Routing and Switching (CIS-3210) Home Page

This is the home page for Peter Chapin's Routing and Switching course notes for the Fall 2023 semester. Here you will find electronic versions of class handouts, homework assignments, lecture slides, and links to other references of interest. If you are a student taking Routing and Switching, consider bookmarking this page.

The course syllabus gives an overview of the course and its content, lists course resources, and describes the grading policy and related issues.
The homework/lab submission area, quizzes, and grade book are on Canvas but all other course resources are here.
We will be making use of materials on the Cisco Networking Academy website. You should be able to log into that site using credentials previously emailed to you. Let me know if you have any problems getting access.
Cisco's PacketTracer tool can be downloaded from the Cisco Networking Academy site. However, Packet Tracer is very sensitive to its version number. Typically, a file written by one version of Packet Tracer cannot be opened by any previous version. Since we will be trading Packet Tracer files frequently during this course for assignments, we should all use a common version of the tool even if it is not the latest version available. Here are download links for the version of Packet Tracer we will be using in this course (version 8.2.1): Windows, macOS, Linux
For certain labs, we will make use of the SE/IT experimental network located in WIL-210 on the Williston campus. It is possible to access the experimental network remotely.
I've prepared some general information on submitting assignments.
My home page contains other resources of potential interest.

Lecture Topics

2023-08-21. Introduced the course and available course materials. Reviewed of basic networking concepts.
2023-08-23. Demonstrated Packet Tracker. Discussed Lab #1.
2023-08-28. Discussed basic router concepts and configuration.
2023-08-30. Discussed Lab #2. Described the experimental network and how to access it.
2023-09-04. No class (Labor Day).
2023-09-06. Discussed static routing and Lab #3.
2023-09-11. Introduced IPv6 and static routing using IPv6. Also discussed the network and routing configuration of the gateway systems on the experimental network.
2023-09-13. Introduced dynamic routing protocols.
2023-09-18. No class.
2023-09-20. Discussed Lab #5 on RIP version 2. Introduced OSPF.
2023-09-25. Discussed OSPF (basic concepts, how to configure).
2023-09-27. More discussion of OSPF (how to configure, metrics, verification). Discussed Lab #6.
2023-10-02. No class (Vacation).
2023-10-04. No class (Vacation).
2023-10-09. Started discussing switches.
2023-10-11. Discussed Lab #7 on OSPFv3. Introduced VLANs.
2023-10-16. More discussion of VLANs. Introduced trunking.
2023-10-18. Discussed ACLs (sidebar presentation during lab catch-up week).
2023-10-23. No class.
2023-10-25. Discussed Lab #8. Continued discussion on ACLs.
2023-10-30. Discussed the Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP).
2023-11-01. Discussed Lab #9.
2023-11-06. Introduced Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
2023-11-08. Discussed Lab #10.
2023-11-13. Introduced Network Address Translation (NAT).
2023-11-15. Discussed Lab #11.
2023-11-20. No class (Vacation).
2023-11-22. No class (Vacation).
2023-11-27. Demonstrated the Cisco 2511 terminal server. Introduced Lab #12.
2023-11-29. Further discussion about Lab #12.
2023-12-04. Introduced Boarder Gateway Protocol (BGP).
2023-12-06. No class.

Slides

Review
Router Concepts and Configuration
Static Routing
Dynamic Routing
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) Overview
OSPF Concepts and Configuration
Switch Concepts and Configuration
Virtual LANs (VLANs)
Access Control Lists (ACLs)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Network Address Translation (NAT)
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

Samples

A Packet Tracker demonstration network.

Lab Assignments

The lab set is summarized in the lab summary document, along with links to specific lab handouts and supporting materials.

Resources/Articles

Networking Concepts

A quick reference table for netmasks and CIDR notation.
This site provides a nice description of the OSI Seven Layer Model.
You should be aware of the private IPv4 address ranges. We will use addresses from those ranges in our labs and assignments.
The now obsolete IPv4 network classes are still of interest for historical and legacy reasons.

Cisco and Related Hardware

Some information on the wiring of Ethernet cables. Generally, straight-through cables will use the 568B standard on both ends, while the crossover cables will have 568A on one end and 568B on the other.
The Basic Cisco Device Settings document describes the "basic settings" that we will use for our devices.
Naming convention for Cisco interfaces.
Sometimes you might need to initialize a switch or a router. The procedure described here assumes you either know the enable secret, or that no enable secret (or password) is set.
If you need to reset your Cisco switch to its default initial state, and don't remember the enable secret, consult this page.
If you need to reset your Cisco router to its default initial state, and don't remember the enable secret, consult this page.
Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference
The PDF version of the IOS Command Reference (from 2010) also contains some information about the general behavior of the IOS command processor.

Routing Protocols

The Wikipedia page on Router Information Protocol (RIP)
The Wikipedia page on Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
The Wikipedia page on classful network addressing. This method of thinking about IP address is obsolete, being replaced by CIDR (Classless InterDomain Routing). IPv6 has never defined network classes and uses CIDR, in effect, from day one.
RIP for IPv6 from Cisco's website.
RFC-2328 describes OSPF: the Open Shortest Path First routing protocol. This is used by internal networks to route within an autonomous system.
RFC-4271 describes BGP: the Border Gateway Protocol. This is (or can be) an exterior gateway protocol used to route between autonomous systems in a wide-area network.

Switching

The VLAN trunking mode cheatsheet gives an overview of the different Cisco VLAN trunking modes and how they interrelate.