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Basic single-LAN FTP/HTTP test lab (Packet Tracer)

Theory prerequisites

Read Networking Models, MAC Addresses & ARP, Switches vs Routers, and HTTP/HTTPS & TLS. Return to the Lab-Aligned Learning Path after verification.

Topology

Single flat LAN with two PCs, a switch, and an HTTP/FTP server

No router, no NAT, no DHCP even required — everything lives on one flat 192.168.1.0/24 network. This isolates FTP/HTTP behavior from routing.

lab-1.png

1. Place devices

  • 2x Generic PC
  • 1x Switch (2960)
  • 1x Server (Generic)

2. Cable them (Copper Straight-Through)

  • PC0 <-> Switch0 (any FastEthernet port)
  • PC1 <-> Switch0 (any FastEthernet port)
  • Server0 <-> Switch0 (any FastEthernet port)

3. Addressing (static — keeps it rudimentary, no DHCP needed)

Device IP Address Subnet Mask
PC0 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
PC1 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0
Server0 192.168.1.100 255.255.255.0

On each device: Desktop tab > IP Configuration > Static, enter the IP and mask above. No gateway needed — same subnet, no routing involved.

4. Enable services on Server0

Click Server0 > Config tab > Services (left sidebar):

HTTP - Click "HTTP" service - Toggle On - Default index.html is already there; edit it if you want recognizable content to fetch later

FTP - Click "FTP" service - Toggle On - Under "User Setup", add a user: - Username: cisco - Password: cisco - Permissions: check all (Read, Write, Delete, Rename, List) - Click the + (add) button to save the user - This user/password is what PC0/PC1 will use to log in via FTP

5. Test HTTP (from PC0 or PC1)

  1. Click the PC > Desktop tab > Web Browser
  2. Type 192.168.1.100 in the address bar > Enter
  3. The Server0 HTTP page should load

6. Test FTP (from PC0 or PC1)

  1. Click the PC > Desktop tab > Command Prompt
  2. Run: 
    ftp 192.168.1.100
  3. When prompted for username: cisco
  4. When prompted for password: cisco
  5. Once connected, try: 
    dir
    This lists files on the server (should show index.html at minimum, since it's the file the HTTP service uses).

To actually transfer a file, first put one there from the PC side: 

put <filename>
(You'd need a file already present on the PC's simulated filesystem — Packet Tracer PCs have a limited local filesystem under the PC's own Desktop but generally the more common test is a get:) 
get index.html
This pulls the server's file down to the PC, giving you a visible FTP data-transfer event to inspect.

7. Equivalent commands on a real machine

Everything above uses Packet Tracer's simulated Desktop tools. On a real Windows or Linux host on the same flat LAN (static IP, no gateway, no DHCP), the equivalent checks are:

Check Windows (cmd/PowerShell) Linux
Verify your IP/mask ipconfig (ipconfig /all for detail) ip addr (or ip a)
Test reachability to server ping 192.168.1.100 ping 192.168.1.100
See ARP cache (learned MACs) arp -a ip neigh (or arp -n)
Test HTTP curl http://192.168.1.100 curl http://192.168.1.100
Test FTP ftp 192.168.1.100 ftp 192.168.1.100 or curl ftp://cisco:cisco@192.168.1.100/

Notes:

  • ping works the same on both — it's your first check that L2/L3 connectivity to the server is up, just like browsing/ftp in the lab.
  • arp -a / ip neigh is the host-side analog of what the switch does with its MAC table: after pinging, you'll see 192.168.1.100 resolved to Server0's MAC address.
  • Since this lab is a single subnet with no router, there is no default gateway to check and tracert/traceroute would just show one hop. DHCP (dhclient, ipconfig /renew), NAT, and DNS (nslookup) checks get added in the later labs that introduce them.

On the switch prompt

show mac address-table

Run Simulation

- Just keep ARP and HTTP

8. What to observe (ties back to the concepts)

Action Concept
Switch to Simulation mode, browse HTTP TCP 3-way handshake on port 80, then GET/response
Simulation mode, ftp session TCP control connection on port 21, separate data connection for transfers
Click the packet envelope mid-transfer Inspect actual header: source/dest IP, port, protocol
dir inside the FTP session FTP's command channel listing server-side files
Try browsing from PC0 vs PC1 Confirms both reach the server via Switch0's MAC table — no routing needed since it's one subnet

Notes

  • This is intentionally the simplest possible version — one subnet, static IPs, no VLANs, no router, no NAT. Once this works end to end, the previous multi-router lab (with NAT and DHCP) builds on top of exactly this same FTP/HTTP service setup.
  • If HTTP or FTP won't connect, the most common cause in Packet Tracer is the service toggle being off, or the PC/Server IP being on a different subnet by typo — double check both before troubleshooting further.