NSSA 241- Lab 4 VLANs and Trunks – Summer 2024

Overview
VLANs are an integral part of most networks, used for both wired and wireless topologies and
to address server or application security as well as provide logical flexibility in creating routed
network topologies. This lab explores two different VLAN topologies and the network traffic
flows between and within VLANS.
Activity 0 – Setup
Start a Lab report and make sure to take a screenshot of ALL steps and answer ALL
questions.
Activity 1 – Basic VLAN Topology Configuration and Experiments
Using Packet Tracer, setup the topology below. We will configure two VLANs using a single
switch and a single router. VLAN 101 will run on switch ports 1-6 and VLAN 102 will run on
switch ports 7-12.

1. Add the router, switch and hosts to the topology.

2. Configure the network settings on each PC.
3. From the router console, configure the IP settings (address and mask) as you have done
in previous weeks. Remember to check the green triangles in your topology to be sure
that your interfaces are ‘up’ (not shutdown) after being configured.
4. From the switch console, configure two VLANs: 101 and 102, with six ports in each.
There are two ways to assign ports to a VLAN; one port at a time or a range of ports. We
will assign the ports one at a time.

Switch(config)# interface gigabitEthernet X/0/3

(where X is the module – remember that you can see what modules are set for your
switch using the show run command – and see example below)
Switch(config-if)# switchport access vlan 101
(repeat this for each interface to be added to the VLAN)

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Configure ports 1-6 on VLAN 101 and ports 7-12 on VLAN 102.

5. Run the <show vlan> command and analyze the output to confirm your vlan settings.

6. Run the <show run> command and analyze the output to confirm your vlan settings.
7. Run the <show mac address-table> command and analyze the output.
8. Test your network by pinging from PC 1 on the 101 VLAN to 192.168.2.1 on VLAN 102.

!!!!!!!!
NOTE: For the rest of this activity, you will design and conduct additional experiments to
answer the questions for the report. This is a new experience for you in lab, and the goal is for
you to think through how to prove or disprove network activity in a topology and how to test
your experiments. In designing your experiments, (1) think about what you expect the results
to be before conducting the experiment and then (2) compare to your actual results. In
particular consider traffic flows, arp tables, routing tables and SATs.

You will need to carefully consider your experiments in order to demonstrate the concepts.
Be sure to:
** Draw topologies

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** Diagram expected traffic flows

** Diagram resultant network traffic flows
** Consider: (a) traffic flows, (b) arp tables on the PCs and the router, (c) the SAT on the switch
(d) the routing table(s) on the router.

In explaining your experiments, you must include a diagram if you made topology changes.

Read the following questions for the lab to consider how both broadcast and unicast traffic
flows across VLANs.

Activity 1 Questions (50 points )

1. (4 pts)What is the purpose of a VLAN? Cite your resource.
2. (4 pts)Explain what the show VLAN command presents.
3. (4 pts)Is there a separate SAT for each VLAN? Why or why not?
4. a. (5 pts)Identify the steps to trace the flow of a ping (full echo request and echo reply
exchange) from PC 1.1 to PC 2.1 when all arp and switch tables are empty. For example:
Step 1 PC 1 examines its host routing table to determine
where to send the message
Step 2 PC 1 identifies that the message must be sent to the
default gateway at 192.168.1.254
Step 3 PC 1 checks its arp table to determine if it already
knows the MAC address for the default gateway
Step 4 Continue …

As an alternative to the table, insert the network topology diagram and clearly label the
order of decisions and network traffic flow.

b. (5 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question. (What traffic
did you send, where did you send it from what did you look for, etc. ???)

5. a. (5 pts)Can PC 192.168.1.1 see unicast frames sent between 192.168.2.1 and

192.168.2.2? Explain why or why not and provide evidence to support your claim.
Evidence may include: packet captures of network traffic or screen shots of tables. In
answering this question, be sure to consider what is a unicast frame, where would one
occur and what test you can do to demonstrate your results.

b. (5 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question.

6. a. (5 pts)Can PC 192.168.1.1 see broadcast frames sent between 192.168.2.1 and

192.168.2.2? Explain why or why not and provide evidence to support your claim.
Evidence may include: packet captures of network traffic or screen shots of tables. In
answering this question, be sure to consider what is a broadcast frame, where would
one occur and what test you can do to demonstrate your results.

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b. (5 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question.

7. (3 pts)In the topology for Activity 1, does the router know about the VLANs? Explain why
or why not.

8. (5 pts)Draw a network diagram of what the Activity 1 topology would look like without
using VLANs (ie the logical topology per the videos). In other words, if VLANs were not
available and you could not logically configure different IP networks on the switch, what
would the topology look like? Think about this in terms of how we have configured our
topologies in previous weeks, using separate switches and routers for each network.

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Activity 2 – Trunked VLANs Topology Configuration and Experiments

1. In the next VLAN topology, you will configure trunking across two switches. This enables
hosts on differing IP networks to communicate seamlessly across a single switch-to-
switch connection. Work with the other bench in your pod to implement the trunked
connected switches. Consider the topology diagram below before you begin this
configuration.

2. Connect the switch on one bench in the pod to the switch on the other bench. Use port
fastethernet 0/24 on both switches. This means both switches will have identical
VLANs defined.

As you see in the topology diagram, again only one router is needed as with the first
activity.

3. When the two topologies are connected there will be duplicate IP addresses. Change
only the IP addresses needed to eliminate any conflicts and check your default
gateways.

4. Configure a trunk link on each switch’s interface gigabitEthernet 0/1. Remember,

because this is set for the interface, it must be configured at the interface level.
a. Change the encapsulation for the port: switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
b. Make the two connected ports “trunk” ports: switchport mode trunk
c. Use the ‘show run’ command to confirm the trunked link on port 24
(Refer to the Cisco switch command reference for a more detailed explanation)
d. Use the show interface gigabitEthernet 0/1 trunk to display the trunking
information for the switch. Analyze what you see when you run the command.
e. Use the show interface gigabitEthernet 0/1 switchport to display the switchport
configuration for the port. Analyze what you see when you run the command.

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f. Confirm that all hosts can ping all other hosts both within their VLAN and across
VLANs. All pings should succeed.

Activity 2 Questions (50 Points)

1. (2 pts)What is the purpose of a trunk link? Cite your source.
2. (4 pts)Explain when trunking is needed. Consider the path of each ping within a VLAN or
across VLANs (not routed or routed) in answering this question.
3. (2 pts)What trunking protocol are you using in this Activity 2? Provide evidence to
support your answer. Evidence may include: packet captures of network traffic or screen
shots of tables.
4. a. (5 pts)Identify the steps to trace the flow of a ping (full echo request and echo reply
exchange) from PC 1.1 to PC 1.X (across the trunk on the same VLAN) when all arp and
switch tables are empty. Consider what you expect the traffic flow to be before you run
your experiment. For example:
Step 1 PC 1 examines its host routing table to determine
where to send the message
Step 2 PC 1 identifies that the message must be sent to the
default gateway at 192.168.1.254
Step 3 PC 1 checks its arp table to determine if it already
knows the MAC address for the default gateway
Step 4 Continue …

As an alternative to the table, insert the network topology diagram and clearly label the
order of decisions and network traffic flow.

b. (4 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question.

5. a. (5 pts)Identify the steps to trace the flow of a ping (full echo request and echo reply
exchange) from PC 1.1 to PC 2.X (across the trunk link on different vlans (routed)) when

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all arp and switch tables are empty. Consider what you expect the traffic flow to be
before you run your experiment. Use the same table or topology diagram format as in
the previous question.

b. (4 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question.

6. a. (5 pts)Identify the steps to trace the flow of a ping (full echo request and echo reply
exchange) from PC 1.1 to PC 2.1 (routed, but no trunking) when all arp and switch tables
are empty. Consider what you expect the traffic flow to be before you run your
experiment. Use the same table or topology diagram format as in the previous question.

b. (4 pts)Explain the experiment you conducted to answer this question.

7. (5 pts)Draw a network diagram of what the topology would look like for this experiment
without using VLANs and trunks? In other words, if VLANs and trunks were not available,
what would the topology look like? Think about this in terms of how we have configured
our topologies in previous weeks, using separate switches and routers for each network.

8. (10 Points) Summary Reflection Question:

In 4-6 sentences, summarize the key concepts around basic VLANs and VLAN trunking
from this lab. Be sure to address (1) the purpose of VLANS, (2) routing across VLANs and
(3) frame tagging across trunk links.

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Appendix 1 – List of commands

2621/2651
enable
configure terminal
shutdown / no shutdown
bridge 1 protocol ieee
bridge-group 1
no ip routing
show interface
ip route
spanning-tree
bridge
run
ctrl z
ctrl c
exit
?
tab
interface f0/0 / f0/1
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 <interface of default route >
ip address <ip address> <subnet mask>

3550
enable
configure terminal
shutdown / no shutdown
show interfaces f 0/2
spanning-tree
mac address-table or mac-address-table
run
switchport access
ctrl z
ctrl c
exit
?
tab
interface f 0/1

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Appendix 2 – Cisco Console Connection and Write Erase Procedure

Write Erase Procedure:

The write erase procedure should be executed at the beginning and completion of any lab that
uses a router or switch. In the real world this will be the exception. In addition, as the semester
progresses, not only will other student leave their configurations on the routers and switches
but the switches will be configured for VLANs and often, students will forget to remove VLAN
configurations. The Write Erase procedure does not delete the VLAN configuration file thus the
need for step 7 below. This action places all ports in VLAN 1, the management VLAN.
1. To console into a switch (E, F, or G), or a router (A or B) on the rack attach a patch cable
between a PC console port and the console port of the desired switch or router.
2. PuTTY, a Telnet/SSH terminal emulator client allows a serial (com) port based console
connection to a switch or router. To open PuTTY click on the Windows icon and type
Putty in the search box. Click on the Putty COM1 icon to open a preconfigured terminal
session. When the terminal window opens, hit the enter key to get the switch prompt.
3. If the Putty icon is selected instead, configure the terminal session as follows:
a. Select the Serial radio button for Connection type
b. The serial line should default to COM1.
c. Configure the terminal session by selecting ‘serial’ on the bottom left hand side
of the window and setting the parameters as follows:
9600 Baud
8 bits of data
1 stop bit
Parity None
Flow control None
Then Click Open.
4. Power on the device if it has not already been turned on.
5. Enter Privileged EXEC mode by entering the command enable at the switch> or router>
prompt. The prompt symbol should change from the > symbol to the # symbol
indicating the Privileged EXEC mode has been entered.
6. Enter the write erase command. It is the same for the router or the switch.
7. When completed, delete any existing VLAN configuration on the switches with the
command delete flash:vlan.dat.
8. If prompted to confirm these choices, type “y” and enter.
9. Next issue the reload command.
10. If prompted to save the configuration, select “no.”
11. If asked to confirm the reload, select “yes.”
12. After the reload, if asked to “enter the initial configuration," select “no.”
13. If asked to “terminate the autoinstall,” select “yes.”
14. When the screen displays “Press RETURN to get started!”, press the enter key.

At this point the router or switch should be set to its default configuration settings and will be
returned to user EXEC mode indicated by the switch> or router> prompt.

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