This repository contains a summary of the acquired knowledge after completing netpractice project. The project focuses on understanding and configuring basic networking concepts, such as IP addressing, subnetting, and routing, to solve a series of network configuration scenarios. This README provides an overview of the project requirements and the fundamental networking concepts needed to complete it successfully.
The NetPractice project is designed to teach students the essential concepts of computer networking. The project consists on different exercise where we are required to configure network settings for a variety of devices in different network topologies to ensure they can communicate effectively.
The project scenarios will test your knowledge of IP addressing, subnetting, routing, and network address translation (NAT). By completing this project, you will gain a deeper understanding of how networks are structured and how data is routed between devices.
- An IPv4 address consists of four octets (e.g., 192.168.1.1), each ranging from 0 to 255.
- Public IP Addresses:
- A public IP address is assigned to a device that is directly accessible over the internet. It is globally unique, meaning no two devices on the internet can have the same public IP address.
- Public IP addresses are used by servers, websites, and any devices that need to be directly reachable over the internet.
- Private IP Addresses:
- A private IP address is used within a local network and is not directly accessible over the internet. Devices within the same local network use private IP addresses to communicate with each other.
- Private IP addresses are reserved and defined by the following ranges:
- Class A:
10.0.0.0to10.255.255.255(16,777,216 addresses) - Class B:
172.16.0.0to172.31.255.255(1,048,576 addresses) - Class C:
192.168.0.0to192.168.255.255(65,536 addresses)
- Class A:
- Why the Distinction Matters:
- Security:* Devices with private IP addresses are isolated from direct internet access, providing a layer of security against external attacks.
- Address Conservation:* Using private IP addresses allows multiple devices to share a single public IP address through mechanisms like Network Address Translation (NAT), conserving the limited pool of available public IP addresses.
- Different IP classes (A, B, C) and their default subnet masks.
- Class A: 1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0 with a default subnet mask of 255.0.0.0.
- Class B: 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0 with a default subnet mask of 255.255.0.0.
- Class C: 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0 with a default subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
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Subnetting is the process of dividing a large network into smaller, manageable sub-networks (subnets). Each subnet has a specific range of IP addresses, defined by the subnet mask.
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Subnet Masks: A subnet mask determines which portion of an IP address is the network part and which is the host part (e.g., 255.255.255.0).
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Network Address:
- The network address is the first address in a subnet. It identifies the subnet itself and cannot be assigned to any individual device within the subnet.
- It helps in identifying the subnet and is essential for routing purposes.
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Broadcast Address:
- The broadcast address is the last address in a subnet. It is used to send data to all devices within the subnet simultaneously.
- It allows communication with all devices in a subnet, useful for network-wide announcements and services like DHCP.
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Default Gateway:
- The default gateway is the IP address of a router that routes traffic from a local network to other networks or the internet.
- Devices use the default gateway to communicate with devices outside their local subnet.
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Static and Dynamic Routing:
- Static routing involves manually setting up routes in a router.
- Dynamic routing uses protocols (e.g., RIP, OSPF) to automatically update routing tables.
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Routing Tables:
- Understand how routing tables determine the path for data packets based on the destination IP address.
- Learn to read and interpret routing tables to understand how data is forwarded within a network.