Assignment -
Description: This is an individual based coursework assignment. You are allowed to use any of the course material and lab exercises, and it is advisable to even use the Web and research the relevant topics. It is NOT allowed though to collaborate with anyone else and the work produced should be your own effort.
General Aim: The purpose of this assessment is to test your skills in setting up and analysing a computer network and also to describe your understanding and the choices made. You will be required to use NetKit to implement the network, based on some given requirements, and then prove that the network is working as expected. You will also be required to write a report that describes your approach and findings.
Task A: Network topology implementation in NetKit
Implement a network topology in NetKit, following the requirements of the diagram given (attached).
NOTE 1: Each IP address has an XX mark that needs to be replaced by the last two digits of your username. For example, if your username is ab00123 then the IP 210.2.XX.0 becomes 210.2.23.0
NOTE 2: Some of the routing cost (yellow boxes) are marked as YY that needs to be replaced by the last two digits of your URN. For example if your URN in 12345678 then the cost (only where YY was indicated) becomes 78.
For each one of the following tasks (T) give a brief description (max 1 paragraph per task) of the setup and take a screenshot (or more, if appropriate) to support your description.
1. Create a new folder (use your username as the name of the folder) and keep your project solution in there. I will be referring to that folder as the "working folder". Your topology should contain all of the VMs mentioned in the diagram (client1, r1, etc.).
2. For each startup configuration file write the necessary commands to setup the VMs based on the details in the given network diagram and the coursework requirements.
3. In the lab configuration file describe how the VMs are interconnected. Add the necessary commands to define the VM's interface and which collision domain is connected to.
4. Make sure to setup the routing service and daemons on all routing VMs, including the technique, interface cost, router and network area, as necessary. Be aware that the interface and cost might differ for each VM!
5. When you setup the Web server (Apache), edit the server startup file and add the necessary command to instruct Apache to start.
6. Create a simple HTML file (index.html) for the Apache server that would be requested by the clients for testing.
7. Make sure you try the network and ensure that it all works correctly by trying to ping from one node to another. Show the result of pinging 2 different node pairs, one from two different network areas and one from the same network area.
8. Save an image (net.ps) of the graph using the linfo command, add it to your report and include any description or clarifications needed (only if is not clear).
Task B: Network extension
You are asked to extend the network in task 1 and implement an extension to the network that offers a solution for a startup business. The details and requirements of the extension are:
I. The new network (call it "I") will extend from router 6 (r6) and the IP and subnet mask given to it is: 100.1.XX.0/30
NOTE: Make sure to replace XX in the IP with the last two digits from your username.
II. The business needs to have two subnets setup:
a. the first subnet should be used for several client facing servers
b. the second subnet should be used for up to 50 different devices (such as laptops smartphones, printers etc.)
III. To start with the business has the following equipment (assume each has one only NIC):
a. one Web server
b. one Database server
c. two laptops
d. two smart phones
Based on the above specifications:
1. Draw (either using draw.io on the web or your preferred drawing software) the network diagram and include this in your report. Give a short description too (max 1 page for all).
2. Also respond to the following questions:
a. how and why you chose the network architecture (1 paragraph)
b. how did you calculate the IPs? Show your working (half page)
c. Based on the given IP and subnet mask, could you implement three subnets and how? (a paragraph)
d. what would you have to do to support 100 laptops on subnet 2? What if you had 300 laptops on subnet 2? (two paragraphs)
3. Implement the solution in NetKit and make sure you follow a similar process to the one described in T-A1 to T-A3, so make sure to give a short description and screenshots of your thinking (like you did in T-A1 to T-A3).
NOTE: The network extension implementation should extend the existing setup you made in Task A, but if there are any problems try and implement this separately as a new lab project.
4. Test and make sure is all working appropriately. Document your process (about half page and screenshots as you did for T-A6).
NOTE: You will be marked on your approach to test the network.
Task C: Routing experiments
In this task you are expected to experiment with two routing algorithms, OSPF and RIP, and explain which one should be applied in which part of the network and why.
NOTE: This is about your methodology for analysing the routing algorithms and even if the network does not work properly you should still explain how you would do that. So marks are only given for the methodology not the network implementation (this is marked separately in Task 1).
1. Examine and compare the routing algorithms and see if they have calculated the shortest paths correctly and how they do that (about 1 page). Make use of the show command of the vtysh routing software, but you are basically allowed to use any other tools or commands you know of to examine the routing. You will need to do some research in understanding the two algorithms (OSPF and RIP), in order to explain the differences.
2. Explain in a few words (about a page including screenshots) the preferred route (separately for OSPF and RIP) in the network when data is exchanged between client2 and the server. Add in your explanation references to the screenshots you take to support your answer.
Task D: DNS server
The purpose of this task is to examine how the DNS server works. You will be asked to add a DNS server to the network and observe how this functions.
1. Add a DNS server on the network (you must choose an appropriate network to attach the DNS to) and set it up appropriately, so that clients can successfully connect to the server using the domain name.
2. Describe your choice of settings and explain how the DNS server functions for your network (2 paragraphs).
Task E: Network analysis
In this final section of the report your task is to analyse the network and observe how the traffic is routing when connecting from one node to another. For this part you should use the OSPF routing algorithm. You are also asked to tamper/modify the network and observe the consequences.
NOTE: In a similar way to Task 1, this task is about your methodology for analysing the network and even if the network does not work properly you should still explain how you would do that. So marks are only given for the methodology not the network implementation (this is marked separately in Task 1).
1. Test the connectivity from a node to another. Choose 2 different node pairs that you think are worth testing (and you have not analysed in previous tasks T-A6 or T-B4) and try to ping the connectivity. Take a screenshot of each output and add them to the report together with a short description (a paragraph for each).
2. Check how the routing works (for the same 2 node pairs) by printing the routing tables. You should also test other commands that you might think are useful for examining the routing. Take a screenshot of each output and add them to the report together with a short description (a paragraph for each).
3. See what happens if one of the routers in the network that was initially used for a route (any of the 2 previous pairs routes) is not available anymore (i.e. shut it down). Add a short description in the report (screenshot and a paragraph) of the result of your routing analysis that indicates a possible route change.
4. See what happens if you change the cost values of the route in the network for any of the 2 pairs you examined previously. Calculate the total route cost before and after the change. Add a short description of that in the report (screenshot and a paragraph).
5. If the server was also connected to network C via a secondary Ethernet card (eth1) what implications would that have on the network? Provide some evidence (screenshot(s) and a couple of paragraphs) to support your answer.
Report structure -
The report should follow the tasks order and keep each task separated in a different section. Make sure to include your details at the front and also add any references that you might have used at the end of the report. If you want to include more screenshots and results please use the appendix. Save the report as a pdf before submission.
Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar