BMIS 330

LAB 9 INSTRUCTIONS
Packet Tracer: Examining a MAC Address Table
[Adapted from Cisco Networking Academy Network Fundamentals]
Background:
Switches maintain a table of MAC addresses and associated switch ports. When a switch
receives a frame, the destination MAC address is checked against the table, and the
corresponding port is used to route the frame out of the switch. If a switch does not know which
port to use to route the frame, or if the frame is a broadcast, the frame is routed out all ports
except the port where it originated.
Access to Cisco devices can be accomplished through several means. A console port can be used
if the Cisco router or switch is within proximity of a computer. Using the Windows hyperterm
utility, a serial connection can be established. For devices physically distant from the network
engineer, network on the AIX port enables telephone access. For secure networks, the Cisco
device can be configured for a Telnet session. In this lab, you will connect to the switch using the
Command Line Interface provided within Packet Tracer.
Assignment Instructions:
1. Open the Packet Tracer file that accompanies this assignment (Lab_9.pkt). The
logical topology is shown below.

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2. Determine IP and MAC addresses of devices

In the Logical Workplace, mouse over each of the following device
interfaces and record the IP and MAC addresses that are shown in the
popup. Record your answers in the template provided.
PC-PT (1A)
PC-PT (1B)
PC-PT (11A)
PC-PT (11B)
Switch 2960-24TT (S1-Central) VLAN1 interface

Router 1841 (R2-Central) - FastEthernet0/0 interface

Router 1841 (R2-Central) - Serial0/0/0 interface

Router 1841 (R1-ISP) - FastEthernet0/0 interface

Router 1841 (R1-ISP) - Serial0/0/0 interface

Server-PT (Eagle Server)

Answer the following questions in the template provided:
a. Are PC-PT (1A) and PC-PT(11A) in the same network?
b. Are PC-PT (1A) and Eagle Server in the same network?
c. How do you know?
d. Which device interfaces display <not set> for their MAC address?
e. Why do these interfaces not have MAC addresses?
3. Examine the MAC address table of the switch.
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Click on the S1-Central switch. Click on the CLI tab. Press the [Enter] key to enter User
EXEC mode.
Type enable at the prompt. This puts you in Privileged EXEC mode.
Type show mac-address-table at the prompt.
Take a screen shot of your output and paste it into the appropriate section
(Screenshot #1) of the answer template provided.
Type exit at the prompt. This will return you to User EXEC mode and clear your screen
of the output. Close out of the window.

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4. Ping a computer within the same network.

(Before you try to ping a device on this network, make sure you see green lights on each
of the cables that are connecting the devices to each other. If you do not see green lights,
click back and forth between Simulation mode and Realtime mode until you see the green
lights.)
When you ping a device that is within the same network, an entry is made in the switchs
MAC table for both devices. By default, this entry is stored for only 2 minutes. If you
ping that same device again, the length of time the entries are stored is extended to 10
minutes. Therefore, in this assignment, whenever you are told to ping a device, issue the
command 2 times in order to extend the amount of time that you can examine the MAC
address table.
Click on the PC-PT (1A) computer. Click the Desktop tab and the Command Prompt
button. At the command prompt, ping PC-PT (1B).
To do this, type ping 172.16.1.2 and press Enter.
Repeat this command to extend the amount of time the entries are stored in the MAC
table.
Take a screen shot of your output and paste it into the appropriate section
(Screenshot #2) of the answer template provided.
5. Examine the switchs MAC address table again.
Note: It is important to note that MAC address entries in your switchs MAC address
table are stored for only a short period of time (2 or 10 minutes). As you proceed through
this assignment, you will be instructed regarding how many entries to expect in your
MAC address table. If fewer entries than expected are present, you will need to return to
Step 4 and begin again from that point.
Click on the S1-Central switch. Click on the CLI tab. Press the Enter key to enter User
EXEC mode.
Type enable at the prompt. This puts you in Privileged EXEC mode again.
Type show mac-address-table at the prompt.
Take a screen shot of your output and paste it into the appropriate section
(Screenshot #3) of the answer template provided.

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Type Exit at the prompt. This will return you to User EXEC mode and clear your
screen of the output. Close out of the window.
At this point, you should see exactly 2 rows in your MAC address table. If you see more
than 2 rows, close out of Packet Tracer without saving, and reopen the pkt file. Wait until
the green lights appear on the connectors and resume this assignment starting with Step 4
above (Ping A Computer Within the Same Network).
Once you have exactly 2 rows in your MAC address table, answer the following
questions in the template provided.
Questions:
a. What device belongs to the MAC address listed in the first row of the MAC address
table?
b. What device belongs to the MAC address listed in the second row of the MAC
address table?
6. Ping a device in a different network.
Following the same procedure that was outlined in Step 4 above, click on PC-PT(1A)
again and try to ping Server-PT (Eagle Server).
(Note that you will have to use the IP address for the Eagle Server that you determined in
Step 1.)
Issue this command again to extend the amount of time the entries are stored in the MAC
table.
Take a screen shot of your output and paste it into the appropriate section
(Screenshot #4) of the answer template provided.
7. Examine the switchs MAC address table one last time.
Click on the S1-Central switch. Click on the CLI tab. Press the Enter key to enter User
EXEC mode.
Type enable at the prompt. This puts you in Privileged EXEC mode again.
Type show mac-address-table at the prompt.
Take a screen shot of your output and paste it into the appropriate section
(Screenshot #5) of the answer template provided.

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Type exit at the prompt. This will return you to User EXEC mode and clear your screen
of the output. Close out of the window.
At this point, you should see 3 rows in your MAC address table.
Answer the following questions in the template provided.
a. To which device does the new MAC address in the table belong?
b. Why is the MAC address of the Eagle Server not among the addresses in the switchs
MAC address table?
Deliverables:
Save your answer template using the following convention: [your first initial] + [your last name]
+ _Lab9. For example, Joe Smith will save his file template as JSmith_Lab9.doc.
Submit your answer template to Blackboard by attaching it to the appropriate assignment link.

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