North South University

CSE 338 L: Data

Communication & Network Lab
Lab Class 1: Introduction to Protocols
and Application Layer Networking
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Computer Network:
A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows computers to
exchange data. In simple terms Networking is the method of exchanging data between multiple
computers via some medium. Simplest form of computer network is the data communication
between 2 computers via wire.

Figure 1: Simple Network consisting 2 computers

Goal of our study:

  Understand the anatomy of Network
  Network Administration
 Design Computer Network

Protocols:
A protocol is a set of rules that governs the communications between computers on a network. i.e. HTTP,
HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SSH etc. In telecommunications, a communication protocol is a system of rules that
allow two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation
of a physical quantity. These are the rules or standard that defines the syntax, semantics and
synchronization of communication and possible error recovery methods. Protocols may be implemented
by hardware, software, or a combination of both.
Few of the protocols we’ll be dealing with in this lab:

 HTTP - The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for

transporting web contents in the network.

Prepared by Farah Hossain

  FTP - The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer
computer files between a client and server on a computer network.

IP Address (IPv4 & IPv6):

An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer,
printer) participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. i.e.
192.168.10.17. There are two formats of IP addressing is accepted these days 32 – bit format
(IPv4) and a newer version 128 – bit format (IPv6). We are interested and will be working with
IPv4 as it is accepted every by every hosts and widely used.

System’s Network Tools:

Type in the following instruction in the system’s Command Prompt/Terminal.

ping – if a host is reachable

tracert – Path that a packet is taking to rich a computer
nslookup – Name server lookup, finds the IP address for a corresponding domain name
ipconfig – shows the information about machines Ethernet adapters.

Exercise 1:
 Open Command Prompt
 See what happens when you type ipconfig, ipconfig/all, nslookup
 Ping a legitimate/ illegitimate site
 See the traceroute for any popular site.

Server:
In computing, a server is a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other
programs or devices, called "clients".

Exercise 2: Simple FTP Server

Step 1: Download XAMPP
  Step 2: Install the software
  Step 3: Add user
  Step 4: Share Folder

Exercise

3: FTP Client
Step 1: Download the FileZilla FTP client from the below
link https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
 Step 2: Use previously created user info to login to the ftp server



Prepared by Farah Hossain

Exercise

4: Setup HTTP Server
Download and Install XAMPP
 Browse through local sites

Lab

Task:
1. Complete all 4 exercises
2. Find your own IP address
3. Find if a computer is reachable from your computer
4. Find a route to a popular web host

Home task:
1. Briefly handwrite Write the difference functional differences between the following:
a. ping vs tracert
b. HTTP vs FTP
c. HTTP Server vs FTP server
2. Brush up Java syntax and concepts and write a java code to create a “circle” class
which has one attribute named “radius:double” and 2 methods “getRadius” and
“getCircumference”. This class also has overloaded no argument constructor which
assigns a default value to the radius if no argument is passed as the parameter of the
constructor. Also make sure to brush-up exception handling in java

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_(computing)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address

Prepared by Farah Hossain