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Welcome to ITS332, Networking Lab
by Steven Gordon - Thursday, 8 January 2015, 1:01 PM
 
Welcome to ITS332 Information Technology Lab II, or what I call the "Networking Lab". We will study some software related to computer networking, and build our own networks.

Labs start in the first week of semester: Monday 12 January for section 1, and Wednesday 14 January for section 2 and 3. All sections are held in the computer lab on the ground floor of building 2, opposite the medical office.

There are no printed handouts for the lab. Instead we will do everything online: the lab manual and instructions are available as a website or PDF, quizzes held in each lab as well as the final exam will be on Moodle, and you will asked to upload notes/answers to a server during the lab. Further information about the lab is on the course website, and will be explained in the class.

If you've forgotten your password to Moodle or want to change it, tell me during the first lab.

See you next week.

Steve

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Quiz Results and Next Lab
by Steven Gordon - Wednesday, 21 January 2015, 5:51 PM
 
Several notes on ITS332 Network Lab:

1. Results and answers for both Quiz 1 and 2 are now available. Please check your answers to see where you went wrong. Also let me know if you think your answer is correct, but marked wrong. Sometimes you may give an answer that is technically correct but I haven't consider it in the answer set (e.g. if you give options in a different/strange order, or include multiple spaces instead of a single space).

2. There IS a lab next week (26 and 28 Jan). We have some "spare" weeks, in which we may not have a lab. Probably they will be just before the midterm exams.

3. Although you may have taken notes during the first 2 labs, I don't require you to upload them yet (no penalty if you don't). Next lab I will explain how to upload notes and from lab 3 onwards I will require you to do so.

4. For those interested, example scripts from the lab this week (for downloading the .zip and .pdf files) are available via:

http://ict.siit.tu.ac.th/moodle/mod/page/view.php?id=665

Next week we will start on some basic networking commands.

Steve

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Lab 6 and Past Quizzes
by Steven Gordon - Sunday, 22 February 2015, 4:00 PM
 
There is a lab this week: Mon 23 Feb and Wed 25 Feb. We will start to build and test a small network in this weeks lab.

There will be an online quiz in this weeks lab, but it will not graded, i.e. doesn't count towards your final score. It will be for practice, as well as for testing the Moodle server.

You can see your scores for the paper quiz from lab 5 on Moodle, and also you may try the online version this week (but it will not be graded).

Steve

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Lab Notes
by Steven Gordon - Monday, 23 March 2015, 10:56 AM
 
After browsing through the notes on the ICT server from past labs I noticed that most people were taking notes, sometimes quite good notes. A reminder that when you build and test networks it is very important to record what you are doing. Without notes, it is easier to make mistakes and harder to diagnose problems. Some mistakes that I noticed during recent labs include:

    Setting the wrong IP address or subnet mask for an interface
    Getting confused between which IP address/interface to add to routing tables
    Forgetting to enable forwarding on routers
    Having cables plugged into the wrong interface (or not plugged in at all)
    Testing your network using the wrong addresses (e.g. ping 1.1.1.2 instead of 1.1.2.1)
    Using wrong syntax for commands that we have used very often (e.g. tcpdump, ping, ifconfig)

Although making notes will not solve all these problems, it may make them less likely to occur. Another suggestion is when designing IP addresses to use, I saw some groups use the scheme using the computer number, e.g. 4.4.4.15, 4.4.4.16, 4.4.5.16. In the lab this is a good scheme as it is easier to remember the last part of the IP address.

All groups that submitted designs for Lab 7 received full marks. (There was 1 group that did not submit - they should talk to me).

For previous labs I asked you to keep your own notes on ICT server. After browsing/searching for files in "public_html/private/its332" or other directories/files named "lab" or "its332", I found the following students with no notes:

Srikanya Chantrasuth

Apichon Kitvimonrat

Nattanan Yodsrimongkol

Jiramate Goyedul

Patchara Promnatom

Yolradee Sootaranan

Piyapan Kaewsalubsee

Krisada Vivek

Netirak Sitthikornwong

Preechasiri Thaweeapiradeelerdlamsum

Chanawat Thathan

Nuchsara Watcharaworathit

Meerit Panuwatsuk

Jinnawat Viriya

Anuwat Shutanaruk

Tanitpong Waragunlertrat

Chonthicha Satthaporn

If you are on this list and have some notes on the ICT server, then in the lab this week show me. Otherwise make sure you add notes for the remaining labs.

Everyone should continue to upload notes for labs 8, 9 and 10.

Finally, the remaining schedule is:

Week 9 (this week): Lab 8 - applications and routing

Week 10: Lab 9 - WiFi details

2 week break due to Chakri holiday and Songkran

Week 13: Lab 10 - combine knowledge from all previous labs to build/demo a network, practice for exam

Week 14: Exam in the lab

Week 15: spare (if all goes to plan, no lab)

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Last Lab Next Week
by Steven Gordon - Friday, 17 April 2015, 7:58 AM

Next week on Monday 20th and Wednesday 22nd April, the final ITS332 lab will be held. We will cover aspects of Internet applications, such as DNS.

Then the following week during the normal lab times, Monday 27th and Wednesday 29th April, the final exam will be held. The final exam will be using Moodle and similar to the quizzes, except for 1 hour and containing about 20 questions. More info about the final exam will be provided next week.

Steve

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Re: Last Lab Next Week
by Steven Gordon - Friday, 24 April 2015, 7:04 PM

A reminder that the exam is next week, starting at 1pm on Monday for section 1.

Unfortunately there is going to be a power outage at Bangkadi on Sunday morning, meaning Moodle (ict.siit.tu.ac.th) will not be available. It may return Sunday afternoon, but if there are power problems at Bangkadi it may not. For section 1 students, please attempt the practice questions before Sunday. I will update with more information as it becomes available.

Steve

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Re: Last Lab Next Week
by Steven Gordon - Sunday, 26 April 2015, 3:10 PM

Moodle (ict.siit.tu.ac.th) is now accessible, so you may keep trying the practice questions for exam tomorrow (section 1).

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Re: Last Lab Next Week
by Steven Gordon - Monday, 27 April 2015, 12:58 PM
 
During the ITS332 lab exam, students from other sections will be blocked from accessing ICT server (in order to keep the load on the server low). Exam times are

Section 1: Mon 13:00 to 14:30

Section 2: Wed 9:00 to 10:30

Section 3: Wed 13:00 to 14:30

Do not access Moodle/ICT during other sections exam time.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Steve

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Final Exam Results
by Steven Gordon - Wednesday, 29 April 2015, 5:58 PM
 
You can now see the final exam scores and answers on Moodle.

Although I have manually marked/fixed multiple questions already, I highly recommend you check your answers and let me know if you are unsure what you did wrong or think you deserve more marks. You have until Friday 8 May to let me know, after which I will finalise the scores.

The total course scores and ranking SHOULD be correct (i.e. 40% quiz, 20% attendance, 40% exam), although I will check again that everything adds up after I finalise your exam scores.

Well done! Many of you are now skilled Linux and network engineers.

Steve