Networking 101, part 2: hands on

Part 1 showed you how networks work with diagrams you could pause and step through. In this part you work on a real one. It isn’t made of real boxes on a desk: it’s a small network that runs in the cloud, inside one codespace, but the computers, the switch and the routers inside it behave just as real ones do. You log in to them, ask them questions, and see the same things from the lessons: MAC addresses, IP addresses, prefixes, gateways, broadcasts.

The network

The hosts are small Linux computers. The switch and the routers run CapeOS, a network operating system made for labs, whose commands look like the ones on most of the world’s switches and routers.

In the lab, the Topology tab draws this network. Hover over a device to see what it is and how it’s cabled; click it to open a terminal on it, in a tab of its own.

How each task works

The same five parts as the lessons: explain, show, follow along, challenge, then check. You write your answers in the box under the guide, and the Check task button under it compares them with what the network says.

$ git clone https://gitlab.com/networkdoodles-labs/networking-101-lab.git
$ cd networking-101-lab
$ code .            # then: Reopen in Container
$ make check T=1.1