• TFTP server
• Syslog server
• DNS
If you don’t know what these are, you will. In fact, we will be using TFPT in the Lab 4, the next lab. Syslog and DNS will be covered in later labs.
This section applies to labs that are using Cisco routers and switches instead of a simulator. If you are using a simulator, these functions may be included in the software. Packet Tracer, for example, has TFTP support and DNS support, but it does not include a syslog server. To install these services in Packet Tracer, first chose a generic server from the End Devices and connect it to the switch. Then verify in the Config section that TFTP and DNS are “on.”
The following software is used in the Hedgehog labs, and provides support for all three services: TFTP, syslog and DNS, as well as two services not needed: FTP and DHCP. The software is free, and, so far, has presented no performance problems on the PC that supports them (more on this below). There are other software packages that perform the same functions very well, and are also free. If you are running Linux or UNIX in your lab, support for these functions is included in the operating system. Usually a few configuration changes are all that are needed to start the services. If you are running an Apple system, well.......
3CDaemon v.2 for Win32 from 3Com – TFPT, syslog, and FTP server support
Dual DHCP DNS Server from Sourceforge – DHCP and DNS
Both software packages are free, and come with no nagging messages. We run both packages on a system that is considerable slower than any new PC on the market today:
• Dell PC 2.4Ghz single processor
• 512meg of RAM
• Windows 2000
The system has experienced no performance issues even when other programs such as putty and a web browser are used, too.
3CDaemon v.2 for Win32 from 3Com is easy to configure. Create directories for the TFTP files and the syslog files in My Documents, or any directory that is easy to remember. Configure the services to use these directories, and the task is complete. We recommend that you name the directories tftp, or something similar, and syslog, or something similar.
Dual DHCP DNS server is a bit quirky, but works as advertised. When installed, it reads the Workgroup value from the System configuration, usually “Workgroup” and makes it the domain name. When using DNS, it is necessary to use the fully qualified name, such as "pc1.workgroup." Not quite as convenient as other DNS, but the price is right, and it works well in spite of this one quirk.
It also requires a static IP address instead of a dynamic address from DHCP. The software simply will not run if the PC has a dynamic address. Actually, that makes a lot of sense. If you are unfamiliar with DNS, understand that all devices in your lab require the IP address of the DNS server. If the address changes each time you reboot the PC running these services, you would need to reconfigure every device in your lab each time you rebooted the machine, which is inconvenient, wouldn't you say?
When configuring the static IP address for the DNS server, use the same static IP address for the DNS server. In other words, have the system point to itself so it will perform DNS services for your lab. Otherwise, the server will read another public DNS server, which has not been configured for your lab.
