Department of Electrical, Electronic and

Telecommunication Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Digital System Design Lab

Module code and name : Communication Networks ET 3102

Design and Build a Small Network
Name of the lab class :
Duration : 2h

Related Learning : LO4: Analyze network layers within an actual networking environment
Outcome of the Module
Scope of the lab class : At the end of this practical work, a student should be able to:
• Apply subnetting techniques to efficiently allocate IP addresses
within a network

• Integrate VLAN configurations to enhance network segmentation and

performance

• Transfer theoretical networking concepts into practical

implementation using network simulation tools
• Construct a functional network topology based on specified design
requirements.

Name: SHTT Karunarathna

Reg. No: D/ENG/23/0089/ET

Group: 2
Date: 2025/05/18

Name of the Instructor: Mr. N.A.S. Kalhan

 Task 1: Find subnet addresses for different departments.
The Faculty of Engineering's Hod staff, EE, ET, and BM departments require the following new
network setup. You have been asked to configure the department subnets using the IP address
space 130.160.252.0/22.

Departments Number of Hosts

Hod staff 20
ET department 250
EE department 180
BM department 75

I. How many usable ip address that can be assigned to different host are available in
130.160.252.0/22 address range? (calculation needed)

• CIDR /22 means:

o Subnet Mask = 255.255.252.0
o Number of IPs = 2^(32 - 22) = 2^10 = 1024 o
Usable IPs = 1024 - 2 = 1022 usable

II. Write down for each subnet, its network address, broadcast address, correct subnet mask in
CIRD notation in the table given in answer box. (calculation step needed, please attached in
separate sheet)

ET Department (Needs ≥ 250 hosts)

• Subnet size: /23

• Usable IPs: 510 (2^9 - 2)
• IP Range: 130.160.252.0 – 130.160.253.255
• Network Address: 130.160.252.0
• Broadcast Address: 130.160.253.255
• Note: /23 chosen over /24 to allow more room for future devices and gateway.

EE Department (Needs ≥ 180 hosts)

• Subnet size: /24

• Usable IPs: 254 (2^8 - 2)
• IP Range: 130.160.254.0 – 130.160.254.255
• Network Address: 130.160.254.0
• Broadcast Address: 130.160.254.255
BM Department (Needs ≥ 75 hosts)

• Subnet size: /25

• Usable IPs: 126 (2^7 - 2)
• IP Range: 130.160.255.0 – 130.160.255.127
• Network Address: 130.160.255.0
• Broadcast Address: 130.160.255.127

HOD Staff (Needs ≥ 20 hosts)

• Subnet size: /27

• Usable IPs: 30 (2^5 - 2)
• IP Range: 130.160.255.128 – 130.160.255.159
• Network Address: 130.160.255.128
• Broadcast Address: 130.160.255.159

Remaining Unallocated Space:

• Range: 130.160.255.160 – 130.160.255.255

• IPs left: 96
• Can be reserved for future use or other departments.

Department Network Address Broadcast Address Subnet Mask (CIDR)

Unallocated 130.160.255.160 130.160.255.255 (left unused)

HOD Staff 130.160.255.128 130.160.255.159 /27

BM Department 130.160.255.0 130.160.255.127 /25

EE Department 130.160.254.0 130.160.254.255 /24

ET Department 130.160.252.0 130.160.253.255 /23

Task 2: Create VLAN for each subnet

Prerequisites:
Download Packet Tracer and familiarize yourself with it. For more information, watch the
introduction video.
Procedure:
Follow the table below to create VLANs for each subnet and allocate ports accordingly.

Subnet VLAN Number Port Assignment

Hod staff 10 Fa0/20, Fa0/21, Fa0/22, Fa0/23
BM 20 Fa0/10, Fa0/11, Fa0/12, Fa0/13, Fa0/14,
Fa0/15
ET 30 Fa0/16, Fa0/17, Fa0/18, Fa0/19
EE 40 Fa0/5, Fa0/6, Fa0/7, Fa0/8, Fa0/9

Following commands will be required for creating VLAN

I. Enter privileged EXEC mode enable

II. Enter global configuration mode configure terminal

III. Create VLANs (if not already created) vlan 10 name Hod_staff
exit

IV. Assign multiple ports to VLANs, Assign ports (Fa0/20 - Fa0/23)

interface range FastEthernet 0/20 - 23 switchport
mode access switchport access vlan 10 exit

V. Continue the above steps for all departments.

 VI. Write show vlan brief command, see the VLAN configuration in
your switch.
Include screen shot of the VLAN configuration.

VII. Make sure to connect each department's sample PC to the correctly assigned
port number on the switch.

VIII. Assign the second static IP address of each subnet to the respective PCs,
such as hod_staff, et-department, ee-department, and bm-department. Then,
attempt to ping each other. Document your observations and explain the
results. (Include screenshots of the ping commands.)

Ping attempts between PCs on different VLANs fail because VLANs are isolated at Layer 2 by default
and cannot communicate without a Layer 3 device. Since inter-VLAN routing has not been set up on a
router or Layer 3 switch, there is no route for traffic between VLANs, causing the pings to time out.

Task 3: Add a router to enable communication between the subnets.

 Gigabitethernet 0/1 is the switch output port which is connected to the router interface port
Gigabitethernet 0/0/0.
Procedure
Follow the table below to create a sub interface in the router.

Subnet Router sub interface Ip address

Hod staff GigabitEthernet0/0/0.10 Last ip address of the subnet
BM GigabitEthernet0/0/0.20 Last ip address of the subnet
ET GigabitEthernet0/0/0.30 Last ip address of the subnet
EE GigabitEthernet0/0/0.40 Last ip address of the subnet

I. The following commands are required for creating sub interface in the router
Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0.10

Router(config-if)# encapsulation dot1Q 10

Router(config-if)# ip address x.x.x.x z.z.z.z
Router(config-if)# no shutdown

Router(config-if)# exit

X: Ip address of your subnet

Z: subnet mask of Ip address

II. Continue above steps for all subnets

III. The following commands are required for creating trucking between switch and router.
Switch(config)# interface gigabitethernet 0/1

Switch(config-if)# switchport mode trunk

Switch(config-if)# no shutdown
 IV. Using Router(config)#do show ip inter brief command verify the
assigned Ip details. Include the Ip assigned details screen shots.

V. Now again try to ping each department document your observation and explain the results. .
(Include screenshots of the ping commands.)

Ping attempts between PCs on different VLANs fail because, by default, VLANs are isolated at Layer
2 and do not forward traffic between each other. Without a Layer 3 device—such as a router or a
multilayer switch—configured for inter-VLAN routing, there is no mechanism to route packets across
VLAN boundaries. As a result, ICMP echo requests sent between devices in different VLANs have no
valid Layer 3 path, leading to timeouts and failed communication.

VI. Explain why VLANs are created for separate subnets and their advantages.

VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) logically segment a Layer 2 network into multiple isolated broadcast domains
using VLAN IDs, independent of the physical topology. This enhances security by restricting traffic between VLANs
unless routed through a Layer 3 device, improves performance by limiting broadcast traffic, and simplifies network
management through flexible, software-based configuration. VLANs also support scalability and centralized policy
enforcement, allowing logical user groupings across geographically distributed areas.
 Task 4: Assign Ip address for each department through the DHCP server.

Procedure

I. The DHCP server connects to VLAN 10 and assigns the second-to-last IP address of its
subnet as well as the default gateway.
II. Then create a DHCP pool for each subnet, you can add it through the services tab of the
DHCP server.
Once the ip helper-address is configured correctly on the router, the PC should receive the default gateway
along with the IP address and subnet mask from the DHCP server.

The following commands can be used.

configure terminal interface GigabitEthernet 0/0/0.10 #Replace with

your actual interface ip helper-address x.x.x.x # DHCP Server IP

address exit

The above steps need to be taken for all interfaces

III. If you successfully complete all the steps, when you change the static IP setting to DHCP, all
the details should be allocated as follows. An example for the HOD PC is:
Include all screenshots for other PCs when DHCP is enabled.