Networking 201

Copyright Priscilla Oppenheimer

Lab 6 Configuring Priority Queuing

Scenario

You are a senior network administrator for a large company. You have decided to implement priority queuing to increase throughput and reduce delay for essential applications.

Research (and Create) a Need for Priority Queuing

1. Run some tests to determine throughput and delay for applications that "your users" need, such as ping, Telnet, FTP, web browsing, and so on.
2. To create a need for priority queuing, reduce the bandwidth on the WAN links by changing the clockrate on the 2600 WAN routers.
   1. To configure the routers, start a HyperTerminal session.
   2. Type enable (followed by Enter). Type the enable password, provided by the instructor.
   3. Type config t which means you are configuring the router from a terminal. (Your PC acts as a terminal.)
   4. Type interface serial 0/0.
   5. Type clock rate followed by a question mark to determine possible values.
   6. Select a clockrate that is small but not so small that your users will shoot you. (This may take some experimentation.)
3. Re-run your tests to determine throughput and delay for your applications with this lower bandwidth.
4. While you are running tests, see if packets are getting queued by issuing the show interface serial command on the 1700 and 2600 routers,

Design a Priority Queuing Policy

1. Talk to your users and determine which applications are essential.
2. Write a list of the applications in order of their priority.
3. Include in the list the IP protocol type or the UDP or TCP port number.

Configure Priority Queuing.

1. Go into config mode on the routers.
2. Type priority-list 1, followed by question marks to determine valid parameters.
3. Configure a list to match the policies you decided on.
4. Apply the list to your serial interface. (If you're on a router that doesn't have a serial interface, use an Ethernet interface.)
   1. Type interface serial 0/0.
   2. Type priority-group 1.

Test your configuration

Determine whether your new configuration helps the essential applications by re-running your throughput and delay tests.

Submission