Chapter 6: TCP/IP

Chapter 7: TCP/IP

Overview Much of the theory that has been presented thus far may seem useless to the Network+ certified technician. However, to service clients in the LAN, a tech must understand those pieces of networking technology that allow data to traverse the network. Understanding the varied TCP/IP protocols, and the services and utilities they bring to networking, will help the technician troubleshoot client problems and take on larger tasks as experience grows.

Teaching Suggestions The OSI Model is a useful framework for understanding both networking and the TCP/IP suite of protocols. The suite is alphabet soup for many who are new or relatively new to technology. So an organized presentation of the protocols, and a way to remember their functions, are tantamount to understanding.

You can build a chart, mapping protocols from the suite to layers of the OSI Model. This becomes a good study guide, and because this is a repetitive exercise in several chapters, it will not only reinforce the functions of the protocols, it will also reinforce what the OSI Model does for networking and internetworking.

I have found it useful to demonstrate on the instructor machine (if one is available) any protocol that the student can see in action. For instance, if the instructor machine is connected to the Internet, opening Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator demonstrates the use of HTTP. Point out the use of this protocol in the locator bar. If you are comfortable showing an instance in which HTTPS is used, that is also a good demonstration.

Many academic institutions have FTP sites and Telnet connections available for students and/or instructors. These also make good demonstrations.

If you are running Microsoft Windows NT, install the Network Monitor (NetMon) utility. This will allow you to capture packets and identify the use of TCP or UDP for transport.

By PINGing another machine, you can demonstrate the use of the ICMP protocol.

The list of ports is quite extensive, and makes an interesting demonstration as well. The Web site http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers will enable you to view the entire list of port assignments.

Hardware and Software Requirements For this chapter, the instructor should have at least one computer. If the system is running Windows NT, the source installation files will be necessary on some machines when Network Monitor is installed. If every student has a machine, a central source for the NT installation files is the best solution (the instructor’s machine). I also recommend a connection to the Internet that reaches at least 128Kbps.

The instructor will also need an overhead projector connected to the instructor’s machine.