➤ Networking ➤ Build a Network

You, the server.

Find a desktop that is connected to the network, or ideally a wireless router. That's your server. You are part of the network. The only thing that separates a "server" from a "desktop" or "laptop" is how humans physically interact with it.

desktop - it sits on a desk, or under it, and might use WiFi, but might have a cable.
laptop - it sits on your lap and most likely connects to the network with WiFi.
server - it might not have a keyboard, display, or mouse, and you might leave it on all the time, and it might be expensive.

Seriously, these are all computers and they are connected to the network via TCP/IP. Therefore, we have ourselves a network.

The lab does have an expensive machine in the cabinet (we call a server) and a bunch of desktops, but they all do the same thing. We might as well be talking about trucks, cars, vans, and 18-wheelers. They all drive on the road and move things.

In this assignment, determine your server's unique identity. We'll assume you are a Windows desktop.

Step 1

Run this:

ipconfig /all

It might show you a bunch of sections, one for each network adapter you have. Look for the one that contains Default Gateway. That is the adapter that is actually connected to the network. It might look like this:

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

  Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
  Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
  Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 3C-A9-F4-8B-D5-1C
  DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
  Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
  Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::44d0:9266:e8f4:34cc%16(Preferred)
  IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2(Preferred)
  Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
  Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, February 02, 2024 6:29:33 PM
  Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, February 14, 2024 6:41:37 AM
  Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
  DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
  DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 222079476
  DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-22-94-97-A9-3C-A9-F4-8B-D5-1C
  DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
  NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

The IPv4 Address address (ex: 192.168.1.2) is unique to your machine. Another computer on the same network will have a different IP address.

Step 2

Run:

echo %COMPUTERNAME%

This will show you your computer name. This does not have to be unique, but it would be confusing otherwise. So they typically are unique. They exist to help humans.

Step 3

Find your neighbors IP address (call it NEIGHBORIP). Then run:

ping NEIGHBORIP

Hopefully you don't see "Request timed out" or "Destination host unreachable." You should be able to see a TTL (Time To Live) of some number.

Step 4

To see all the computers on your network, run:

net view

Step 5

Pick any computer (e.g. ANYNAME) and run:

ping ANYNAME

This is just another way to ping a machine - by name instead of IP address.

Acceptance Criteria

You shared your IP address with another user, and vice versa.
You ping'ed another machine.
You know your computer name.
You know the names of other machines.