Experiment No. 7 Objective: Computer Network Lab Mannual
Experiment No. 7 Objective: Computer Network Lab Mannual
SWITCHES:
Switches are hardware and/or software devices capable of creating temporary connections
between two or more devices linked to the switch but not to each other.
The idea of a bridged LAN can be extended to a switched LAN. Instead of having two to four
networks, why not have N networks, where N is the number of stations on the LAN. In other
words, if we can have a multiple-port bridge, why not have an N-port.
A switch is essentially a fast bridge having additional sophistication that allows faster
processing of frames. Some of important functionalities are:
Ports are provided with buffer
Switch maintains a directory: #address - port#
Each frame is forwarded after examining the #address and forwarded to the proper
port#
Three possible forwarding approaches: Cut-through, Collision-free and Fully-buffered
as briefly explained below.
Cut-through: A switch forwards a frame immediately after receiving the destination address.
As a consequence, the switch forwards the frame without collision and error detection.
Collision-free: In this case, the switch forwards the frame after receiving 64 bytes, which
allows detection of collision. However, error detection is not possible because switch is yet to
receive the entire frame.
Fully buffered: In this case, the switch forwards the frame only after receiving the entire
frame, So switch can detect both collision and error free frames are forwarded.
In a switched network some of these nodes are connected to the communicating devices and
others are used only for routing.
Resources/Apparatus required:
• Two workstations with an Ethernet 10/100 NIC installed
• Ethernet 10BaseT or Fast Ethernet switch
• Several Ethernet cables, which are both straight-through and crossover, to choose from for
connecting the two workstations.
PROCEDURE
Step 1 Identify the proper Ethernet cable and connect the two PCs to the switch
a. The connection between the two PCs will be accomplished using a Category 5 or 5e
crossover cable. Locate two cables that are long enough to reach from each PC to the
Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)
switch. Attach one end to the NIC and the other end to a port on the switch. Be sure
to examine the cable ends carefully and select only a straight-through cable.
Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)
b. Note that the default gateway IP address is not required, since these computers are
directly connected. The default gateway is only required on local area networks that
are connected to a router.
Precautions:
Write down the existing IP settings, so that they can be restored at the end
These include IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers. If the workstation
is a DHCP client, it is not necessary to record this information.
RESULT?
Mr. S. D. Mishra, Assistant Professor ( C.S.E ).Bhilai Institute Of Technology, Durg (C.G.)