Cisco Packet Tracer Setup Guide

The Cisco Packet Tracer software allows you to simulate some of the lab equipment (routers, switches, PCs, servers) away from the lab environment. It is not a substitute for working on real equipment and it does not always respond or work exactly like the real equipment so it's important that you do your labs and practice on real equipment.

Packet Tracer is also used in some of the online assessments in the Cisco Networking Academy courses and you will need to have it installed for those exams. Please make sure you have installed and tested the Packet Tracer software as described below before taking the assessments.

Downloading Cisco Packet Tracer requires a Cisco NetSpace login. Once logged in to NetSpace you can find the download by clicking the "Offerings" link and then selecting "Packet Tracer" or by clicking this link. Versions of PT are available for Windows and Linux. If you are using a Mac you will need to create a Windows or Linux virtual machine to install PT.

Packet Tracer Assessment Activities

Packet Tracer is also used in some of the online assessments in the Cisco Networking Academy courses and you will need to have it installed for those exams. There are a few other pieces of software you need installed to make this work correctly and some tips for testing and troubleshooting your setup. Please do this before attempting an actual assessment.

To have Packet Tracer activities launch without issue, the following software must be installed on your computer:

• Cisco Packet Tracer 6.1.1 or above - Version 6.1.1 or above are the only versions of Packet Tracer that fully support the current PT Practice SBAs. We recommend downloading the latest version of Packet Tracer.
  • Note: If you have just installed Packet Tracer you will need to reboot your computer before completing a PT Practice SBA.
• Java version 1.6 or higher - The latest version of Java can be downloaded from www.java.com.
  • Note: Some versions of Java may need to have security settings adjusted in order to run unsigned applets from the Netacad site, see below.
• Browser - The latest version of Firefox or IE
  • Note: Chrome, Opera, Safari are not supported browsers.

Once all of the software has been updated, use the PT Environment checker to verify that your system is ready to launch Packet Tracer activities. To access the Perform Packet Tracer Skills Assessment Environment Check, please follow the steps provided below:

1. Log in to Cisco NetSpace.
2. From the Cisco NetSpace home page, click the desired course link found under the 'Learn' tab.
3. From the course home page, click on the link 'Student Resources' located below the 'Launch Course' link.
4. Click on the 'Perform Packet Tracer Skills Assessment Environment Check'.

Alternatively you can launch the Packet Tracer Skills Assessment Environment Check directly.

Note that the environment check does take a minute or two to complete.

Java Security Issues

In current versions of JAVA you are not allowed to launch unsigned applets from websites. While this is a good idea from a security standpoint Cisco has not yet signed the JAVA applet which is used for Packet Tracer activities in exams. You will need to add the assessment site into the sites allowed to launch unsigned applets following these directions.

1. Open up the JAVA Control Panel. If you are not sure how to access this, JAVA provides step by step instruction on how to access the control panel: http://java.com/en/download/help/disable_browser.xml
2. Once the JAVA control panel window is open click on "Security" tab
3. Drag the Security bar from 'Very high' or 'High' to Medium.
4. Next click on 'Edit Site List'
5. In 'Edit Site List' add the following URL: https://assessment.netacad.net
   • Note: This is a netacad.net site and not a netacad.com site
6. Click "OK"

This should allow JAVA from load Packet Tracer activities and it should launch the program without any issues.

Chrome Version 42+ Compatibility

As of Chrome Version 42, an additional configuration step is required to continue using NPAPI plugins (like Java, which is required for launching PT Assessments).

1. In your URL bar, enter: chrome://flags/#enable-npapi
2. Click the Enable link for the Enable NPAPI configuration option.
3. Click the Relaunch button that now appears at the bottom of the configuration page.

See http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/chrome.xml for additional details