Cisco Packet Tracer | Everything You Need to Know

Summary

This video tutorial introduces Cisco Packet Tracer, a valuable network simulation tool designed for building and visualizing computer networks. It guides viewers through the process of downloading, installing, and setting up the tool, which is essential for those studying for the Cisco CCNA exam. The tutorial covers key features, device configuration, and the simulation mode, demonstrating how to construct a basic network and observe protocol messages in action, all within a free and user-friendly platform.

Takeaways

• 😀 Cisco Packet Tracer is a valuable network simulation tool designed by Cisco for building and designing computer networks.
• 📚 It's an essential study tool for those preparing for the Cisco CCNA certification and is completely free to use.
• 💻 To get started with Packet Tracer, you need to download and install it from the Cisco Networking Academy website (netacad.com).
• 🔑 You may need to create a Cisco Networking Academy account or log in if you already have one to access the download.
• 📚 Enrolling in the 'Intro to Packet Tracer' course is necessary to download the software, but you don't need to complete the course.
• 🔗 After enrolling, you'll receive an email to activate your account, which involves setting a password and providing additional information.
• 📥 The software supports various operating systems including Windows, Ubuntu, and Mac OS, and the installation process is straightforward.
• 🔌 Packet Tracer includes a variety of networking devices such as routers, switches, hubs, and IoT devices, as well as connection types like straight through and crossover cables.
• 🖥️ The workspace in Packet Tracer allows you to build network topologies in both logical and physical views.
• 🛠️ Configuration of devices within Packet Tracer can be done through a GUI interface, and more advanced configurations can be done using the CLI tab.
• 🔎 Simulation mode is a standout feature that visually represents messages being sent across the network, aiding in the understanding of network protocols.

Q & A

What is Cisco Packet Tracer and why is it valuable for network studies?

Cisco Packet Tracer is a network simulation tool designed by Cisco that allows users to build and design their own computer networks, play with networking technologies and protocols visually. It's valuable because it's an incredible study tool, especially vital for those taking the Cisco CCNA, and it's free.

How can I access Cisco Packet Tracer for educational purposes?

To access Cisco Packet Tracer, you need to visit the Cisco Networking Academy website at netacad.com. You can either log in if you already have an account or sign up for a new account to enroll in the 'Intro to Packet Tracer' course, which will allow you to download the software.

What are the steps to download and install Cisco Packet Tracer?

After enrolling in the 'Intro to Packet Tracer' course on the Cisco Networking Academy website, navigate to 'Resources' and then 'Download Packet Tracer'. Choose the appropriate installation file for your operating system, download it, and follow the installation prompts, which typically involve clicking 'Next' through the setup process.

What are the different device categories available in Cisco Packet Tracer?

The device categories in Cisco Packet Tracer include Networking Devices (routers, switches, hubs, etc.), End Devices (PCs, laptops, IoT devices), Components (boards, LEDs, buttons), and Connections (various types of cables and connectors).

How can I build a network topology in Cisco Packet Tracer?

To build a network topology, select the desired devices from the device menu and drag them onto the workspace. Then, use the connections menu to link the devices together with the appropriate type of cable. The 'auto' option can assist in selecting the correct cable if you're unsure.

What are the two views available in the Packet Tracer workspace?

The two views available in the Packet Tracer workspace are the Logical View, which is used for most of the time spent building network topologies, and the Physical View, which provides a realistic visual representation of how networks look and connect together.

What is the purpose of the Simulation Mode in Cisco Packet Tracer?

Simulation Mode in Cisco Packet Tracer allows users to visually see messages being sent across the network. It's a great tool for learning how protocols work and behave, helping to solidify understanding of network technologies.

How can I configure the settings of a device in Cisco Packet Tracer?

To configure a device, single-click on it to open a new window with various tabs, including the Config tab for device settings and the Desktop tab for features like IP configuration. Note that some changes may require the device to be powered down first.

What is the CLI tab in Cisco Packet Tracer and why is it important?

The CLI (Command Line Interface) tab is where users interact with and configure network devices in Cisco Packet Tracer. It's important because it's the primary method for setting up and managing network devices, which is a key aspect of learning network administration.

How can I use the simulation mode to observe ICMP messages in Cisco Packet Tracer?

Enable Simulation Mode from the bottom right of the screen. Then, deselect all event types and select 'ICMP' from the Edit Filters menu. After that, perform an action like a ping from one PC to another, and you'll be able to see and interact with the ICMP messages being sent.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Cisco Packet Tracer

The video begins by welcoming viewers to the channel and introducing Cisco Packet Tracer, a network simulation tool essential for network study and Cisco CCNA certification. The host encourages viewers to subscribe, comment, and like the video. Cisco Packet Tracer allows users to build, design, and simulate computer networks, making it an invaluable, free tool for studying networking technologies and protocols.

05:00

🚀 Downloading and Installing Cisco Packet Tracer

The host explains how to download and install Cisco Packet Tracer. Users must navigate to the Cisco Networking Academy website, create an account, and enroll in the introductory course to download the tool. Detailed steps are provided for account creation, course enrollment, and downloading the software for various operating systems. The installation process is straightforward and described as a typical software setup.

10:00

🖥 Setting Up and Exploring Cisco Packet Tracer

After installation, the host demonstrates how to log in and explore Cisco Packet Tracer's interface. The device menu, categories, and subcategories are introduced, highlighting the types of devices and components available. The importance of the connections category for linking devices with appropriate cables is emphasized. The workspace for building network topologies, along with the logical and physical views, is described, showing how to switch between them.

15:02

🛠 Configuring Devices in Cisco Packet Tracer

The host delves into configuring devices within Cisco Packet Tracer. Each device, like PCs and switches, can be customized by single-clicking to open their configuration window. The process of setting IP addresses and utilizing the config and desktop tabs for various settings is demonstrated. The simulation mode is introduced as a powerful feature to visualize network messages and protocol behaviors, enhancing understanding of network operations.

Keywords

💡Cisco Packet Tracer

Cisco Packet Tracer is a network simulation tool designed by Cisco Systems. It allows users to build and design their own computer networks and interact with various networking technologies and protocols. In the video's context, it is highlighted as an invaluable study tool for those preparing for the Cisco CCNA certification, emphasizing its educational value and practicality in network design and simulation.

💡Network Simulation

Network simulation refers to the process of imitating the behavior of a network in a virtual environment. In the video, the term is used to describe the core functionality of Cisco Packet Tracer, which enables users to create and manipulate network topologies and devices within a simulated setting, providing a hands-on learning experience.

💡CCNA

CCNA stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate, which is an entry-level certification from Cisco Systems that validates an individual's ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-sized routed and switched networks. The script mentions CCNA to emphasize the relevance of Cisco Packet Tracer as a study aid for those pursuing this certification.

💡Networking Academy

The Cisco Networking Academy is an education program by Cisco Systems that provides learning materials and tools for networking, security, and IoT. In the script, the Networking Academy is the source for downloading and accessing Cisco Packet Tracer, underscoring its role in providing educational resources for network professionals and students.

💡Installation

Installation in the context of the video refers to the process of downloading and setting up the Cisco Packet Tracer software on a user's computer. The script provides a step-by-step guide on how to install the software, highlighting the ease of use and accessibility of the tool.

💡Workspace

In Cisco Packet Tracer, the workspace is the area where users build and arrange their network topologies. The script explains that the workspace offers both a logical view and a physical view, allowing users to visualize and manipulate network components in a structured or realistic format.

💡Network Topologies

Network topologies are the arrangements of the network components and how they connect to each other. The video script describes how to build network topologies using Cisco Packet Tracer, which is essential for understanding network design and connectivity.

💡CLI (Command Line Interface)

CLI in the context of the video refers to the interface within Cisco Packet Tracer that allows users to configure network devices using command-line commands, similar to real-world networking equipment. It is highlighted as a key feature for learning how to interact with and manage network devices.

💡Simulation Mode

Simulation mode in Cisco Packet Tracer is a feature that enables users to visually observe the flow of data and communication between network devices. The script demonstrates how this mode can be used to understand the behavior of protocols and the transmission of messages within a network.

💡ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)

ICMP is a network-layer protocol used by network devices to send error messages and operational information, such as the 'ping' command. In the video, ICMP is used as an example to illustrate how Packet Tracer's simulation mode can visually represent the exchange of protocol messages within a network.

💡IP Configuration

IP Configuration in the video refers to the process of assigning IP addresses and subnet masks to network devices, such as PCs, within the Packet Tracer environment. This is a fundamental aspect of network setup and is demonstrated in the script to show how devices are configured to communicate within a network.

Highlights

Introduction to Cisco Packet Tracer as a valuable network simulation tool.

Cisco Packet Tracer's ability to build and design computer networks and visually interact with networking technologies.

The importance of Packet Tracer for Cisco CCNA certification studies and its free availability.

Step-by-step guide on downloading and installing Cisco Packet Tracer from the Cisco Networking Academy website.

Instructions on creating an account on netacad.com for Packet Tracer access.

Enrollment in the 'Intro to Packet Tracer' course as a prerequisite for downloading the software.

Activation of the account through an email link and setting a password for access.

Downloading the Packet Tracer software through the 'Resources' section of the website.

Installation process of Packet Tracer, including selecting the appropriate version for the user's operating system.

Launching Cisco Packet Tracer and signing in with the Networking Academy credentials.

Overview of the Packet Tracer interface, including the device menu and categories of networking devices.

Explanation of the logical and physical views in Packet Tracer for network topology building.

Introduction to the toolbar in Packet Tracer, featuring various tools for network configuration and visualization.

Building a basic network with PCs, switches, and connections using straight through copper cables.

Device configuration in Packet Tracer, including setting IP addresses and managing modules.

Demonstration of the CLI tab for advanced network device configuration.

Simulation mode in Packet Tracer for visualizing network messages and understanding protocol behavior.

Practical example of sending a ping between two PCs and observing the ICMP messages in simulation mode.

Final thoughts on using Packet Tracer for building complex networks and understanding networking protocols.

Transcripts

hey what's up guys welcome to serpros in

this video we're going to be getting

started with probably the most valuable

and important network study tool cisco

packet tracer

[Music]

if you're new here this channel uploads

regular it training videos just like

this one so if you like what you see

here today don't forget to leave a

comment subscribe and give it a thumbs

up

so what is cisco packet tracer packet

tracer is a network simulation tool

designed by cisco that gives you the

ability to go out and build and design

your own computer networks

not only that but it gives you the

ability to visually play with networking

technologies and protocols

it's an incredible study tool and it's

vital if you're taking your cisco ccna

but the best part it's absolutely free

in this video i'm going to show you how

to download install and use this

fantastic tool

so before we do anything we're going to

need to download and install it

to do this we need to navigate to the

cisco networking academy website which

is netacad.com

now if you already have an account with

netacad then go ahead and log in now

otherwise we need to go up to courses at

the top of the screen

then down to packet tracer

cisco has an introduction course to

packet tracer which we need to sign up

for before we can download it

so we need to scroll down here

and where it says intro to packet tracer

click learn more

so here is the course we need to sign up

for but we don't actually have to take

it we simply need to scroll down and

click sign up today

to enrol we need to enter our details

create account

now we've enrolled cisco has sent us an

email to activate our account

so this is the email we receive all we

have to do is click activate account

once we do this it's going to prompt us

to set a password

so we'll just type in a password here

click create my account

so one more step it's going to ask us

for a bit more information

and we'll just fill that out very

quickly

and once we've done click create account

and finally we have our account now from

here we could launch the course

but for now we're just going to close

this box

to download packet tracer we now need to

go up to resources at the top

and then download packet tracer

this will take us to the download page

now if we scroll down

we will see the installation options

so it does support windows ubuntu and

mac os

we're running windows so i'm going to

select the 64-bit downloader

now packet tracer isn't a big

application but it may take a moment

just to download

okay so it's been a minute or two and

our file has downloaded

so we'll just simply double click onto

that file

and start the installation

i'm going to assume you've installed a

program before and essentially it's

going to be a next next next install

again it's not a big program but it will

take a minute to install

and now it's done we'll just click

finish and launch cisco packet tracer

so when packet tracer opens you're gonna

need to sign in it gives you two options

to do this but we're gonna select the

networking academy login which we just

set up

so we'll just sign in with our

credentials

and enter our password

and we're in

so now we have packet tracer installed

and set up

let's take a look around

now don't worry i'm not going to go

through every single menu and every

single feature because i'll bore you

half to death but i will point out some

of the most important features

the first bit we'll look at is the

device menu

down here in the bottom left corner we

have all of the devices that we can use

across the top we have the main

categories

across the bottom we have the

subcategories

and to the right we have the available

devices based on the category we select

there's also a search bar here in the

middle

we currently have the networking devices

selected

under that we have routers switches

hubs

wireless devices

security devices and wide area network

devices as well

the next category is end devices

here we have the normal devices you

would expect like pcs and

laptops

but we also have some iot devices which

can be found under home

small city

and industrial

and power grid

another category that contains iot type

devices is the components category

here you'll find boards leds buttons and

more

now the next category is a very

important one this is the connections

category

this is how we'll connect all of our

devices together

here we have connection types from

straight through cables crossover cables

to coax and serial cables as well

now if you're not sure what type of

cable you should be using don't worry we

also have an auto option as well

now to select a device

we simply choose a category

i'll choose network and devices

and then

routers then we just select the device

and we can drag that onto the workspace

or we can simply click on the device

and then click where we want the device

to be added

that brings us nicely on to the

workspace

this is where we'll be building our

network topologies

we have two options the logical view and

the physical view

what you see now is the logical view

which is where we'll be spending most of

our time but we can change to the

physical view by simply clicking

physical at the top left

the physical view gives us a nice visual

representation of the networks we built

you start off in the intercity view

and we can click down into the home city

even into the corporate office

and even into the wiring closet that we

can see here

and if you look closely we can see the

routers we just added

the buttons at the top right allows us

to navigate through the different levels

this view is great if you want to get a

realistic view of how networks look and

connect together however most of our

time will be spent in the logical view

to go back to the logical view we just

need to go up to logical in the top left

corner

so let's take a quick look at the

toolbar at the top

here we have the select tool for

selecting devices

the inspect tool

which is a way to see basic information

like routing tables quickly and easily

we have the delete tool

the resize tool for resizing shapes

the place note tool so we can add text

to our diagrams

and then we have some drawing tools such

as the line

rectangle ellipse

and free form

the last tools are pdu tools which

allows us to add data to our networks

for quick connectivity tests

okay so that is enough theory let's

delete these routers that we have here

and build our first network

so i'll click and drag

to select the devices

i'm just going to hit delete on the

keyboard

and yes i want to delete my routers

so now we're going to need some devices

and i'm going to start off with some pcs

so i'm going to go down to the end

devices menu

and i'm going to select the pc

and click onto the workspace i'm going

to add another one simply click pc and

again click onto the workspace

now i want to switch to connect these

pcs

so i'll go to network devices

and select switches

now i could select a model here but if

you don't mind which model you can

simply drag from the subcategory onto

the workspace

great now we just need to connect these

devices together to do this we need to

go to the connections menu

and in this case i'm going to be using

straight through copper cables

so i select my pc

choose which interface to connect it to

so this one is going to be fast ethernet

zero

and then select it on the switch as well

again fast ethernet zero slash one

now remember if you don't know which

cable you should be using for the time

being you can simply click the auto tool

click the pc

and then click the switch and it will

automatically select the correct cable

for you

so now we have our devices

what now

well we need to configure them

to do this we just need to single click

on each device so i'll start with pc 0

single click and it's going to open up a

new window

on this screen we get a visual

representation of the device

as you can see here we clearly have a pc

straight out of the 90s complete with

what looks like to be a floppy disk

drive as well

here we can add and remove different

modules

the available modules can be seen here

on the left

if you click on the modules you get a

nice description at the bottom as to

what they do

it's important to note that if you want

to add or remove a module you first need

to power down the device

so for example if i scroll down and i

take this ethernet module and i try to

remove it by simply dragging it to the

left it's going to give me a warning

saying it can't be removed until the

device is powered down

the way you would do that is simply by

clicking the power button

now while this seems like a nice feature

trust me once the novelty wears off this

can get pretty annoying

the next tab we have is the config tab

here we can configure some of the device

settings such as the display name

and some of the interface settings as

well

the desktop tab is where we see all of

the available features for our

pc we have things like the command

prompt the web browser email lots of

things here

but the one we're going to use is the ip

configuration

here we can set the ip address of this

pc

so i'm going to set an ip address of

192.168.0.1

and if we click onto the subject mask it

should auto populate for us

now we have the ip address i'm going to

do the same on the next pc so i'll close

this window down

again single click on pc1

go over to the desktop tab

ipconfiguration

and this time we're going to go

192.168.0.2.

again

auto populate the subnet mask

once we've done that we'll just close

this window down

now we can also configure our switch and

this is really where the magic happens

in cisco packet tracer so if we click on

our switch

we get a new window again we get a nice

physical representation of the device

and any available modules

if we click the config tab

here we can make some quick and simple

configuration changes

we also have the cli tab and this is

where you'll be spending 99 of your time

this is where we interact and configure

our network devices

which at the end of the day is why we're

all here

we'll look at this more as we go forward

i won't dive into this right now

the last thing i want to show you is

probably my favorite feature of packet

tracer

and that is the simulation mode

simulation mode allows us to visually

see messages being sent across the

network

it's really a great tool when learning

how protocols work and behave the button

to enable simulation mode is down here

in the bottom right and we just have to

click simulation

when we turn on simulation mode this new

panel appears

here we can see each event as and when

it happens

by default every available event type is

selected which if you leave them all on

you can quickly start to get overwhelmed

by the number of messages being sent

especially when we start to build bigger

networks so what we want to do instead

is to click the show wall slash none

button to deselect all of those event

types

then if we go to edit filters

we can select which type of event we

want to see

for this example i'm just going to go

ahead and select the icmp message type

once i've selected that i just close

this window

and as we can see only icmp event types

are selected

now we have that selected let's go over

to pc0

and i'm going to open the command prompt

to demonstrate this i'm going to send a

ping to pc1

so i'll type ping

192.168.0.2

which is the ip address of pc1

and i'll press enter

now i'll minimize this

and now we start to see these little

envelopes

these envelopes are the protocol

messages

we can click on the envelopes and get

some information about the message

so on the first screen we get to see

some reference to the osi model but if

we click onto the outbound pdu details

we get to see all of the information

about this message

we can make this bigger

we can see the source ip address

the destination ip address

and then we see the icmp message

this will come in very handy when we

start to look at network protocols and

how they work

we can close this message and then start

to play the scenario through

so we could either hit the play button

in the middle or we can do it step by

step by clicking the forward button

so we can see the message being

forwarded to the switch the switch then

forwarding it to pc1

and we can see pc1's reply

again we can click on these envelopes

and see the information being sent

if we click onto the details

and expand this

we get to see the structure of the frame

note the source ip address is pc1 and

the destination address is now pc0

so this is the beauty of packet tracer

not only can we build our own networks

but we can visually see how those

networks and protocols are behaving

this will really help when it comes to

solidifying these technologies

of course that was a very basic example

of how packet tracer works but you

should now have the tools to go out and

build your own bigger and better

networks this video is part of our full

ccna course which can be found in the

description so go ahead and check that

out if you like this video don't forget

to give it a thumbs up leave a comment

and subscribe the support from you guys

really does help this channel grow other

than that thank you for watching

you