Lab Guide: Building a Local Network with a Switch

Objective:

By the end of this lab, you will build a simple LAN (Local Area Network) with just a switch and Ethernet cables. You’ll see that computers can talk to each other without internet access.

✅ Materials (per group)

• 1 × 8-port switch (Monoprice or similar)
• 3 × computers/laptops (Chromebooks with Ethernet adapter if needed)
• 3 × Ethernet cables

🪜 Steps

1. Connect the Devices

• [ ] Plug each computer into the switch with Ethernet.
• [ ] Make sure you use 3 different switch ports.

2. Set Static IP Addresses

On each computer:

• [ ] Go to Network Settings → Ethernet → IP settings.
• [ ] Turn off DHCP/Automatic.
• [ ] Set a Manual / Static IP:
  • PC 1 → 192.168.10.10
  • PC 2 → 192.168.10.11
  • PC 3 → 192.168.10.12
• [ ] Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0 (or /24).