PROGRAM NO.

AIM: Introduction to cisco packet tracer and wire shark tool

What is a Cisco Packet Tracer?

Cisco Packet Tracer is a widely-used network simulation tool that helps network professionals to
design, configure, and troubleshoot networks in a safe, virtual environment. This tool simulates
network protocols and devices, allowing users to experiment with different network topologies,
configurations, and scenarios without needing physical hardware.
Cisco Packet Tracer gets used by network professionals, students, and educators.

Features of the Cisco Packet Tracer:

The features of the Cisco Packet Tracer are as follows-
Simulates network devices and protocols
Cisco Packet Tracer helps to simulate a wide range of network devices, including routers, switches,
servers, and endpoints and supports several network protocols, such as TCP/IP, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP,
and others.

 Supports multiple protocols and technologies

Packet Tracer supports multiple technologies such as wireless networking, IoT, cloud computing, and
network security in addition to simulating networking devices and protocols.

 Provides a comprehensive set of networking tools

Packet Tracer includes various networking tools, such as ping, traceroute, debug, and Wireshark, which
help to troubleshoot network issues and optimize network performance.

 Includes a range of network devices and topologies

Packet Tracer offers a wide range of network devices, including routers, switches, hubs, servers, and
endpoints, used to create different network topologies. You can also configure these devices to simulate
diverse network scenarios.

 Allows for multi-user collaboration

Packet Tracer allows multiple users to collaborate on the same network project simultaneously, which
makes it an ideal tool for network instructors and students to work together on network projects and
assignments.
 What are the benefits of using the Cisco Packet Tracer?
The benefits of using the Cisco Packet Tracer are as follows-
 Provides a safe and virtual environment for network experimentation
Cisco Packet Tracer provides a simulated network environment where users experiment with different
network topologies, protocols, and configurations without risking damage to physical equipment or the
network.

 Reduces the need for physical hardware

Packet Tracer simulates network equipment and connections, so users do not need to purchase or rent
expensive physical network hardware.

 Allows for quick and efficient network configuration and troubleshooting

 Using the Packet Tracer, users can configure network devices and simulate network traffic to test and
troubleshoot network configurations, which saves time and resources and reduce the risk of network
downtime.

 Helping to develop essential network skills and knowledge

Using Packet Tracer, users gain hands-on experience with networking concepts and technologies,
which can help them develop essential skills and knowledge for building a career in IT and networking.

 Enables the creation and sharing of network designs and scenarios

 Packet Tracer allows users to create and share network designs and scenarios with others which can be
critical for collaborative projects, training, and education.

Why use Cisco Packet Tracer in Education and Training?

The Cisco Packet Tracer must get used for education and training as diverse IT instructors train
candidates to work with real-time network management via this.

 Used in networking courses and certifications

Via Cisco Packet Tracer, an individual gets trained to work with routers and switches and becomes a
networking expert throughCCNA , CCNP, CCIE, SD-WAN, and DevNet training.

 Provides a hands-on and interactive learning experience

Cisco Packet Tracer allows students to practice networking concepts in a simulated environment
without needing expensive hardware or risking damage to networks.
The tool also allows students to experiment with network topologies and configurations and observe
the effects of their changes in real-time.

 Helping students acquire practical skills and understanding

By using Cisco Packet Tracer, students can develop practical skills in network design, configuration,
and troubleshooting, which are essential in the modern workplace.

 Enables educators to create and share network scenarios and assessments

Educators can use the tool to create and share network scenarios and assessments, allowing students to
work on relevant and challenging tasks.

 Supports the development of real-world network solutions

Cisco Packet Tracer supports the development of real-world network solutions by allowing students to
design and test complex network topologies, including wired and wireless networks, and implement
advanced networking technologies such as VPNs and firewalls. Also, to learn to use Cisco Packet
Tracer, refer to the video entitled How to use Cisco Packet Tracer by a network specialist, who has
12+ years of industry experience, in detail.

What Is Wireshark?
Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer, or an application that captures packets from a network
connection, such as from your computer to your home office or the internet. Packet is the name given
to a discrete unit of data in a typical Ethernet network.
Wireshark is the most often-used packet sniffer in the world. Like any other packet sniffer, Wireshark
does three things:

1.Packet Capture: Wireshark listens to a network connection in real time and then grabs entire
streams of traffic – quite possibly tens of thousands of packets at a time.
2.Filtering: Wireshark is capable of slicing and dicing all of this random live data using filters.
By applying a filter, you can obtain just the information you need to see.
3.Visualization: Wireshark, like any good packet sniffer, allows you to dive right into the very
middle of a network packet. It also allows you to visualize entire conversations and network
streams.

Packet sniffing can be compared to spelunking – going inside a cave and hiking around. Folks who use
Wireshark on a network are kind of like those who use flashlights to see what cool things they can find.
After all, when using Wireshark on a network connection (or a flashlight in a cave), you’re effectively
using a tool to hunt around tunnels and tubes to see what you can see.

What Is Wireshark Used For?

Wireshark has many uses, including troubleshooting networks that have performance issues.
Cybersecurity professionals often use Wireshark to trace connections, view the contents of suspect
network transactions and identify bursts of network traffic. It’s a major part of any IT pro’s toolkit –
and hopefully, the IT pro has the knowledge to use it.

When Should Wireshark Be Used?

Wireshark is a safe tool used by government agencies, educational institutions, corporations, small
businesses and nonprofits alike to troubleshoot network issues. Additionally, Wireshark can be used as
a learning tool.

Those new to information security can use Wireshark as a tool to understand network traffic analysis,
how communication takes place when particular protocols are involved and where it goes wrong when
certain issues occur.

Of course, Wireshark can’t do everything.

First of all, it can’t help a user who has little understanding of network protocols. No tool, no matter
how cool, replaces knowledge very well. In other words, to properly use Wireshark, you need to learn
exactly how a network operates. That means, you need to understand things such as the three-way TCP
handshake and various protocols, including TCP, UDP, DHCP and ICMP.

Second, Wireshark can’t grab traffic from all of the other systems on the network under normal
circumstances. On modern networks that use devices called switches, Wireshark (or any other standard
packet-capturing tool) can only sniff traffic between your local computer and the remote system it is
talking to.

Third, while Wireshark can show malformed packets and apply color coding, it doesn’t have actual
alerts; Wireshark isn’t an intrusion detection system (IDS).

Fourth, Wireshark can’t help with decryption with regards to encrypted traffic.

And finally, it is quite easy to spoof IPv4 packets. Wireshark can’t really tell you if a particular IP
address it finds in a captured packet is a real one or not. That requires a bit more know-how on the part
of an IT pro, as well as additional software.

Common Wireshark Use Cases

Here’s a common example of how a Wireshark capture can assist in identifying a problem. The figure
below shows an issue on a home network, where the internet connection was very slow.

As the figure shows, the router thought a common destination was unreachable. This was discovered by
drilling down into the IPv6 Internet Message Control Protocol (ICMP) traffic, which is marked in
black. In Wireshark, any packet marked in black is considered to reflect some sort of issue.

Figure: Drilling down into a packet to identify a network problem using Wireshark

In this case, Wireshark helped determine that the router wasn’t working properly and couldn’t find
YouTube very easily. The problem was resolved by restarting the cable modem. Of course, while this
particular problem didn’t necessitate using Wireshark, it’s kind of cool to authoritatively finalize the
issue.
When you take another look at the bottom of Figure you can see that a specific packet is highlighted.
This shows the innards of a TCP packet that is part of a transport layer security (TLS) conversation.
This is a great example of how you can drill down into the captured packet.

Using Wireshark doesn’t allow you to read the encrypted contents of the packet, but you can identify
the version of TLS the browser and YouTube are using to encrypt things. Interestingly enough, the
encryption shifted to TLS version 1.2 during the listening.

Wireshark is often used to identify more complex network issues. For example, if a network
experiences too many retransmissions, congestion can occur. By using Wireshark, you can

By using Wireshark, you can identify specific retransmission issues, as shown below in Figure.

.
Figure: Viewing packet flow statistics using Wireshark to identify retransmissions

By confirming this type of issue, you can then reconfigure the router or switch to speed up traffic.

What the Color Coding Means in Wireshark

Now that you have some packets, it’s time to figure out what they mean. Wireshark tries to help you
identify packet types by applying common-sense color coding. The table below describes the default
colors given to major packet types.

Color in Wireshark Packet Type

Light purple TCP

Color in Wireshark Packet Type

Light blue UDP

Black Packets with errors

Light green HTTP traffic

Windows-specific traffic, including Server Message Blocks (SMB) and

Light yellow
NetBIOS

Dark yellow Routing

Dark gray TCP SYN, FIN and ACK traffic