Understanding IP and TCP/IP Configuration

A.  Lab Setup (Instructor Note)

Some activities in this lab require two computers, PCa and PCb.  PCa and PCb must be in the same group (virtual network) to ensure the connectivity between them.  One team member should be assigned to PCa and the other to PCb.  Alternatively, a single user can control both PCa and PCb at the same time.

B.  Configuring TCP/IP in Windows 7

Learning Objective: In this exercise you will learn how to set up TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) on the Windows 7 operating system.  Each computer connected to a local TCP/IP network must have a unique IP address in that network.  In the following steps you will assign an IP address to your computer (PCa or PCb).  Complete the following steps:

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel
2. Under Network and Internet, click View network status and tasks
3. In the menu on the left, click Change adapter settings
4. Right-click on the Local Area Connection, and select Properties
5. Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then click Properties
6. Under the General tab, select Use the following IP address and enter the following:

Tip:  When entering a single or double digit, use the spacebar to navigate between decimals in each address.  Using the Tab key will move the cursor down to the next line.

7.            Do not enter any information for the DNS servers

1. Click OK to close the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window

1. Click Close to exit the Local Area Connection Properties window

C.  Verifying TCP/IP Setup of PCa and PCb

1. Click Start and type “cmd” into the Search Box to open the Command Prompt
2. In the Command Prompt, type “ipconfig” and press Enter
3. Verify your TCP/IP settings

Tip:  To learn more about the “ipconfig” command, type “ipconfig ?” into the command prompt

D.  Verifying the Connection Between PCa and PCb

1. On PCa:  At the command prompt, type “ping 192.168.1.102” and press Enter
2. On PCb:  At the command prompt, type “ping 192.168.1.101” and press Enter
3. If you get a reply back, you have a successful connection between PCa and PCb. Otherwise, check the TCP/IP settings of both computers.

Review Question:  What is the function of ping?  How can it be used in a network

environment?

E.  Messaging Between PCa and PCb Through CMD

1. Click Start and type “cmd” into the Search Box to open the Command Prompt

2. In the prompt, type “msg /server:192.168.2.101 student1 “Hello!”” Make sure to use      

   the IP Address and Username of the opposite computer.

F.  Troubleshooting and Understanding IP

1. On PCa, change the IP address to 192.168.2.101 as in the following table and repeat Step D.  Discuss why PCa and PCb cannot communicate using these settings:

2.            In PCb, change the IP address to 192.168.2.101 as in the following table and repeat Step D.  What is happening?  Discuss why PCa and PCb cannot have the same IP address on the same LAN.

3.            Change the IP adress configurations on both computers as in the following table.  Discuss why PCa and PCb can communicate.

G.  Sharing a Folder

In this exercise, you are going to create a folder on PCb and share it with PCa in the network.  Make sure that you change the IP address of PCb back to 192.168.1.102 before starting this exercise.

1. Right-click the Desktop on PCb, and click New and select Folder
2. Name the new folder “PCbShared”
3. Right-click this folder, click Properties, and then click the Sharing tab
4. Click Advanced Sharing, then click the check box in front of Share this folder
5. Click Permissions, check Allow for Full Control and click OK.  Sharing is now enabled for the folder, and the whole content of the folder is available to authorized users on your network.  Next, you are going to map a drive on PCa to this folder.
6. On PCa, double-click Computer on the Desktop to open Windows Explorer
7. On the top menu, click Map network drive
8. Select drive Y: and designate “\\192.168.1.102\PCbShared” as the folder name
9. Click Finish.  The shared folder is now open in Windows Explorer.  Click Computer, and PCbShared on drive Y: appears as a Network Location.
10. To confirm that PCa has the correct permissions to the folder, double-click the mapped drive to open the folder.  Right-click and select New, then click Text Document.  If you receive an error, review Step 5.
11. On PCb, check the content of the PCbShared folder.  You should see the text document created by PCa listed there.  

Review Exercise:

• Create and share a folder on PCa and map it from PCb
• Discuss the benefits of file sharing
• Discuss possible security and data integrity problems related to file sharing