Lab 5.1.9-5.1.10 – Bridges and Switches

Information:

- This topology consists of 14 hosts along with 4 switches and 2 bridges in the network.

Tips:

a) The Packet Tracer “i” located on the upper right of each page and device will give information pertaining to that certain device or topology.

b) In simulation, the “i” next to the scenario drop down list will give information about the specific scenario.

c) In simulation, clicking on the packets will show OSI layer information.

c) In simulation, clicking on the bridges and switches will load up the MAC address tables.

Procedures:

a) In the topology mode, Switch0’s Fast Ethernet port 6 is disabled. As a result, the link between Switch0 and Bridge0 is down.

b) Still in topology mode, click on Switch0 and then click on Fast Ethernet port 6. Enable the port by turning it on.

c) Now go into simulation mode. As you may notice the link that was just enabled, has just disabled itself. This effect is due to the loop that is created in the topology and the Spanning Tree Protocol prevents this loop from occurring.

d) Send a packet from host Xc to host XX. Analyze the path the packet takes. Since the link from Switch0 and Bridge0 is down to prevent a loop, Switch3 must send the packet to Bridge1 who sends it to Switch2, who then sends it to Switch0 and finally ending up at host XX.

e) Now, in topology mode, remove two of the bridges and create a connection between the isolated network segments so that packets can be sent amongst them.

Questions:

a) What is the purpose of a bridge and switch in this topology?

b) Which OSI layer(s) does a bridge and switch work on?

c) What are the benefits of using bridges and switches compared to repeaters and hubs?

d) How many collision domain(s) does this network contain?