses, you will need to configure what is called a gateway address. The gateway address is simply the IP address of the Ethernet port that a computer is connected to. The gateway tells a computer where to send and receive information that comes across the network. This address is edited on the desktop in the IP address settings. Without it, information would never reach its target destination.

Troubleshooting is what computer network technicians are known for. If you find that your network isn’t working at this point, you shouldn’t be surprised. There are hundreds of reasons a network can go wrong, ranging from physical connections to input errors. The trick is to troubleshoot the symptoms of the network to see where you went wrong and how to fix it. Try to complete the troubleshooting process by yourself, as it will be more of a meaningful lesson for the future.

Final Thoughts

Packet Tracer makes the process of designing a network so easy, that it’s hard to imagine what computer network operators had to endure in the past. More tutorials and information can be downloaded from the Internet if you feel that you would like to learn more about setting up small networks.

Learn more about packet tracer tutorials and packet tracer tutorial.