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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Packet Tracer is, in essence, simulating real equipment. <br><br>So the short answer is to skip Packet Tracer and have the student run the same setups in a real environment. <br><br>From what I remember, the instructions are already in PT, so you may be able to just copy and paste them into a more accessible format and run a real or other simulated lab.</div><div><br></div>
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On Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 11:25:15 AM PDT, Robert Jaquiss via NFBCS <nfbcs@nfbnet.org> wrote:
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<div><div dir="ltr">Hello Brian:<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"> Thank you for your note. My question about accessing equipment is<br></div><div dir="ltr">academic at this point. At age 73, I am not about to try for a CCNA.<br></div><div dir="ltr">Packet Tracer is a program used to simulate networks. Students can create a<br></div><div dir="ltr">simulated network of PCs, routers, switches etc. and then test their<br></div><div dir="ltr">network. This is done so schools don't have to equip labs with racks of<br></div><div dir="ltr">hardware.<br></div><div dir="ltr">I nearly failed a test because I was handed a cable and asked to identify<br></div><div dir="ltr">which connector was attached to it. The connector shell had markings which<br></div><div dir="ltr">were in print. I ended unscrewing the connection in order to find out if I<br></div><div dir="ltr">had a DTE or DCE cable. It was a good thing that I had good mechanical<br></div><div dir="ltr">skills. Those were long pins.<br></div><div dir="ltr">More later.<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Regards,<br></div><div dir="ltr">Robert<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">-----Original Message-----<br></div><div dir="ltr">From: Brian Buhrow <<a ymailto="mailto:buhrow@nfbcal.org" href="mailto:buhrow@nfbcal.org">buhrow@nfbcal.org</a>> <br></div><div dir="ltr">Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 11:47 AM<br></div><div dir="ltr">To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <<a ymailto="mailto:nfbcs@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:nfbcs@nfbnet.org">nfbcs@nfbnet.org</a>><br></div><div dir="ltr">Cc: rjaquiss@earthlink.net; <a ymailto="mailto:buhrow@nfbcal.org" href="mailto:buhrow@nfbcal.org">buhrow@nfbcal.org</a><br></div><div dir="ltr">Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Accessibility of PacketTracer<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"> hello Robert. Yes, in general, routers and switches can be<br></div><div dir="ltr">controlled via a terminal interface, either via a serial port or via an ssh<br></div><div dir="ltr">terminal connection. Some of the lower end equipment, i.e. Net Gear, D-link<br></div><div dir="ltr">etc. must be configured through a browser, but all of the enterprise<br></div><div dir="ltr">equipment I'm aware of can be fully controlled through a terminal.<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I'm not familiar with packet tracer, but I wonder if tcpdump, a command line<br></div><div dir="ltr">packet capture tool, can be used instead of packet tracer to complete the<br></div><div dir="ltr">course work? Tcpdump is fully accessible via command line.<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">-thanks<br></div><div dir="ltr">-Brian<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">_______________________________________________<br></div><div dir="ltr">NFBCS mailing list<br></div><div dir="ltr"><a ymailto="mailto:NFBCS@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:NFBCS@nfbnet.org">NFBCS@nfbnet.org</a><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org</a><br></div><div dir="ltr">To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBCS:<br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/richbarron%40yahoo.com" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/richbarron%40yahoo.com</a><br></div></div>
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