Module 1 - Internet Tools

I downloaded a number of applications from http://network-tools.com/ to complete the steps in this task.

When I attempted to traceroute to curtin .edu.au, I always timed out at the same stage, on the 13th hop. I tried this a number of times over a two day period, and always received the same result. This has led me to theorise that there must be something wrong with a connection for this hop - perhaps an incorrectly configured firewall, or perhaps just one of those annoying internet glitches that happen from time to time.

There was no average time to reach Curtin as the traceroute ultimately failed every time. If the traceroute did not fail, then I would have simply to add up the connection time for each step, then divide by the number of steps to obtain the average hop time

The IP of curtin.edu.au is 134.7.17.136

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For the next step in this task, I pinged both http://webct.curtin.edu.au/ and http://network-tools.com/

Below are the average ping times for each URL:

http://webct.curtin.edu.au/ - 243ms

http://network-tools.org/ - 49ms

I was quite surprised by the amount of time difference between pinging the two URLs. For one, I certainly expected the WebCT website to return a lot faster than the Network Tools site, partly because it is physically located much closer to me, in Australia, rather than Network Tools US based website.

I suppose that there are a number of reasons as to why this could be the case - my requests to Curtin could have been redirected through a network that was experiencing a lot of traffic, or perhaps it is on a much slower network than Network Tools.

I quite enjoyed this task and found It relatively straight forward, as I am used to using the ping command to test both whether external websites are responding, and to also test whether my internet connection is working. It is a very handy, easy to use and easy to remember command for ascertaining whether one's computer can access external web servers, or indeed has access to the net at all.

Further than this, ping is a quick and pain free way to establish the IP address of URLs, and can be of further assistance when troubleshooting issues with things like Load Balancers, or when multiple Web Front End's are in use.

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This task called on me to traceroute from my computer to curtin.edu.au and to compare the number of hops with the earlier traceroute.

It was interesting to note that from the A-Toolbar application, the traceroute ultimately resolves at hop 14, with the IP address 134.7.179.53

From http://network-tools.com/ it did not resolve after hop 12, receiving a number of time outs before ultimately aborting.

It is interesting to note the different IP address that was resolved to, and this leads me to think that perhaps curtin.edu.au sits on multiple servers with a load balancer, which may explain the different IPs. As to why it was not resolving from the Network Tools application, but was resolving from A-Toolbar - well that is a bit of a mystery to me! It is possible that at the time that I attempted to run Network Tools there was a brief problem at that exact time that I was running the test, and this issue was rectified prior to running my tests from A-Toolbar. Though it is possible, I don't think it is too likely. My hunch is that the problem is more likely related to the different IP addresses that are being resolved to, as opposed to the application requesting the traceroute.

Module 1 FTP Task - CAPITALIZATION MATTERS

"according to the readme file, 'CAPITALIZATION MATTERS' - what word goes in the blank?".

After following the tasks in this exercise, I located a readme.txt file on the remote server, which I then opened. Amongst other text in there, was the statement that CAPITALIZATON matters, the missing word in the question posed by this task.

I found this task quite easy, as I have had some experience with FTP previously, mainly using it to upload files to web servers, download files from remote services and to share files with friends.

I think that this has been an excellent exercise, and is especially useful for those that the use the internet, and have wondered how it all "hangs together" but have not known how.

Through this task, users are instructed to log on to, and navigate a file structure on a remote server. I would hope that when doing this, my fellow learners would have recognised that the familiar folders and file structure that appears on their PC is perfectly replicated on the remote server. Having this common and logical folder and file structure makes life a lot easier when working on computers, as anyone can jump onto (almost) any PC in the world, and when they see nested trees with folders and files, they recognise conceptually what they are looking at. Recognition of the structure will make users instantly effective when operating in this new environment, and thus has mitigated the need for any "ramp up" time to learn the new technology.

LOG ENTRY: Record your outcome and reflections of your experiences and thoughts on this task in your learning log

Module 1 Task B - Telnet Task

What a surprise! Despite having used telnet a number of times throughout my professional career, I had no idea that it was capable of such psuedo-animation as is displayed at blinkenlights.nl. Telnet obviously has many more capabilities than I am aware of!

I think what has been accomplished at this telnet site is a wonderful case in point about advances that are made in knowledge or technical capability. While technological advances by themselves often lead to enhanced productivity or creativity, I think what is more interesting is when a new, novel, application for a particular technology or tool is stumbled upon.

As well as being forward looking problem solvers, it appears that humans are also quite adept at looking backwards, at where they have come from, and applying new knowledge or techniques to old tools or applications. This 360-degree approach to knowledge has benefitted humans immensely throughout our history, as I am sure it will continue to.