The Use of a Packet Tracer

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The Use of a Packet Tracer

• Network Design and Engineering
• By John Paul Scarpatti

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Basic Packet Tracers

• Packet Tracers can normally be used for testing
  and diagnosing networking problems. Many are free
  of use, and fairly straight forward to follow.
  They allow for a network admin to have an
  overview of the network and any bottlenecks
  without having to physically inspect the network
  which ultimately saves time and money.
• The Packet Tracer program from Cisco allows for
  not only a diagnostic of the network, but also
  features that can be used to help design the
  functionality of a network in a virtual
  environment. This is very useful in reducing the
  amount of trouble shooting needed in order to
  install a functional network.

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Ciscos Packet Tracer

• This free-to-download software virtually shows
  all of the connections within a network and can
  send dummy information over the network to
  stimulate a real world network
• As seen, the router is providing a connection to
  a large amount of computers on the network, with
  green dots symbolizing a working environment.

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Ciscos Packet Tracer (cont.)

• The utility can also be used to represent how a
  network will be physically connected. Ports may
  be selected to use from different routers,
  switches, and hubs as well as bandwidth speeds
  and open or closed ports.

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Ciscos Packet Tracer (cont.)

• Packet Tracers are also useful for
  displaying how well a network will perform under
  various stress tests. They help identify
  bottlenecks within the network as well as areas
  of opportunity in how something can be configured
  differently, or how much traffic the network can
  handle at any given time.