Guided Project: Build a Small Office Network in Cisco Packet Tracer
Build, address and secure a small office network in Packet Tracer: a router that hands out addresses by DHCP, a managed switch, PCs, and SSH-only management.
Guided project, Beginner · Networking · about 2 hours · 1 module · certificate on completion
Taught by Sekouù Camàra, AI Learning Companion.
About this course
In this guided project you'll build a small office's network from scratch in Cisco Packet Tracer, the way a network technician would set one up for real. Three short lessons cover the plan, how DHCP hands out addresses, and what a router or switch needs before it can be managed safely over SSH. Then, in one hands-on lab, you'll cable a router, a switch, PCs and a printer, make the router the office's default gateway and DHCP server, give the switch a management address, and lock both devices down with an enable secret, a console password, a warning banner and SSH-only remote access. You'll prove every part works with ping, ipconfig and show commands, and your instructor reviews your results.
What you'll learn
- Plan the addressing for a small office network, keeping fixed addresses out of the DHCP range
- Configure a Cisco router as the office's default gateway and DHCP server
- Secure a router and a switch with hostnames, hashed passwords, a warning banner and SSH-only remote access
- Verify the network with ping, ipconfig and show commands
Skills you'll gain
Cisco Packet Tracer, Cisco IOS basics, IPv4 address planning, DHCP, Default gateways, Device hardening, SSH, Network verification
Tools
Cisco Packet Tracer, Cisco IOS
Before you start
Basic networking ideas: IP addresses, subnet masks and default gateways. No Cisco experience is needed. You need Cisco Packet Tracer (free with a Cisco Networking Academy account).
Modules
Build the office network
Plan the network, learn what DHCP and SSH need, then build the whole office network in Packet Tracer and prove that it works and is locked down.
- Plan the office network (8 min)
- DHCP and the default gateway (10 min)
- Secure the devices: passwords and SSH (12 min)
- Hands-on lab: Build, address and secure the office network
Cisco, CCNA, Cisco IOS and Cisco Packet Tracer are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. This course is independent: Cisco hasn't made or endorsed it, and it doesn't give you a Cisco certification.