Network Programming Wikiclass | Tutorial / Tutorial

Activity 1: Find network addresses of your computer

Launch a command prompt: Start > Run > type cmd
Type: ipconfig and observe the output.
Type: ipconfig /all and observe the output.
Question 1: Find the physical address, IP address, and default gateway address of your PC. Here are what I found from my PC.

    Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1E-37-27-66-BB
    IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.14.208
    Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.14.1

Activity 2: Use netstat to check the network activity

Netstat (network statistics) is a command-line tool that displays network connections (both incoming and outgoing), routing tables, and a number of network interface statistics. It is available on Unix, Unix-like, and Windows NT-based operating systems.

Find out what programs in your computer are connecting to the network
- Type cmd in your Windows Run box. (Windows > Start > Run > type cmd)
- Type "netstat -b 5 > activity.txt" and press enter.
- After say 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.
- Type "activity.txt" on the command line to open the log file in notepad (or your default text editor)
Question 2: List all the executables (the running applications) that were connecting to the network during the period.
Question 3: Select any 3 executables (the running applications) from Question 2 and explain why they need to connect to the network.

Activity 3: Install and test Fomine LAN Chat

Fomine LAN Chat is tiny and simple multi-users LAN chat software.

Download Fomine LAN Chat
Run the LAN Chat and test it with your classmates
Run netstat to determine the ports number used by the LAN Chat program
Question 4: What is the port number used by the LAN Chat program in your PC?
Question 5: Is the port number used by the LAN Chat program the same as other PC?

Activity 4: Install and test Softros LAN Messenger

Softros LAN Messenger is a secure serverless instant messaging program for user-to-user or user-to-group message and file exchange through your corporate network (LAN, WAN, VPN).

Download Softros LAN Messenger 4.5.4
Run the LAN Messenger and test it with your classmates.
Question 6: The program you experiment in Activity 3 is called LAN Chat. What are the key characteristics of it when compared with ICQ or MSN Messenger?
Question 7: Give a number of additional features of Softros LAN Messenger when compared to Fomine LAN Chat.

Further Exploration

Question 8: The IP address of your PC is a private IP addresses that are behind a firewall. Private IP addresses are nonroutable on the public Internet, so they must be translated into public IP addresses before they touch the Internet. Work with your classmates to find the public IP address when your PC access the Internet.

Submission