i've got networking, and today we built 2 network segments, then connected them with a serial link creating a WAN.
1st, for my network segment: i connect to the switch with a normal straight-through ethernet cable, as does my partner next to me, then i connect to the "console" port on the router with a DB-9 to RJ-45 rollover cable. the 2-man group next to me does the same on different equipment.
solid black line: straight-through ethernet cable
red dashed line: DB-9 to RJ-45 rollover cable (basically, you use this to program the router)
so anyways, once i get that up and running fine (i had to mess with some network segment ip address deals) we do part 2 of the lab; connect our segment to theirs using a serial connection. not as easy as it sounds.
first, we need to find out what cable to use with what, so i use a hyper-terminal program to connect to the router using COM 1 (the rollover cable connected to the console port), enable the router (by typing "en" at the hyperterminal console) look at it's running configuration, sort of like ipconfig (by typing "show run") and determine that the serial interface on my router has a clock speed standardized, and theirs don't, so i know to use the serial to female DCE connecter on my router, and connect it to the serial to male DTE connector on their end. after some ip address bru-haha i had to clear up, everything started running smoothly, and the network looked like this:
lightning bolt: serial link.
and of course, nothing like celebrating a working network like an unreal tournament LAN party.
anyways, not all of you would be interested in that, but i thought it was neat to network with something other than ethernet cables. and i got to screw around in a cisco router, too.
