Member Avatar for 7arouf

hey

i have a school project, where i have to build a network (check the image below to see how does it look like)



i have assigned ip addresses to the server, workstations, and routers...
then i tried to add routing protocol..
i.e.:
router rip
network <network address>
network ....

but for some reason i can ping from PC1 to server or PC1 to PC0
but i CAN'T ping PC1 to PC3!!!

i tried looking back at the ip address, subnets, default gateways, routers, routing protocols!!!!!
everything seems logically true!!

what do you think the problem is???
do we need to use static ip route??? even though rhe instructor didn`t ask us to do so!!

any help will be appreciated
thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by tbbrick

Dani AI

Generated

Brief clarification and a compact troubleshooting addendum. The root cause in this thread was logical: some hosts were assigned addresses that put them in a different IP subnet than their peers, so ICMP could not be routed even though other pings worked. 's physical-layer checks were still sensible to eliminate cabling or NIC faults; combining those with the logical checks below avoids wasted effort.

A practical checklist to isolate similar problems:

  • Confirm each host's IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway; ensure the gateway address is on the same subnet as the host.
  • Verify router interface addresses and the routing table show the expected networks.
  • Run a traceroute to see where packets stop; inspect ARP/neighbor tables to confirm MAC/IP mappings.
  • Check switch VLAN membership and interface status; a VLAN mismatch can make two physically connected hosts logically separated.
  • Confirm host firewalls allow ICMP or temporarily disable them for testing.

Suggested commands (Windows, Linux, Cisco):

Windows:   ipconfig /all
           arp -a
           route print
           tracert <ip>

Linux:     ip addr show
           ip route show
           sudo arp -n
           traceroute <ip>

Cisco:     show ip interface brief
           show ip route
           show ip arp
           show vlan brief

Important notes and common pitfalls: mismatched subnet masks can make hosts believe a peer is "local" when it is not; routing protocol quirks matter (for example, classful vs. classless behavior can hide subnets unless the protocol/version supports them); incomplete routing statements or passive interfaces may leave a network unreachable. For small lab topologies, a clear static addressing plan often speeds troubleshooting.

Credit to for emphasizing hardware checks and to for confirming the addressing error. Combining physical verification with the logical checklist above typically resolves the "can ping some hosts but not others" cases.

Member Avatar for tbbrick

If your sure all the network configuring is good, it's usually a hardware problem, i.e. bad cable, NIC, something with the switch, etc.

Try the following tests. Can you ping PC1 to PC4? If you can, can you ping PC1 to PC3? If you can't ping PC1 to PC3, PC3 has a problem in the NIC or cabling.

If you can't ping PC1 to PC4, can you ping PC1 to Switch2? If you can't, Switch2 is the problem. If PC1 can ping Switch2, can PC4 ping Switch2? If PC4 can't, it still might be Switch2 or the cabling to it from the other side. If PC4 can, try PC3 to Switch2. If it can, try to ping PC1 to PC3 again. Don't be surprised it all of a sudden, PC1 can ping PC3 again. Sometimes, going thru all these tests "kicks something loose" and it works.

Good luck...

Member Avatar for 7arouf

If your sure all the network configuring is good, it's usually a hardware problem, i.e. bad cable, NIC, something with the switch, etc.

Try the following tests. Can you ping PC1 to PC4? If you can, can you ping PC1 to PC3? If you can't ping PC1 to PC3, PC3 has a problem in the NIC or cabling.

If you can't ping PC1 to PC4, can you ping PC1 to Switch2? If you can't, Switch2 is the problem. If PC1 can ping Switch2, can PC4 ping Switch2? If PC4 can't, it still might be Switch2 or the cabling to it from the other side. If PC4 can, try PC3 to Switch2. If it can, try to ping PC1 to PC3 again. Don't be surprised it all of a sudden, PC1 can ping PC3 again. Sometimes, going thru all these tests "kicks something loose" and it works.

Good luck...

thanks for the reply,
i figured out that it was an ip address problem
i.e. i had an ip address for pc2, pc3 from different network

Member Avatar for tbbrick

You're welcome, glad it was something simple to fix.

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