Welcome to another live stream, where we’ll be going through some Packet Tracer labs together. Today, we’ll be working on a lab provided by Keith Barker. Keith is a phenomenal Cisco instructor with years of experience under his belt. I personally learned a ton from him when I was studying for my CCNA exam. Today’s lab will focus on VLANs, switching, and troubleshooting.
Lab Overview
In this lab, the objective is to establish connectivity between a laptop and a server using VLAN 10. We’ll be using Packet Tracer, a lab simulation tool that emulates routers and switches. The lab topology consists of three switches, an access point, a server, and a laptop. Our goal is to configure the network correctly so that the laptop can access a web page hosted on the server.
Lab Walkthrough
To get started, we’ll ensure that all the devices are powered on and connected correctly. Checking the device status is an essential first step in troubleshooting. By running the command show cdp neighbor on each switch, we can verify the connectivity between them.
Next, we’ll use the command show interface status to check the status of each switch port. This will help us identify any disconnected or misconfigured ports.
Then, we’ll use the command show vlan brief to view the VLAN configuration on each switch. This will allow us to ensure that all switches have VLAN 10 configured correctly.
To verify that VLAN 10 is passing through each switch, we’ll use the show spanning-tree vlan 10 command. This command shows us the path that VLAN 10 is taking through the network topology.
Throughout this process, we’ll also use the command show int switchport to view the configuration and operational status of each switch port. This will help us identify any misconfigured access ports or trunk ports.
Once we have confirmed VLAN 10 is passing through all the switches, we’ll check the laptop’s connectivity by verifying that it has obtained an IP address through DHCP. We’ll then ping the server’s IP address from the laptop to ensure connectivity.
Finally, we’ll open a web browser on the laptop and enter the server’s IP address to confirm that we can access the web page hosted on the server.
Conclusion
In this lab walkthrough, we learned how to troubleshoot VLAN connectivity issues using Packet Tracer. By checking the device status, VLAN configuration, and using spanning tree, we were able to pinpoint and resolve any misconfigurations. This process allowed us to establish connectivity between the laptop and the server.
If you found this lab walkthrough helpful, make sure to check out Keith Barker’s website, thekeithbarker.com. Keith offers free Packet Tracer labs and has a YouTube channel with a wealth of networking content.
Feel free to join our Discord community to ask questions or share your own labs. And don’t forget to tune in for our next lab walkthrough, where we’ll tackle more advanced topics in routing and switching.
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