Creating a cisco network

Building a simple LAN & VLAN Network using Cisco packet tracer.

As a cybersecurity student and network enthusiast, I’ve been diving into practical simulations using Cisco Packet Tracer—an amazing tool for visualizing how real-world networks work. Recently, I built a simple yet insightful project that combines a basic LAN with a VLAN, using two PCs and two laptops connected via a switch and a router.

Project Overview

Here’s what my network setup looks like:

• Devices:

  • 2 PCs in the LAN

  • 2 Laptops in a VLAN

  • 1 Switch

  • 1 Router

• Objective:

  • Create a network where:

    • PCs can communicate with each other in the LAN.

    • Laptops communicate within a separate VLAN.

    • The router allows inter-VLAN routing if needed.

• How I Built It

• Device Setup
  I added the devices (PCs, laptops, switch, router) and connected them using standard Ethernet cables.

• VLAN Configuration
  I created a VLAN on the switch and assigned the two laptop ports to it. This separated laptop traffic from the rest of the network.

• IP Addressing
  Each device got an IP address in its own subnet

• Router Setup
  I configured the router to enable communication between the LAN and VLAN. This is known as inter-VLAN routing and allows devices in different VLANs to talk to each other.

• Trunk Port
  The switch port connected to the router was set to trunk mode to carry traffic from both VLANs.

Testing & Results

Once everything was connected and configured:

• The PCs could ping each other

• The laptops could ping each other

This confirmed that both the LAN and VLAN setup was working properly.