_ L Subject: ICT Form: SSS 1sei ‘Topic: NETWORK CONFIGURATION What is network configuration? Network configuration is the process of assigning network settings, policies, flows, and ontrols. In a virtual network, it’s easier to make network configuration changes because p hysical network devices appliances are replaced by software, removing the need for exte nsive manual configuration Netwark configuration can also be automated and managed via a centralized configurati on manager network configuration manager, further reducing manual IT workload and m aking it easier to + Maintain a network + Make configuration changes + Relaunch devices «Track and report data Some network configuration basics include switch/ router configuration, host configurati on, software and firewall configuration, and network topology which can be controlled th rough rest APIs. Why is network configuration important? The right network configuration is essential to supporting the flow of traffic through a ne ‘twork, and it can also support and enhance network security and improve network stabili ty. In addition, the use of network configuration management manager and or configurat jon tools can provide a number of benefits, including + Automated data tracking and reporting, allowing administrators to spot any configurati on changes and potential threats or issues + An easy way tomake bulk changes, such as a blanket password change in a situation where passwords are compromised + The means to swiftly roll back network settings to a previous configuration + Reduced downtime, thanks to increased visibility and the ability to quickly identify chan ges + Streamlined maintenance and repair of network devices (physical or virtual) and conne ations “]L = The ability to relaunch a device when it fails, thanks to centralized storage managemen tof device configurations Working with IP Addressing When two devices on a network want to communicate, they need logical addresses (that is, Layer 3 addres ses as described, in the OSI Model). Most modern networks use Internet Protocol (IP) addres sing, as opposed to other Layer 3 addressing schemes (For example, Apple's AppleTalk or Novelts int emetw ork Packet Exchange [IPXI). Therefore, the focus of this network configuration is IP. “Two versions of IP addresses are: IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6). First, we wil discusses how IP concepts apply to IP version 4 (IPv4). Binary Numbering Network transmit data as a series of binary 1s and Os, Similarly, IP addresses can berepresented as a series of binary digits (that is, bts). IPv4 is comprised of 22 bits, while IPv6 contains a whopping 1 28 bits. Principles of Binary Numbering We're accustomed to using Base-10 numbering in our daily ves. In a Base-10 numbering system, th ereare ten digits, in the range of 0-9, at our disposal. Binary numbering, however, uses a Base2 nu bering system, where there are only two digits: zero (0) and one (1). Because 32-bit IPv4 addresse sare divided into four 8-bit octets, To convert a binary nurmber to decimal, you can create a table si mmilar to Table below: Binary Conversion Table 728 | 64) 32 | 16] 8 )4)] 2) 7 Note: thestructure of the table, There are eight colurms, representing the 8 bitsin an octet. The col umn headings are the powers of 2 (the powers of 07), beginning with theright-most column, Speci fically, 2 raised to the power of 0 (2°) is 1 (in fact, any number raised to the 0 power is 7) If you raise 2 to the first power (21), that equals 2. A2 raised to the second power (that is, 2 *2, or 2) is 4. This continues through 2 raised to power of 7 (that is, 2*2*2 *2*2*2*2,or 27), whiche quals 128. This table can beused for converting binary numbers to decimal and decimal numbers to binary. Converting a Binary Number to a Decimal Number ‘To convert a binary number to a decimal number, you populate the previously descr bed binary table “d rTwith the given binary digits. Then, you add up the column heading values for those columns containi ngal Converting a Decimal Number toa Binary Number To convert numbers from decimal to binary, staring with the left most colurm, ask the question, his number equal to or greater than the column heading?" If the answer to that question is, ’No,” pla cea 0in that column and moveto thenext column. If the answer is, “Yes” place a 1 in that column a nnd subtract the value of the colurm heading from the number you're converting NOTE: We are going to have some; Binary Numbering Practice in class. Ibv4 Address Structure ‘An IPv4 address is a 32bit address. However, rather than writing out each individual bit value, thea dress is typically written in dotted-decimal notation. Consider the IP address of 10.1.2.3. This addr ss is written in dotted-decimal notation. Notice that the IP address is divided into four separate nu bers, separated by periods. Each number represents one fourth of the IP address. Specifically, eac number represents an 8bit portion of the 32 bits in the address. Because each of these four divi ons of an IP address represent 8 bits, these divisions are called octets. ‘An example of a binary representation of the 10.1.2.3 IP address Dotted Decimal Notation 10 1 2 3 Binary Bits 90001010 00000001 00000010 00000011 Octet 1 Octet 2 Octet 3 Octet 4 Binary Representation of Dotted Decirmal IP Address An IP address is composed of two types of addresses: (1) a network address and (2) a host addres 's. Specifically, a group of contiguous left justified bits represent the network address, and the remal ning bits (that is, a group of contiguous right justified bits} represent the address of a host on a net work. The IP address component that determines which bits refer to the network and which bits refe ro the host is called the subnet mask. ‘Asubnet mask is a dividing line separating an IP address’ 32 bits into a group of network bits (on th eleft) and a group of host bits (on the right). itis typically consists of a series of contiguous 1s follo wed by a set of continuous Os. The 1s ina subnet mask correspond to network bits in an IPv4 addre ss, while Os in a subnet mask correspond to host bits in an IPv4 address. “d rTDotted Decimal N 10 7 2 3 otation Binary Bits ooo00 | 00000010 000 00001010 001 0011 Subnet Mask 0000000 0000 ooo00000 mia 000 Dividing an IP Address into a Network Portion and a Host Portion Classes of Addresses Although an IP address (or a network address) needs subnet mask information to determine which bits represent the network portion of the address, there are default subnet masks with which you sh ould be familar. The default subnet mask for a given IP address is solely determined by the value int he P address’ first octet. IP Address Classes Address Value in First Octet Classful Mask Classful Mask Class (Dotted Decimal) _(Prefix Notation) Class A 1-126 255.0.0.0 B Class B 128-191 255.255.0.0 ne Class C 192-223 255.255.255.0 128, Class D 224-239 nla nla Class E 240-255 na na “These ranges of IP address, which you should memorize, are referred to as different classes of addr esses. Classes A,B, and C are those ranges of addresses assigned to network devices. Class D addr esses are used as destination IP addresses (that is, not assigned to devices sourcing traffic) for mul ticast networks, and Class E addresses are reserved for experimental use. The default subnet masks associated with address classes A, B, and C are called classful masks. NOTE: You might have noticed that in the ranges of values in the first octet, the number 127 see rms to have been skipped. The reason is that 127 is used as a loopback IP address, meaning a loc ally significant IP address representing the device itself. “]L fypes of Addresses: ‘The following are the three categories of |Pva addresses: unicast, broadcast, and multicast. Unicast: Most network traffic is unicast in nature, meaning that traffic travels from a single sourced eviceto a single destination device Broadcast: traffic travels from a single source to all destinations on a network (that is, a broadcast domain) Multicast technology provides an efficient mechanism for a single host to send traffic to muttiple, ye ‘t specific, destinations. For example, imagine a network with 100. Twenty of those users want to rec eive a video stream froma video server. How can you check your network configuration? Ina commandéine environment, the commands ipconfig (for Windows network configuration) andift config (for Linux network configuration, as well as Mac: OSX and other Linux-like environments) allo w you to view information about your network configuration and to configure your network interfac e Assigning IPv4 Addresses At this point in the discussion, you should understand that networked devices need an IP address. H owever, beyond just an IP address, what extra IP address related information needs to be provided, and how does an IP address get assigned to one of those devices? IP Addressing Components ‘An IP address has two portions: a network portion and a host portion. A subnet maskis required t © delineate between these two portions. ‘Additionally if trafic is destined for a different subnet than the subnet on which the traffic originate s,a defauk gateway needs to be defined. A default gateway routes traffic from the sender's subnet owards the destination subnet. “Another consideration is that end users typicaly do not type in the IP address of the destination dev icewith which they want to connect (for example, a web server on theInternet). Instead, end users t ypicall typein fully qualified domain names (FQDN), such as www.google.com. When connecting t co devices on the pubic Internet, a Domain Name System (DNS) server takes a FQDN and translates i into a corresponding IP address. “To surrmarize, network devices (for example, an end-user PC) can benefit from a variety of IP addre ssparameters, such as the following: IP address Subnet mask Default gateway Server addr esses (DNS) Static Configuration “d rT_ L A simple way of configuring a PC, for exarnple, with IP address parameters is to statically configure that information Dynamic Configuration Statioa ly assigning IP address information ta individual networked devices can be time consuming, error-prone, and lacking in scalability. Instead of static IP address assignments, rmany corporate net works dynamically assign IP address parameters to their devices. An early option for performing thi automatic assignment of IP addresses was called Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) for short. Currentl y, however, the most popular approach for dynamic IP address a ssignment is Dynamic Host Configu ration Protocol (DHCP). ‘Automatic Private IP Addressing Ifa networked device does not havea statically configured IP address and is unableto contact a D HCP server it still might be able to communicate on an IP network thanks to Automatic Privat e1P A dressing (APIPA). The APIPA feature allows a net worked deviceto selfassign an IP address from t he 169.254.0.0/16 network, Note that this address is usable only on the devices local subnet (the IP address is not routable). How to configure a network switch and router? When setting up a network switch and router, it's important to customize settings and ap ply all necessary configurations to ensure that your network will work properly. Some of t he configurable settings on a network switch and router include: IP address—for identification Password—for added security Channel and band selection—to improve performance Default gateway—to make the device visible to network management tools Neighbor discovery—for added visibility Correct time—for proper troubleshooting and detailed error logs Anetwork configuration manager is the easiest way to perform network switch configur ation and apply these settings consistently to every device on your enterprise network.