Router Fundamentals

Introduction
 Cisco Router
 CPU and memory management
 LAN interface
 WAN interface

 Tools and techniques for basic router configuration

 Describe the purpose and basic operation of the IOS
 Identify various IOS features
 Identify the methods to establish a command-line interface (CLI)
session with the router
 Move between the user command executive (EXEC) and privileged
EXEC modes
 Establish a HyperTerminal session on a router
 Log into a router
 Use the help feature in the command line interface
Routers
 Router is a dedicated computer system
 have both LAN and WAN interfaces.
 to segment or interconnect LANs.
 Routers are the backbone devices of large intranets and of
the Internet.
 Operate at Layer 3 of the OSI model, making decisions
based on network addresses.
 Two main functions of routers are selection of best path and
switching of packets to the proper interface.
 Routers accomplish this by building routing tables and
exchanging information with other routers
CPU and RAM
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 CPU executes instructions in the operating system
 OS specially written for router
 Among these functions are system initialization, routing functions,
and network interface control.
 1st generation of Cisco Router use Motorola 68020 CPU
 High-end routers may have multiple CPUs.
 Random Access Memory (RAM)
 Cisco router use static RAM for performance
 RAM is used for
 routing table information
 fast switching cache
 running configuration
 packet queues.
 The contents of RAM are lost when power is removed
Flash Memory
 Flash memory is used for storage of a full Cisco IOS
software image.
 Some early version of IOS has a size of 16Mbytes
 normally acquires the default IOS from flash memory. Flash is
programmable
 Allows updating of IOS software without replacing the ROM chip
 These images can be upgraded by loading a new image into flash.
 Retained on power down
 Multiple versions of IOS can be stored
 Flash is relatively slow
 In most routers an executable copy of the IOS is transferred to RAM
during the boot process.
 similar to boot from Hard disk
 In other routers the IOS may be run directly from flash.
 NVRAM and ROM
 Nonvolatile random-access memory
(NVRAM)
 Small size. Stores backup/startup
configuration files
 Content is not lost when router is
powered down or restarted
 ROM
 Contains small house-keeping programs
 POST (Power On Self Test) are hardware
diagnostics during router bootup and
loading the Cisco IOS software from flash
to RAM
 bootstrap program (loads the Cisco IOS)
 ROMs are not erasable. They can only
be upgraded by replacing the ROM chips
in the sockets.
 Ports / Interfaces
 The three basic types of
connections on a router are
 LAN interfaces
 WAN interfaces
 Management ports.
 The LAN and WAN connections
provide network connections
through which frame packets are
passed.
 The management ports provides
a text-based connection for the
configuration and troubleshooting
of the router
LAN and WAN interface of Routers
 Routers can be used to segment or interconnect
LANs.
 Two main functions of routers
 areselection of best path and switching of packets to the
proper interface.
 Routers accomplish this by building routing tables and
exchanging information with other routers.
 Routers are the backbone devices of large intranets
and of the Internet.
 Router operates at Layer 3 of the OSI model,
making decisions based on network addresses.
 Routers have both LAN and WAN interfaces.
 Located on motherboard or on a separate module
 Connections through which packets enter and exit
Management Port Connections
 The common management interfaces two ports
 console (CON) port
 auxiliary (AUX) port.
 These are EIA-232 asynchronous serial ports.
 The computer must run a terminal emulation program to provide a text-
based session with the router. Through this session the network
administrator can manage the device.
 The console port is recommended for this initial configuration.
 The CON port is preferred over the AUX port for troubleshooting. This is
because it displays router startup, debugging, and error messages by
default.
 The console port can be used for disaster and password recovery
procedures.
 Once the initial configuration is entered through the CON or AUX port,
the router can be connected to the network for troubleshooting or
monitoring
Console Port
 All Cisco routers include a 232 asynchronous serial
console port (RJ-45).
 Cables and adapters are needed to connect a
console terminal to the console port.
 To connect a PC running terminal emulation
software to the console port, use the RJ-45 to RJ-
45 rollover cable with the female RJ-45 to DB-9
adapter
Connecting LAN Interfaces
 In most LAN environments, the router is connected
to the LAN using an Ethernet or Fast Ethernet
interface.
 The router is a host that communicates with the
LAN via a hub or a switch. A straight-through cable
is used to make this connection.
 In some cases the Ethernet connection of the
router is connected directly to the computer or to
another router. For this type of connection, a
crossover cable is required.
 The correct interface must be used. If the wrong
interface is connected, damage can result to the
router or other networking devices.
Cisco Internetwork Operating SystemTM
(IOS)
 Like a computer, the router can not operate with out
an operating system. Cisco calls there the IOS. Its
functions are:
 Basic routing and switching functions
 Reliable and secure access to networked resources
 Network scalability
 When a Cisco router powers up, it performs a
power-up self test.
 During this self test, the router executes diagnostics from
ROM on all hardware modules
 These diagnostics verify the basic operation of the CPU,
memory, and network interface ports. After verifying the
hardware functions, the router proceeds with software
initialization.
 Router Start up steps
 Checks hardware - POST
 Loads bootstrap
 A bootstrap is a simple set of instructions that tests hardware and initializes the
IOS for operation.
 Loads operating system
 The location is disclosed in the boot field of the configuration register.
 When it is loaded and operational, the operating system locates the hardware
and software components and lists the results on the console terminal.
 Loads configuration file
 The configuration file saved in NVRAM is loaded into main memory and
executed one line at a time.
 Start routing processes, supply addresses for interfaces
 Set up mode
 Should use setup to bring up a minimal configuration
Router Start up steps (2)
Establish a HyperTerminal session
 All Cisco routers include a 232 asynchronous
serial console port (RJ-45).
 Cables and adapters are needed to connect
a console terminal to the console port.
 A console terminal is an ASCII terminal or
PC running terminal emulation software such
as HyperTerminal.
 To connect a PC running terminal emulation
software to the console port, use the RJ-45
to RJ-45 rollover cable with the female RJ-45
to DB-9 adapter
Command line interface
 The two basic modes : User and Privileged
modes.
 User mode
 Limited mode used for checking the routers
status, looking at routing tables
 You cannot configure the router
 Once you’ve typed the password to enter user
mode, you will see the > prompt. The word
“Router” will be the name of the router.
Command line interface (2)
 Privileged mode
 Does everything User mode does
 Full power to configure the router
 In user mode, you enter the command “enable”
and then the privileged password
Switch between user & privilege mode
 To return to the user EXEC mode
from the privileged EXEC mode, the
disable command or exit may be
entered.
 To return to the privileged EXEC
mode from the global configuration
mode, type exit or Ctrl-Z.
 Ctrl-Z may also be used to return
directly to the privileged EXEC mode
from any sub-mode of global
configuration.
– router#disable
router>exit
Global Configuration mode
 ROUTER#CONFIGURE TERMINAL
 ROUTER(CONFIG)#
 The global configuration mode can only be
accessed from the privileged EXEC mode. The
following are specific modes that can also be
accessed from the global configuration mode:
 Set the Hostname
 Set enable password
 Set enable secret password
 Set console and virtual terminal passwords
 Set routed and routing protocols
 Configure interfaces with IP addresses, subnet mask
Show command
 show version
 show IOS software image, version,indicates configuration register
settings, bootstrap ROM version, Router up time, last restart
method,system image file and location, and router platform
 show startup-config
 displays the backup configuration file
 show running-config
 displays the active configuration file
 show flash
 shows information about the Flash memory device
 show interfaces
 displays statistics for all interfaces configured on the router
 show protocols
 shows the status of all configured Layer 3 protocols
Getting Help on a Command
 To get a list of commands
available in either user
mode or privileged mode,
enter a ? at the prompt.
 Router> ?
 Router# ?
 The ? can be used with a
partial command to learn
all the available
commands that match
what you entered.
Summary
 Router
 LANinterfaces: Ethernet, fast-ethernet, token-ring
 WAN interfaces: serial
 Management console: aux, console

 Functions of Routers
 Path determination and switch packet to the designated
interface
 Cisco Routers
 IOS
 User (EXEC) mode, Privileged (Enable) mode
 Basic house keeping command: erase, reload, show