CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking Fundamentals

Chapter 6 Router Startup and Configuration

Objectives
Describe the steps involved in starting a router Describe and use the Cisco Discovery Protocol Configure IP on the Cisco router Troubleshoot router connectivity problems

CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking Fundamentals, Fourth Edition

Router Startup
In general, the boot process follows these steps:
Test hardware (POST) Load the bootstrap program Locate and load the Cisco IOS Locate and load the router configuration file

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CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking Fundamentals, Fourth Edition

Test Hardware (POST)

Read-only memory (ROM) in a router
Typically contains the power-on self-test (POST), the bootstrap program, and often a version of the operating system

POST is a diagnostic test that determines if the hardware is operating correctly During the POST, the bootstrap program, also called the ROM Monitor, checks basic operations of the attached hardware
The ROM Monitor checks the configuration register for instructions regarding how to load the Cisco IOS
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Router Configuration Files

startup-config
The router configuration file that loads during the boot process Sometimes referred to as the backup configuration
Because it is the saved version of the configuration file

To revert to the settings in your startup-config

Reboot the system by powering the router off and back on again or Issue the reload command at the privileged EXEC mode prompt
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Router Configuration Files (continued)

Note that when you copy over the startup configuration in NVRAM, that file is replaced When you copy to the running configuration in RAM, the configuration files are blended To view the contents of the startup-config
Type show startu-pconfig or just show start at the enable prompt

To see your working or running configuration

Type show running-config or just show run at the enable prompt
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CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking Fundamentals, Fourth Edition

Methods for Making Changes

You can usually implement and test changes without saving them to the startup configuration Basic steps to implement changes:
Make changes as desired to the configuration Examine those changes Determine if the changes meet the desired result Remove the changes if they do not meet the desired result, or simply reboot the router Copy the changes from the running configuration to the startup configuration when they do meet the desired result
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IP on the Router
To manually configure IP on an interface
You must first change to interface configuration mode Then, you can use the ip address command to configure an IP address for the specific interface

In the event you are configuring a serial interface as a DCE (data communication equipment)
You will also need to add the clockrate [bandwidth in bits per second] command

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IP Connectivity

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Telnet
Telnet
Utility that connects at the highest layer of the OSI model and provides remote access to other devices

Cisco routers allow telnet connections via their virtual terminal ports If you can establish telnet connectivity to a router
It is available on the network and you have connectivity at all layers

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IP Host Names
Sometimes, you cannot gain connectivity because the host name that you are trying to connect with is entered in a table incorrectly To determine the address to name mapping on your router, type:
router#show hosts

To add an entry to your hosts file for name resolution

Go to global configuration mode and type:
router(config)#ip host router15 192.168.5.1
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IP Host Names (continued)

To remove that entry, type:
router(config)#no ip host router15 192.168.5.1

To allow a name server to handle the IP address to name resolution, type:

router(config)#ip name-server 172.33.44.1

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Ping and Trace

Ping and Trace verify connectivity at the Internetwork layer of the TCP/IP model Ping can return the following replies:
! . U C I ? & Successful receipt of the ICMP echo Request timed out Destination was unreachable Congestion experienced Ping interrupted Packet type unknown Packet TTL exceeded
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Ping and Trace (continued)

Using the ping command alone
Referred to as extended mode ping Allows you to enter your ping command step by step

Trace sends multiple ICMP packets with progressively higher time-to-live counters (TTL)
Until the packet reaches the destination

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Ping and Trace (continued)

The following responses can be returned by a trace:
!H
P N U *

Indicates that a router received, but did not forward, the ICMP echo request Protocol unreachable Network unreachable Port unreachable Request timed out

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IP Route
If you cannot get connectivity using Ping or Trace, you should check your routing table Issue the show ip route command from the enable mode prompt
To display the routing table

Typically, routing tables are dynamically created when routing protocols are configured on the router
If you want, you can use the ip route command from the global configuration mode
To statically enter routes in the routing table
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Checking the Interface

show interfaces command
Check the configuration of a specific interface from the enable mode prompt Example: router#show int s0/0

Replies
Serial0/0 is up, line protocol is up Serial0/0 is up, line protocol is down Serial0/0 is up, line protocol is administratively down Serial0/0 is down, line protocol is down
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Checking the Interface (continued)

Clear counters
The router keeps detailed statistics regarding data passing across its interfaces To clear the counters for interface f0/0, type:
router#clear interface f0/0

debug command
One of the most powerful tools you can use to obtain information from your router Tool is only available from privileged EXEC mode Debug has numerous subcommands
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CDP
Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
Cisco proprietary Data Link layer protocol
Shares configuration information between Cisco devices that are connected directly to each other

All Cisco devices can use CDP to:

Discover each other Learn about the configurations of other devices

Using CDP can help you quickly determine the network topology CDP was designed to be a low-overhead protocol
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CDP (continued)

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Cisco IOS
Cisco IOS is usually loaded from flash memory
If the router cannot find the IOS in flash memory, it will look for a copy on a TFTP server If it cannot find one there, it will boot a minimal version of the IOS from ROM

If you want to see information about your routers flash memory:

Type show flash from the enable mode prompt

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Cisco IOS (continued)

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Configuration Register
Every Cisco router has a 16-bit configuration register, which is stored in NVRAM This register allows you to control several boot functions:
Forcing the system into the bootstrap program Enabling or disabling the console Break function Setting the console terminal baud rate Loading the IOS from ROM Loading the IOS from a TFTP server

Examine the configuration register by typing show version

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Configuration Register (continued)

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ROM Monitor Mode

ROM Monitor mode
The bootstrap program that is built into the firmware of the router Used to initialize the hardware and load the IOS ROM Monitor can be used to perform other tasks such as diagnostics and recovering passwords

Configure your system to enter ROM Monitor mode

Enter the following command at the global configuration prompt:
router(config)#config-register 0x2100
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ROM Monitor Mode (continued)

Configure your system to boot a smaller IOS image from ROM and enter RxBoot mode
Enter the following command at the global configuration prompt:
router(config)#config-register 0x2101

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RxBoot Mode
RxBoot mode
A limited version of the IOS

Entering RxBoot mode is often done intentionally

When you want to access a TFTP server to download a new IOS

If your router enters RxBoot mode without your intervention

Indicates that the router could not find a good IOS image

Prompt: router(boot)
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Boot System Commands

As long as the configuration register is configured with a 2 as the final hexadecimal digit
The ROM Monitor will look for boot system commands in NVRAM during the bootup process

Enable your system to boot an IOS file from the TFTP server
Issue the following command from global configuration mode:
router(config)#boot system tftp somefile.bin

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Backing Up and Restoring the IOS

copy flash tftp
The command for backing up your IOS to a TFTP server

You will be asked for the source filename, the IP address of the TFTP server, and the destination filename Type erase flash at the privileged EXEC mode prompt
To erase the IOS

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Upgrading the IOS

Before you load a new IOS file to your router
Use the show flash command to ensure there is enough free memory to hold it

The system will tell you how much memory is used and how much is free If there is not enough memory to hold both the current IOS image and the upgrade
You will have to erase the existing flash memory as previously mentioned

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Router Password Recovery

Password recovery
Process that allows you to get into the router without the necessary passwords You must be physically connected to the router using the console cable

Steps to perform password recovery on the Cisco 2600 series:

Connect to the router from a PC using the console port and the HyperTerminal program Enter the show version command and record the value of the configuration register
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Router Password Recovery (continued)

Steps to perform password recovery on the Cisco 2600 series: (continued)
Turn the router off and on using the power switch Press Ctrl+Break several times within the first 60 seconds of bootup At the rommon 1> prompt, type confreg 0x2142 and press Enter Enter the reset command at the rommon 2> prompt Enter no if asked to enter the system configuration dialog Enter enable to get to privileged mode
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Router Password Recovery (continued)

Steps to perform password recovery on the Cisco 2600 series: (continued)
Enter the copy start run command to load the saved configuration file from NVRAM into RAM Enter the show run command to view the configuration To change the enable secret command, enter the following commands:
Router#config t Router(config)#enable secret [secret password]
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Router Password Recovery (continued)

Steps to perform password recovery on the Cisco 2600 series: (continued)
Enter config-register 0x2102 at the global configuration mode prompt to make sure the router reboots in the default manner Enter the copy run start command to save your changes

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Security Device Manager

Security Device Manager (SDM)
A Web-based tool primarily used for implementing and testing security configurations Commonly used to configure routing protocols, WAN services, wireless routing, firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and quality of service (QoS)

SDM is typically not used to configure basic functionality on a Cisco router

In fact, SDM cannot do all things

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Summary
When a router boots, it follows a set routine Although a routers boot process can vary, the typical boot process follows a standard sequence If the Cisco IOS is set to load from a TFTP server, but the TFTP server cannot be located, then the IOS will boot from flash memory If the IOS cannot be found in flash memory or on the TFTP server, then a limited version will boot from ROM

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Summary (continued)
If the Cisco IOS is set to load a configuration file from a TFTP server, but the file or server is not available, the configuration file will be loaded from NVRAM The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) shares information between Cisco devices about other local Cisco devices CDP uses broadcasts to update neighbors every 60 seconds by default Devices share information about their interface configurations and connections to other devices
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Summary (continued)
You can verify router connectivity to other systems by using telnet to determine if there is Application layer connectivity If you cannot get connectivity at the Application layer, try Trace and Ping One of the most important troubleshooting commands is the show interfaces command Ciscos Security Device Manager (SDM) is a Webbased tool designed to help you configure Cisco routers
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