Module01 v0.9.2

Absolute Beginners lab guide
Module 01
Module 01 – Basic Networking Concepts
Being online in today’s world is nearly a universal assumption. Today you see computers,
smartphones, tablets, printers, automobiles, refrigerators, and a growing number of other
devices already able to connect to digital networks. There is almost no limit to what you can do
remotely now.
What is networking?
Taking high-definition pictures from your smartphone is a good thing but it is worth nothing if you cannot
share them with the world. The action to move data out of your smartphone is an example of computing
communication.
Computing communication is then the process of sending or receiving data from other computing
entities. Network computing is the engineering that makes this happen.
Network computing is all the infrastructure – both physical hardware and virtual software - all working
together to create bridges, paths, and highways where data is transported.
How networking works?
Humans use implicit rules and procedures to communicate. Consider the following example.
Alice meets Bob for the first time, and starts the conversation by saying “Good morning, my name is
Alice”. Bob replies “Good morning Alice, my name is Bob”
This brief conversation is a procedure. Notice that Alice starts the communication with a greeting and
then she identifies herself. Bob’s reply is also a procedure. He acknowledges Alice, and then he identifies
himself by name.
The implicit rules in this conversation help to establish and maintain a conversation. Likewise computing
devices use rules or protocols to exchange data.
Rev 20.41 | © Copyright 2020 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP | Confidential – For Training Purposes Only
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Communication layers
Humans express their ideas when they speak by generating sounds, using the tongue and throat
muscles. In this example, you can clearly distinguish two levels or layers. First, the brain formulates the
message, and second the muscles move to create sounds. These two levels inside your body have
different purposes, but they work together as a team to make communication happen.
This layered concept is powerful because it enables engineers to break down the entire communication
into different phases. It also enables engineers to assign specific tasks that run only at a certain level. All
layers then work together as a team to process a message to be sent, or to interpret a message that has
been received.
OSI reference model
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model is a reference model used to define how data
communications occur on computer networks. It is divided into layers that provide services to layers
above and below.
The OSI model is made up of seven complementary but distinctly different layers, each tasked with
carrying out a discrete group of operations.
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To explain this reference model, look at this example, where a user attempts to upload a picture into their
social media account.
Application Layer – This layer is responsible for interacting with end users. In our example this is the
application itself that runs in the smartphone. The Social Media App provides options to select a picture
from your library or maybe to use your camera to take a new one.
Presentation Layer – It is responsible for coding data. In the example, this means that the picture must
be modified somehow. Maybe it is reduced in size by applying a compression technique (such as zip).
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Session Layer – This is responsible for maintaining communication sessions. A session is a

conversation that includes several individual messages referring to the same participants. In our example
the Social Media App maintains a conversation with the remote infrastructure. This conversation might
permit user recognition - not all sessions perform this task. This enables the App to present your profile
with your personal content.
Transport Layer – This is responsible for breaking data into segments and properly transmitting them
over the network. The picture that you want to share might be a few Megabytes long, but your
smartphone will break down this file into little pieces called segments, then sends them using the network.
The other side receives the pieces and rebuild the picture - a bit like building a puzzle.
Network Layer – Provides a logical addressing system from end to end. The sender and the receiver
must use an address. In the example, your smartphone needs an address so the network will know which
device the data came from. Also, the smartphone must know the destination address (in this case,
servers belonging to your favorite social media site). This information is used by the network
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infrastructure so it can make routing decisions - to select the best path, or route. This is very similar to
what the postal service does. Using the address information on the envelope, the postal service knows
the identity of both sender and receiver.
Data Link Layer – This layer is responsible for transmitting information on computers connected to the
same network. It uses a new type of addressing, different from the one used in the network layer. This
concept of using a second address could be confusing, so let’s use an analogy to clarify some concepts.
When you send a letter to a different country or city, the post office is involved. You must write down the
entire address. But to send a note to someone that lives in the same building as you, there is no need to
involve the post office in the process nor to use the whole address. You can simply use apartment
numbers as source and destination, this could be an example of local communication.
Similarly, this layer uses new addressing to communicate with devices that are part of the same network.
In our example, your smartphone uses this new address to communicate to your modem since, both
devices belong to the same network.
Physical Layer – This is responsible for the physical operation of the network. Your smartphone uses
radio frequency to send data wirelessly to the modem. This may be hard to imagine but wireless
technology has been around for decades. Radio, TV, and cellular devices use this “magic medium” to
send and receive data. This is not the only technology used. When copper cables are used, devices
translate computer data into electrical pulses. In the case of fiber optics, it must translate the data into
bursts of light.
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Note. To remember the name of the layers you can use the following mnemonic “Please Do Not Throw
Sausage Pizza Away”.
Note. The OSI reference model is not the only model that is used to detail computing communication.
TCP/IP is another common reference model.
Headers
You have learned that computing communication is broken down into seven layers or phases, and that
each layer has a specific task. This means that each layer generates information to be shared with the
receiver. The receiver uses that information to know how to process this received information. To
accomplish this, computing devices uses the header concept.
The next figure illustrates how the header process works.
The communication process starts on the Application Layer. The Social Media App running in your
smartphone selects the picture to upload into the social media site. Then the Presentation layer comes
in and appends specific information using its own header (Layer 6 header). The payload in this phase is
referring to the data computed by the above layer (in this case, the picture itself). The next layer does a
similar process, the Session Layer appends specific information using the Layer 5 header. The payload
in this phase refers to the Layer 6 header plus its payload.
As you can infer, the process continues in each layer until it reaches Data Link Layer. In this layer your
smartphone includes a Layer 2 header and a Layer 2 trailer. The trailer is used to verify if the information
received is complete and was not modified in transit.
Note. Sometimes, network engineers will just refer to these layers as L2 through L6, rather than writing
out the word “layer.”
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The combination of headers and Payload take specific names for Layers 2 through 4.
Segment is the term that refers to Layer 4 Header and Payload.
Packet is the term that refers to Layer 3 Header and Payload.
Frame is the term that refers to Layer 2 header, Payload and Layer 2 trailer.
Encapsulation and Decapsulation

It is time to put all the concepts together. In the next figure you can see the Sender and the Receiver. The
communication process starts when the user selects a picture to share from their Social Media App. Then
Layer 6 compresses the image, Layer 5 maintains the session, and Layer 4 divides the picture into
segments. Layer 3 provides addressing end to end, Layer 2 provides local addressing, and finally the
information is sent using the physical media (radio waves, copper wire or fiber optic cable) to the Social
Media site’s servers. The process used to add headers on each layer is known as encapsulation.
When the message is received by the destination it will start the decapsulation process, which refers to
header analysis. As opposed to the encapsulation process, decapsulation starts from Layer 1 (Physical)
and moves up, through the layers, to Layer 7 (Application).
The receiver receives data from the physical media. It then analyzes the Layer 2 header and trailer to
verify the destination of this information. It also determines if the payload has changed somehow during
transmission. Next, Layer 3 analyzes the addressing and accepts the information if the receiver is the
correct destination. After the correct destination is confirmed, Layer 4 reassembles the segments, thus
rebuilding the original photo. Layer 5 keeps track of all the individual messages and maintains the running
session. Layer 6 then knows that this photo has been compressed, and it might perform some
decompression process. Finally, Layer 7 could bring up a message indicating that the transaction has
been completed.
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The image also includes another important consideration. Layers from 3 to 7 maintain an end-to-end
communication. On the other hand, Layers 1 and 2 are local - the information that is exchanged is only
relative to the network that they are part of.
Important protocols
The previous section introduced some of the most important protocols that are used in networking. The
next figure presents some other frequently used protocols and the associated layer where each one
works.
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Application Layer Protocols (Layer 7)
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – This protocol is the foundation for the World Wide Web (WWW),
where hypertext documents include hyperlinks to other resources that the user can easily access - for
example by a mouse click or by tapping the screen in a browser. Every time you load a web page from
the Internet in your smartphone, you are using HTTP.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) – This is a traditional protocol, used to transfer files between computing
entities in both directions (upload and download). This protocol is still in use in the networking world, but
typically, non-technical people do not use it anymore1.
Real Time Protocol (RTP) – This protocol is used to transfer voice and video data between computing
entities. Every time you start a video call with your friend, you are using RTP to share your voice and your
image.
Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) – This is considered a light variant of the FTP protocol; it is used
to transfer files. The primary difference between these two protocols is the transport layer (Layer 4)
protocol that is used. TFTP uses UDP while FTP uses TCP. You will learn about these two concepts in
the next section.
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Nowadays non-technical people can use other technologies and protocols to transfer files, some examples
include HTTP, HTTPS (secure version of HTTP) and Bluetooth.
Transport Layer Protocols (Layer 4)
There are two main protocols used in this Layer – Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User
Datagram Protocol (UDP).
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Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) – This protocol makes sure that the remote entity receives all the
segments (pieces of a file). If one segment is missed, the receiver can ask to resend that segment.
To understand this concept, the next figure illustrates the TCP message flow.
The figure shows how the picture is broken down into 9 segments. The sender then starts the process,
informing the receiver about how many segments it should expect to receive - nine in this case. Then the
first segment is sent. The receiver processes the data, but it must respond back to the sender that
segment number 1 was received. This message is known as the acknowledgment message. The sender
then proceeds to send the next segment and the process continues. For each segment, the receiver must
send back an acknowledgement.
You might notice that TCP uses the sequence number to keep track of individual segments during the
communication process.
Assume now that the network experienced a brief problem, and segment number 5 could not reach the
receiver. In this case the receiver asks the sender to resend the missing segment. The sender resends
segment number 5, and expects to receive an acknowledgement, which indicates that this time, the
segment was properly received.
Application Protocols such as HTTP and FTP use TCP to make sure that all data is received.
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User Datagram Protocol (UDP) – Unlike TCP, this protocol does not contain a mechanism to resend
missing segments. You might think that this is an awful protocol, but there are some communications that
take advantage of this behavior.
Consider the following situation. During an online call, the network experienced some brief problems, and
a few segments were lost. For example, the receiver might miss the word “morning” in the sentence
“Good morning everyone, welcome to this meeting”. Missing that information was not critical to
understand what the speaker said, and as long as only a small percentage of segments are lost (typically
less than 1 percent) your brain can fill in the gaps.
Let’s analyze what would happen if the voice call used TCP as the transport mechanism. Your device
could ask for missing segments, the word “morning” in this example. But this action will not help much,
because reproducing that missed word in the wrong time will make the message unintelligible or
confusing. For example, “Good everyone, welcome morning to this meeting”.
Application protocols such as RTP (voice and video) and TFTP use UDP as a transport mechanism.
Network Protocols (Layer 3)
Internet Protocol (IP) – This protocol provides addressing functions to the network.
In the modern telephone system, the carrier assigns a unique number to your smartphone. You share this
telephone number to your contacts. Anytime they need to reach you they simply use that number. Also,
when you call a friend, your number is used as the source for that call. In this system every phone that
wants to join the telephone network needs a unique phone number.
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Similarly, in the computing world, each connected device requires a unique identifier. You refer to this
number as the IP address. In the figure, you can see how each entity has a unique IP address number.
IP uses two versions - IP version 4 and version 6. The big difference between the two version is the
length of the address. Version 4 (IPv4) uses a 32-bit length which accommodates 4 billion unique
addresses. Meanwhile, version 6 (IPv6) uses a 128-bit length, for 3.4 x 1038 unique addresses.
Note. In module 4, you will learn more about how IP addresses work.
Data Link and Physical Protocols (Layer 2 and Layer 1)
Ethernet – The goal of this protocol is to provide unique addressing to Network Interface Cards (NIC) in a
local network. These addresses are called MAC addresses.
The MAC address number is composed of two sections. The first section identifies the manufacturer of
the adapter, and the second section indicates the serial number.
Devices that are part of the same local network use the MAC address to locally request a communication.
This is like sending a note to the neighbor that lives next door. You use apartment numbers as source
and destination in that note.
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Note: The idea that the MAC address helps you to locally communicate with another device does not
mean that your devices will not need the IP address. Remember that the communication works in layers
and those layers work as a team.
Lab Activity 1
The Aruba Remote Training Lab environment provides the necessary equipment to reinforce your
understanding of recent topics.
Lab Equipment
Your lab environment includes the following devices:
Three virtual switches running Aruba AOS-CX version Virtual.10.06.0001
Three PCs running Microsoft Windows 10
One Server running Microsoft Windows Server
Lab Topology
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Task 1: Analyze a Computing Communication
Objective
In this task you will initiate a computing communication between PC1 and the Server. Then
you will explore the OSI layers using Wireshark.
Note. Wireshark is a well-known, open-source packet analyzer tool. It is capable of capturing

traffic. It is supported on main desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows,
MacOS and many Linux Distributions. You can visit www.wireshark.org for more information.
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Network Topology for this Task
Steps
1. After you made your initial remote lab reservation, you should have received an email
from donotreply@computerdata.com. This email contains a unique-to-you link that you
will use to access Aruba Training Lab environment.
2. In your lab reservation email, click on the text that says “Use this link to access the lab
at your scheduled date/time”.
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Note. Chrome or Firefox are the recommended browsers to use.
Recommendation. Open the access link in an incognito or private browsing session.
3. Once your lab time has begun, your link will take you to the following screen.
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4. On the left panel, make sure Module 1 is selected.

5. Close this left panel by clicking on the X (see image for reference).
6. Download the PDF to save a local copy of this document.
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7. On the Topology panel (right panel). Right click on the PC1 icon. A menu should appear.
8. Select Open Desktop. A new tab will open.
9. Move to the new tab, you should see a Windows 10 desktop.
Note. Be patient the first time you open this desktop, it could take a minute to completely
load the operating system.
10. Open Wireshark, you will find a shortcut on the Desktop.
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11. Double click on the “Direct Server NIC” entry.
Note. Wireshark sections and buttons:
12. In the Filter Toolbar type “ip.addr==10.250.1.21”

This command will instruct Wireshark to display packets to and from your server.
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13. On PC1, open a web browser, on the URL field type: “http://10.250.1.21”
14. Hit Enter, a web page should load.
15. Move to the Wireshark window.

16. Click on the stop capture button, but do not close the Wireshark window.
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TIP: You can use the magnifying glass to increase the size of the packets.
17. Select the entry that lists “GET / HTTP/1.1” in the info column. You might have to scroll
up.
In the “Packet Details” section you should see five entries, these entries represent four
communication layers and there is one that is used in Wireshark for summary purposes.
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Analyzing the Wireshark Capture
Your first impression of the capture would be that there are three layers that are missed in
the output, but the information presented is collapsed. Let’s analyze each entry.
18. Expand the “Ethernet II” entry. There is an arrow in the left.
Ethernet II is the protocol that runs in the Data Link Layer or Layer 2
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19. Answer the following questions:

What is the value of the Source field?
_______________________________________________________________
What is the value of the Destination field?
_______________________________________________________________
20. Expand the “Internet Protocol Version 4” entry.
Internet Protocol version 4 is the protocol that runs in the Network Layer or Layer 3

What is the value of the Source field?
_______________________________________________________________
What is the value of the Destination field?
_______________________________________________________________
Are these fields the same used in Ethernet II entry? (Y/N)
_______________________________________________________________
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22. Expand the “Transmission Control Protocol” entry.

Transmission Control Protocol is the protocol that runs in the Transport Layer or
Layer 4
23. Answer the following question:

What is the value of the sequence number?
_______________________________________________________________
Note. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) uses sequence numbers to keep a
record of all the segments exchanged between endpoints.
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24. Expand the “Hypertext Transfer Protocol” entry

Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the protocol that runs in the Application Layer or
Layer 7
Layers 5 to 7 work very closely together. Typically, the information of these three layers is
collapsed and presented on Wireshark in a single entry.

What is the HTTP command (GET, PUSH, PUT or DELETE) used?
_______________________________________________________________
Note. HTTP commands are used by this protocol to execute an action:

• GET command asks for certain data
• PUSH command modifies existing data
• PUT command creates new data
• DELETE command removes data
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The only Layer that is not included in the Wireshark capture is the Physical Layer.
Remember that Layer 1 handles how data physically travels from device to device. The
software limitation to display this layer does not mean that you are not using it. Packets listed
in Wireshark are proof that Layer 1 has been used by your PC1 to send and receive data.
26. Close the Wireshark capture on PC1.
27. A new window will ask to save the capture. Select Quit without Saving option.
28. Close the web browser.
Task 2: Find the IP address and MAC address on PC1
In this task you will learn how to obtain the IP address (Layer 3 address) and MAC address
(Layer 2 address) from a Windows device.
1. From the Aruba Training Lab environment (https://arubatraininglab.computerdata.com)

2. Connect to PC1.
3. Open the “command line” window. You will find a shortcut on the Desktop.
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Enter the ipconfig command
Note: In Unix and Linux operating systems you will use the ifconfig command instead.
Note: PC1 uses three adapters named Do Not Touch!, Lab NIC, and Direct Server
NIC. Each adapter uses its own IP and MAC address.
4. Scroll down and locate the information for the Direct Server NIC adapter.
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What is the IP address assigned to the Direct Server NIC adapter?
__________________________________________________________________
Does the ipconfig command display information about the MAC address? (Y/N)
__________________________________________________________________
6. Enter the ipconfig /all command
7. Scroll down and locate the information for the Direct Server NIC adapter.
What is the Physical Address (MAC address) of the Direct Server NIC adapter?
__________________________________________________________________
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Task 3: Analyzing a TCP connection
In this task you will analyze a TCP connection - downloading a file from an FTP server.
1. Open Wireshark. You will find a shortcut on the Desktop.

2. Double click on the Direct Server NIC entry.
3. On Filter Toolbar type “ip.addr==10.250.1.21”

This command will instruct Wireshark to display packets to and from your server.
4. On PC1 open a web browser, and in the URL field type: “ftp://10.250.1.21”
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5. Download the “island.jpg” file.

6. Move back to Wireshark.
7. Click on stop capture button.
8. On Wireshark, pay attention to the Info column. Scroll down and find the “Data
Connection already open; Transfer starting” message.
9. Pay attention to the following messages, and answer the following questions:
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Do you see any Acknowledgment (look for [ACK]) messages listed? (Y/N)
________________________________________________________________
In any Acknowledgment messages, what is the source IP address?
________________________________________________________________
Is this PC1 IP address? (Y/N)
________________________________________________________________
Remember that in a TCP connection, PC1 responds back to the Server that the
information was successfully received.
10. Scroll up and select the first packet on the list.

11. On the “Packet Detail” section, expand the Ethernet II entry.
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Does the MAC address obtained in the previous task match the source address in this
capture?
________________________________________________________________
13. Expand the Transmission Control Protocol entry.
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Does the header contain an acknowledgement field? (Y/N)
________________________________________________________________
15. Do not close Wireshark.
Task 4: Analyzing a UDP connection
In this task you will analyze a UDP connection - downloading a file from a TFTP server.
1. In Wireshark click the restart button.
2. Select “Continue without Saving”

3. Open “Tftpd64” software. There should be a shortcut on the Desktop.
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Note. If a Windows Security Alert windows is open, select Allow access.

4. Click on the “Tftp Client” tab
5. Enter the following information:
Host: 10.250.1.21
Port: 69
Local File: [click the … button, select the Desktop as destination directory and type
lake.png as file name, click Open]
Remote File: lake.png
Block Size: Default
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6. Click Get button. Wait for the transfer to complete.
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7. Move to Wireshark.
8. Stop the capture.
9. Open the first TFTP packet (Read Request).
10. Select and expand the “User Datagram Protocol” entry in the Packet details section.

What is your first impression of the UDP header?
_________________________________________________________________
Does the UDP header contain any acknowledgment field? (Y/N)
_________________________________________________________________
12. Scroll down and select an Acknowledgement packet.

13. Select and expand the “User Datagram Protocol” entry.
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Does the UDP header contain any acknowledgment field? (Y/N)
_________________________________________________________________
15. Next, expand the Trivial File Transfer Protocol entry.
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What is the Opcode field value?
_________________________________________________________________
Note. The acknowledgement is not contained in the UDP header. Instead, it is in the
Application layer header. TFTP compensates for UDP’s lack of reliability by using its own
acknowledgement messages in Layer 7.
17. Close Wireshark.

18. Select “Quit without Saving”.
19. Close the TFTP clients and the web browser.
Congratulations, you have completed Module 1!
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Absolute Beginners lab guide

Module 01 – Basic Networking Concepts

How networking works?

OSI reference model

Session Layer – This is responsible for maintaining communication sessions. A session is a

Encapsulation and Decapsulation

Application Layer Protocols (Layer 7)

Transport Layer Protocols (Layer 4)

Network Protocols (Layer 3)

Data Link and Physical Protocols (Layer 2 and Layer 1)

Task 1: Analyze a Computing Communication

Note. Wireshark is a well-known, open-source packet analyzer tool. It is capable of capturing

Network Topology for this Task

Note. Chrome or Firefox are the recommended browsers to use.

Recommendation. Open the access link in an incognito or private browsing session.

4. On the left panel, make sure Module 1 is selected.

6. Download the PDF to save a local copy of this document.

9. Move to the new tab, you should see a Windows 10 desktop.

10. Open Wireshark, you will find a shortcut on the Desktop.

11. Double click on the “Direct Server NIC” entry.

Note. Wireshark sections and buttons:

12. In the Filter Toolbar type “ip.addr==10.250.1.21”

15. Move to the Wireshark window.

Analyzing the Wireshark Capture

19. Answer the following questions:

21. Answer the following questions:

22. Expand the “Transmission Control Protocol” entry.

23. Answer the following question:

24. Expand the “Hypertext Transfer Protocol” entry

25. Answer the following question:

Note. HTTP commands are used by this protocol to execute an action:

28. Close the web browser.

Task 2: Find the IP address and MAC address on PC1

1. From the Aruba Training Lab environment (https://arubatraininglab.computerdata.com)

Enter the ipconfig command

5. Answer the following questions:

6. Enter the ipconfig /all command

Task 3: Analyzing a TCP connection

1. Open Wireshark. You will find a shortcut on the Desktop.

3. On Filter Toolbar type “ip.addr==10.250.1.21”

5. Download the “island.jpg” file.

10. Scroll up and select the first packet on the list.

12. Answer the following question:

14. Answer the following question:

Task 4: Analyzing a UDP connection

1. In Wireshark click the restart button.

2. Select “Continue without Saving”

Note. If a Windows Security Alert windows is open, select Allow access.

6. Click Get button. Wait for the transfer to complete.

11. Answer the following questions:

12. Scroll down and select an Acknowledgement packet.

14. Answer the following question:

16. Answer the following question:

17. Close Wireshark.

Congratulations, you have completed Module 1!

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