Network Device and Configuration Manual
Network Device and Configuration Manual
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
March, 2023
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Table of Contents
ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY ............................................................................................................................. 1
2.2. Passwords......................................................................................................................................... 38
ROUTERS ..................................................................................................................................................... 55
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3.1. Router Basic Configuration ............................................................................................................. 55
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Course Title : Network Device and Configuration
Course description
Course Objective
After completion of this course student will be able to:
Discover Foundry network devices
Advanced knowledge on network device configuration
Create and configure VLANs
Monitor changes to Foundry network devices
Store and retrieve network events
Configure router
Configure and manage switch
Implement and configure network protocols
Mangling network
CHAPTER ONE
DEVICE CONFIGURATION
1.1. Configuration Wizard
While the configuration wizard is an easy way to display complex configuration options, it does
rely on the user having a basic understanding of the software component.
Network Devices
Computer networking devices are units that mediate data in a computer network and are also
called network equipment. Units that are the last receiver or generate data are called hosts or data
terminal equipment.
Network Models It was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It
was first introduced in the late 1970s. It is a model for a computer protocol architecture and as a
framework for developing protocol standards. An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network
communications is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.
OSI Model
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The OSI Model (Open Systems Interconnection Model) is a conceptual framework used to
describe the functions of a networking system. The OSI model characterizes computing
functions into a universal set of rules and requirements in order to support interoperability
between different products and software. It comprises of seven layers.
Advantages:
To reduce complexity of communication task by splitting it into several layered small tasks
assists in protocol design
changes in one layer do not affect other layers
provides a common language
The lowest layer of the OSI Model is concerned with electrically or optically transmitting raw
unstructured data bits across the network from the physical layer of the sending device to the
physical layer of the receiving device. It can include specifications such as voltages, pin layout,
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cabling, and radio frequencies. At the physical layer, one might find “physical” resources such as
network hubs, cabling, repeaters, network adapters or modems.
Define physical characteristics of network. E.g. wires, connector, voltages, data rates,
Asynchronous, Synchronous Transmission.
Handles bit stream or binary transmission.
Used to maintain, activate and deactivate physical link.
For receiver it reassembles bits and send to upper layer for frames.
For Sender it convert frames into bit stream and send on transmission medium.
At the data link layer, directly connected nodes are used to perform node-to-node data transfer
where data is packaged into frames. The data link layer also corrects errors that may have
occurred at the physical layer. The data link layer encompasses two sub-layers of its own. The
first, media access control (MAC), provides flow control and multiplexing for device
transmissions over a network. The second, the logical link control (LLC), provides flow and
error control over the physical medium as well as identifies line protocols.
LAYER 3: NETWORK
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The network layer is responsible for receiving frames from the data link layer, and delivering
them to their intended destinations among based on the addresses contained inside the frame.
The network layer finds the destination by using logical addresses, such as IP (internet protocol).
At this layer, routers are a crucial component used to quite literally route information where it
needs to go between networks.
LAYER 4: TRANSPORT
The transport layer manages the delivery and error checking of data packets. It regulates the size,
sequencing, and ultimately the transfer of data between systems and hosts. One of the most
common examples of the transport layer is TCP or the Transmission Control Protocol.
It regulates information flow to ensure process-to- process connectivity between host applications
reliably and accurately
Adds service point address or Port address
Segmentation & Re-assembly: SEGMENTS data from sending node and reassembles data on
receiving node
Flow control / Error control at Source to destination level
Connection oriented transport service ensures that data is delivered error free, in sequence with no
losses or duplications
Establishes, maintains and terminates virtual circuits
Connection oriented / Connectionless:
Provides multiplexing: the support of different flows of data to different applications on the same
host
LAYER 5: SESSION
The session layer controls the conversations between different computers. A session or
connection between machines is set up and managed at layer 5. Session layer services also
include authentication and reconnections.
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The session layer defines how to start, control and end conversations (called sessions) between
applications
Establishes dialog control between the two computers in a session, regulating which side
transmits, plus when and how long it transmits (Full duplex)
Synchronization: Allows processes to add check points. E.g. Insert check point at every 100 page
of 2000 page file to ensure that each 100-page unit is received & acknowledged
Transmits Data
LAYER 6: PRESENTATION
The presentation layer formats or translates data for the application layer based on the syntax or
semantics that the application accepts. Because of this, it at times also called the syntax layer.
This layer can also handle the encryption and decryption required by the application layer.
Presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged
between two systems.
This layer is primarily responsible for the translation, encryption and compression of data.
Defines coding and conversion functions
This layer also manages security issues by providing services such as data encryption and data
compression
Examples of these formats and schemes are: MPEG, QuickTime, ASCII, EBCDIC, GIF, TIFF,
JPEG
LAYER 7: APPLICATION
At this layer, both the end user and the application layer interact directly with the software
application. This layer sees network services provided to end-user applications such as a web
browser or Office 365. The application layer identifies communication partners, resource
availability, and synchronizes communication.
Layer 1 Vs Layer 2
Layer 1 cannot communicate with upper layers Layer 2 does this using LLC
Layer 1 cannot identify computer Layer 2 uses addressing process
Layer 1 can only describe stream of bits Layer 2 uses framing to organize bits
Data Encapsulation
Data Encapsulation is the process of adding a header to wrap/envelop the data that flows down
the OSI model. The 5 Steps of Data Encapsulation are:
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1. The Application, Presentation and Session layers create DATA from users’ input.
2. The Transport layer converts the DATA to SEGMENTS
3. The NW layer converts the Segments to Packets (datagram)
4. The Data Link layer converts the PACKETS to FRAMES
5. The Physical layer converts the FRAMES to BITS.
Telnet:
It allows a user on a remote client machine, called the Telnet client, to access the resources of
another machine, the Telnet server, in order to access a command-line interface.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) actually lets us transfer files, and it can accomplish this between
any two machines using it.
FTP’s functions are limited to listing and manipulating directories, typing file contents, and
copying files between hosts.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) collects and manipulates valuable network
information.
It’s used to manage communications between web browsers and web servers and opens the right
resource when you click a link, wherever that resource may actually reside.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is also known as Secure Hypertext Transfer
Protocol. It uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
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Domain Name Service (DNS)resolves hostnames—specifically, Internet names, such as
www.wcu.edu.et
TCP: takes large blocks of information from an application and breaks them into segments.
It is Connection oriented means that a virtual connection is established before any user data is
transferred. (handshake)
UDP does not sequence the segments and does not care about the order in which the segments
arrive at the destination.
UDP just sends the segments off and forgets about them.
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Network device
Hub
Hubs connect computers together in a star topology network. Due to their design, they increase
the chances for collisions. Hubs operate in the physical layer of the OSI model and have no
intelligence. Hubs flood incoming packets to all ports all the time. For this reason, if a network is
connected using hubs, the chances of a collision increases linearly with the number of computers
(assuming equal bandwidth use).
Hubs cannot filter data so data packets are sent to all connected devices/computers and do not
have intelligence to find out best path for data packets. This leads to inefficiencies and wastage.
Bridge
In telecommunication networks, a bridge is a product that connects a local area network (LAN)
to another local area network that uses the same protocol. Having a single incoming and
outgoing port and filters traffic on the LAN by looking at the MAC address, bridge is more
complex than hub. Bridge looks at the destination of the packet before forwarding unlike a hub.
It restricts transmission on other LAN segment if destination is not found. Bridge works at the
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data-link (physical network) level of a network, copying a data frame from one network to the
next network along the communications path. It used to connect two subnetworks that use
interchangeable protocols. It combines two LANs to form an extended LAN. The main
difference between the bridge and repeater is that the bridge has a penetrating efficiency.
Transparent Bridges: It is also called learning bridges. Bridge construct its table of terminal
addresses on its own as it implements connecting two LANs. It facilitates the source location to
create its table. It is self-updating. It is a plug and plays bridge. Transparent Bridges is invisible
to the other devices on the network. Transparent Bridge only perform the function of blocking or
forwarding data based on MAC address. MAC address may also be referred as hardware address
or physical address. These addresses are used to built tables and make decision regarding
whether a frame should be forward and where it should be forwarded.
Source Routing Bridge: Source-route Bridges were designed by IBM for use on Token ring
networks. The SR Bridge derives the entire route of the frame embedded within the frame. This
allows the Bridge to make specific decision about how the frame should be forwarded through
the network. This sending terminal means the bridges that the frames should stay. This type of
bridge is used to prevent looping problem.
Translational Bridge: Translational Bridges are useful to connect segments running at different
speeds or using different protocols such as token Ring and Ethernet networks. Depending on the
direction of travel, a Translational Bridge can add or remove information and fields from frame
as needed.
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or
higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer
distances without degradation. Because repeaters work with the actual physical signal, and do
not attempt to interpret the data being transmitted, they operate on the physical layer, the first
layer of the OSI model. Repeaters are majorly employed in long distance transmission to reduce
the effect of attenuation. It is important to note that repeaters do not amplify the original signal
but simply regenerate it.
Modem
Modem (from modulator-demodulator) is a device that turns the digital 1s and 0s of a personal
computer into sounds that can be transmitted over the telephone lines
A switch when compared to bridge has multiple ports. Switches can perform error checking
before forwarding data, which are very efficient by not forwarding packets that error-end out or
forwarding good packets selectively to correct devices only. Switches can support both layer 2
(based on MAC Address) and layer 3 (Based on IP address) depending on the type of switch.
Usually large networks use switches instead of hubs to connect computers within the same
subnet.
A switch operates in the layer 2, i.e. data link layer of the OSI model.
It is an intelligent network device that can be conceived as a multiport network bridge.
It uses MAC addresses (addresses of medium access control sublayer) to send data packets to
selected destination ports.
It uses packet switching technique to receive and forward data packets from the source to the
destination device.
It is supports unicast (one-to-one), multicast (one-to-many) and broadcast (one-to-all)
communications.
Transmission mode is full duplex, i.e. communication in the channel occurs in both the
directions at the same time. Due to this, collisions do not occur.
Switches are active devices, equipped with network software and network management
capabilities.
Switches can perform some error checking before forwarding data to the destined port.
The number of ports is higher – 24/48.
Types of Switches
There are variety of switches that can be broadly categorized into 4 types:
Unmanaged Switch − these are inexpensive switches commonly used in home networks and
small businesses. They can be set up by simply plugging in to the network, after which they
instantly start operating. When more devices needs to be added, more switches are simply added
by this plug and play method. They are referred to as unmanaged since they do not require to be
configured or monitored. Unmanaged switches are generally made as plug-and-play devices and
require little to no special installation beyond an Ethernet cable. The setup of this type of switch
relies on auto-negotiation between Ethernet devices to enable communication between them. The
switch will automatically determine the best data rate to use, switching between full-duplex
mode (where data is received or transmitted in two directions at the same time) or half-duplex
mode (where data is received or transmitted two ways but only one direction at a time).
Managed Switch − these are costly switches that are used in organizations with large and
complex networks, since they can be customized to augment the functionalities of a standard
switch. The augmented features may be QoS (Quality of Service) like higher security levels,
better precision control and complete network management. Despite their cost, they are preferred
in growing organizations due to their scalability and flexibility. Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) is used for configuring managed switches. A managed switch is exactly what it
sounds like—a switch that requires some oversight by a network administrator. This type of
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switch gives you total control over the traffic accessing your network while allowing you to
custom-configure each Ethernet port so you get maximum efficiency over data transfers on the
network. Managed switches are also typically the best network switches to support the Gigabit
standard of Ethernet rather than traditional Fast Ethernet.
LAN Switch − Local Area Network (LAN) switches connects devices in the internal LAN of an
organization. They are also referred as Ethernet switches or data switches. These switches are
particularly helpful in reducing network congestion or bottlenecks. They allocate bandwidth in a
manner so that there is no overlapping of data packets in a network.
PoE Switch − Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches are used in PoE Gigabit Ethernets. PoE
technology combine data and power transmission over the same cable so that devices connected
to it can receive both electricity as well as data over the same line. PoE switches offer greater
flexibility and simplifies the cabling connections. A PoE switch distributes power over the
network to different devices. This means any device on the network, from PCs to IP cameras and
smart lighting systems, can function without the need to be near an AC access point or router,
because the PoE switch sends both data and power to the connected devices.
Media Converter
A media converter, in the context of network hardware, is a cost-effective and flexible device
intended to implement and optimize fiber links in every kind of network. Among media
converters, the most often used type is a device that works as a transceiver, which converts the
electrical signal utilized in copper unshielded twisted pair (UTP) network cabling to light waves
used for fiber optic cabling. It is essential to have the fiber optic connectivity if the distance
between two network devices is greater than the copper cabling is transmission distance.
The copper-to-fiber conversion carried out by a media converter allows two network devices
having copper ports to be connected across long distances by means of fiber optic cabling. Media
converters are available as Physical Layer or Layer 2 switching devices, and can provide rate-
switching and other advanced switching features like VLAN tagging. Media converters are
typically protocol specific and are available to support a wide variety of network types and data
rates.
Media converters can also convert between wavelengths for Wavelength Division Multiplexing
(WDM) applications. Deployed in Enterprise, Government, Data Center, and Telecom Fiber to
the x networks, media converters have become the Swiss army knife of networking to enable
connectivity and fiber distance extension.
Network complexity, demanding applications, and the growing number of devices on the
network are driving network speeds and bandwidth requirements higher and forcing longer
distance requirements within the Local Area Network (LAN). Media converters present solutions
to these problems, by allowing the use of fiber when it is needed, and integrating new equipment
into existing cabling infrastructure. Media converters provide seamless integration of copper and
fiber, and different fiber types in Enterprise LAN networks. They support a wide variety of
protocols, data rates and media types to create a more reliable and cost-effective network.
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Configuring Basic Settings
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Cisco switch by default have a host name “switch”. To change this name follow the instructions
below:
Cisco switch by default have no password. To set a password or change previous password
follow the instructions below: Click on the Switch. A popup window will be opened. Go to CLI
tab in the popup window. Click in command box. Press “Enter” .To enable the switch give
following command: enable To enable.
To configure parameters to control access to the router, perform the following steps.
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. line [ aux | console | tty | vty ] line-number
3. password password
4. login
5. exec-timeout minutes [ seconds ]
6. line [ aux | console | tty | vty ] line-number
7. password password
8. login
9. end
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1.2. View VLANs by Device and Port
On a Cisco switch, ports are assigned to a single VLAN. These ports are referred to as access
ports and provide a connection for end users or node devices, such as a router or server. By
default, all devices are assigned to VLAN 1, known as the default VLAN. After creating a
VLAN, you can manually assign a port to that VLAN and it will be able to communicate only
with or through other devices in the VLAN. Configure the switch port for membership in a given
VLAN as follows:
To change the VLAN for a COS device, use the set vlan command, followed by the VLAN
number, and then the port or ports that should be added to that VLAN. VLAN assignments such
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as this are considered static because they do not change unless the administrator changes the
VLAN configuration.
For the IOS device, you must first select the port (or port range for integrated IOS) and then use
the switchport access vlan command followed by the VLAN number.
Although static VLANs are the most common form of port VLAN assignments, it is possible to
have the switch dynamically choose a VLAN based on the MAC address of the device connected
to a port. To achieve this, you must have a VTP database file, a VTP server, a VTP client switch,
and a dynamic port. After you have properly configured these components, a dynamic port can
choose the VLAN based on whichever device is connected to that port.
Configuring a VLAN based on ports allows PCs in the VLAN to communicate with each other.
Application Environment: A company has multiple departments located in different buildings.
For service security, it is required that employees in one department be able to communicate with
each other, whereas employees in different departments be prohibited from communicating with
each other. Devices on the network shown in the following figure. Add ports connecting devices
to PCs of the financial department to VLAN 5 and ports connecting devices to PCs of the
marketing department to VLAN 9. This configuration prevents employees in financial and
marketing departments from communicating with each other.
Configure links between CE and PE as trunk links to allow frames from VLAN 5 and VLAN 9
to pass through, allowing employees of the same department but different buildings to
communicate with each other. By configuring port-based VLANs on the PE, CE1, and CE2,
employees in the same department can communicate with each other, whereas employees in
different departments cannot.
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Pre-configuration Tasks
Before configuring a VLAN based on ports, complete the following task: Connecting ports and
configuring physical parameters of the ports, ensuring that the ports are physically Up.
Configuration Procedures
Figure 8-6 Procedure of configuring a VLAN based on ports
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After a VLAN profile is created, assign it to switches, aggregation devices in a Junos Fusion
fabric, Virtual Chassis Fabric, members of Layer 3 Fabric, or members of custom groups. You
must have one or more existing VLAN profiles, either user-configured or system-created, before
you can assign a VLAN profile to a switch, or member of a custom group or port group.
In Configuration Manager 2012, the discovery of users, groups and devices has been improved
since Configuration Manager 2007. The discovery feature in Configuration Manager 2012
enables you to identify computer and user resources that can be managed with Configuration
Manager. You are able to configure the discovery of resources on different levels in the
Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy.
The Active Directory Forest Discovery is a new discovery method in Configuration Manager
2012 that allows the discovery of Active Directory Forest where the site servers reside and any
trusted forest. With this discovery method, you are able to automatically create the Active
Directory or IP subnet boundaries that are within the discovered Active Directory Forests.
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Active Directory Forest Discovery can be configured on Central Administration Sites and
Primary Sites.
The clustering functionality ensures mobility across an entire wireless network. With clustering,
you can effortlessly create logical groups of controllers and access points, which share network
and user information in a proactive manner for continuous and uninterrupted support.
You can create a mobility domain using the Create Mobility Domain window from the Network
Director User interface.
A Mobility Group is a group of Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) in a network with the same
Mobility Group name. These WLCs can dynamically share context and state of client devices,
WLC load information, and can forward data traffic among them, which enables inter-controller
wireless LAN roam and controller redundancy. Before you add controllers to a mobility group,
you must verify that certain requirements are met for all controllers that are to be included in the
group.
A Mobility Group is configured manually. The IP and MAC address of the Wireless LAN
Controllers (WLCs) that belong to the same Mobility Group are configured on each of the WLCs
individually. Mobility Groups can be configured either through the CLI or through the GUI.
Mobility Groups can also be configured with the Prime Infrastructure (PI). This alternative
method comes in handy when a large number of WLCs is deployed. No Wireless LAN
Controllers (WLCs) can be configured only in one Mobility Group.
A Mobility Group can include up to 24 WLCs of any type. The number of access points
supported in a Mobility Group is bound by the number of WLCs and WLC types in the group.
For example, if a controller supports 6000 access points, a mobility group that consists of 24
such controllers supports up to 144,000 access points (24 * 6000 = 144,000 access points).
You can add different mobility members that are part of a different Mobility Group into the
mobility list that is used for mobility anchors that can anchor within a different Mobility Group.
There can be up to 72 members in the list with up to 24 in the same Mobility Group.
In a mobility list, the below combinations of mobility groups and members are allowed:
To add an entry to a controller mobility configuration using the GUI, go to CONTROLLER >
Mobility Management > Mobility Groups, and click on New. Here you enter the MAC address
and IP address of the controller management interface you are adding along with the mobility
group name of that controller.
Mobility, or roaming, is a wireless LAN client’s ability to maintain its association seamlessly
from one access point to another securely and with as little latency as possible.
Mobility group is a set of controllers, identified by the same mobility group name that make
seamless roaming for wireless clients. By creating a mobility group, we can enable multiple
controllers in a network to dynamically share information and forward data traffic when inter-
controller or inter-subnet roaming occurs. Controllers in the same mobility group can share the
context and state of client devices as well as their list of access points so that they do not
consider each other’s access points as rogue devices.
A wireless access point (WAP or AP) is a device that allows wireless communication devices to
connect to a wireless network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards. The WAP usually
connects to a wired network, and can relay data between the wireless devices (such as computers
or printers) and wired devices on the network.
Basic firewall A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block
unauthorized access while permitting outward communication. It is also a device or set of
devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all computer traffic between
different security domains based upon a set of rules and other criteria.
Routers
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1.5. Device Schedules
Owing to the increasing need for massive data analysis and model training at the network edge,
as well as the rising concerns about the data privacy, a new distributed training framework called
federated learning (FL) has emerged. In each iteration of FL (called round), the edge devices
update local models based on their own data and contribute to the global training by uploading
the model updates via wireless channels. Due to the limited spectrum resources, only a portion of
the devices can be scheduled in each round.
In order to take a backup of your device configurations, you need to first discover your devices
using Network Configuration Manager. The tool also allows you to add devices in bulk. Once
the devices are discovered, you can proceed to scheduling network backups. Device
configurations need to be backed up often in order to maintain a repository of backups ready to
be restored in case of emergencies. In large enterprises with more number of devices, this task of
getting the device configuration backup up becomes a huge mundane task taking up most of the
time of an admin. Being able to schedule configuration backups is used to free up a network
admin’s time to do productivity enhancing tasks.
VPN’s enable an organization to use public networks such as the internet, to provide a secure
connection among the organization’s wide area network. Customers can use VPN’s to connect an
enterprise Intranet to a wide area network comprised of partners, customers, resellers and
suppliers. Traditionally, business have relied on private 56-Kbps or T-1 leased lines to connect
remote offices together. Leased lines are expensive to install and maintain. For small companies,
the cost is just too high. Using the internet as a backbone, A VPN can securely and cost
effectively connect all of companies’ offices, telecommuters, mobile workers, customers,
partners and suppliers.
Two connections – one is made to the Internet and the second is made to the VPN.
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Datagrams – contains data, destination and source information.
Firewalls – VPNs allow authorized users to pass through the firewalls.
Protocols – protocols create the VPN tunnels.
A VPN gateway is a network device that provides encryption and authentication service to a
multitude of hosts that connect to it. From the outside (internet), all communications addressed to
inside hosts flow through the gateway. There are two types of endpoint VPN tunnels:
Computer to gateway
For remote access: generally set up for a remote user to connect A corporate LAN
Gateway to Gateway
Configuration Management
Performance Management
Fault Management
Common ways to analyze the configuration, Performance and Faults on a Cisco Device
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1.8. CLI Configuration Manager
Configuration Manager can be run from a command line. You want to run the Configuration
Manager from the commend line as opposed to using the graphical user interface because of the
following reasons:
You begin by generating the configuration XML files that define the application server, the
profile type, and the XML file path. You then edit the files to enter values for your environment.
Cisco Command Line Interface (CLI) is the main interface where we will interact with Cisco
IOS devices. CLI is accessible directly via console cable or remotely via methods such as
Telnet/SSH. From here, we can do things such as monitoring device status or changing
configuration. Cisco has divided its CLI into several different modes. Understanding Cisco IOS
Command Line Modes is essential because each mode has its own set of commands. Cisco has at
least three main command line modes: user EXEC mode, privileged EXEC mode, and global
configuration mode. Of course, there are other more specific modes such as interface
configuration mode, extended ACL configuration mode, routing/VLAN configuration mode, etc.
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By default this is where we begin the session with our Cisco IOS devices (unless a specific
privilege level has been granted to our user account).
Indicated by a right angle bracket sign (“>”) next to the device hostname.
Contains commands that we can use to test device/network configuration such as ping and
traceroute.
A limited set of commands that are not changing the device configuration such as the show and
clear command are available.
We can connect to other device from user EXEC mode by using telnet or ssh
To protect user EXEC mode we can create username and password combination on the device.
Issuing exit command here will disconnect the session.
This flowchart below will show the position of each node against the other modes.
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Privileged EXEC mode
Basically, privileged EXEC mode contains the complete command of what we got in user EXEC
mode. In this mode, we still cannot do any configuration changes. However, the configuration
mode can only be accessed from privileged EXEC mode. Privileged EXEC mode is activated
after we use command enable on user EXEC mode.
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More complete set of commands under show and clear command are available here. For example,
in user EXEC mode there is no show running-config under the show command, but in privileged
EXEC mode it is exist.
Unless the user account that we used has specific privilege level assigned to it, by default it will
get the highest privilege level, which is level 15.
Privileged EXEC mode can be protected using an enable password.
Issuing disable command here will bring us back to the user EXEC mode.
Issuing exit command here will disconnect the session.
This is where the real configurations are done. We can enter global configuration mode from
privileged EXEC mode by using command configure terminal. From here we can do changes on
the global device configuration such as hostname, domain-name, creating user accounts, etc; or
we can enter more specific configuration within global configuration mode and make changes
such as IP address interface, access-list, DHCP, policy, etc.
Indicated by device hostname prompt, followed by a word “config” inside a bracket and
then hash sign (“#”).
All commands from EXEC mode can be used here by adding a word do before the
command that we want to execute, for example if we want to use show running-config in
global configuration mode we have to type it as do show running-config.
Despite that we can change configuration within global configuration mode, if we want to
save the configuration we have to do it by exiting back to privileged EXEC mode and
issue command write memory or copy running-config startup-startup config from there
(however, these two commands can also be used from within global configuration mode
by adding a do prefix to the command, as explained in the previous point).
Global configuration mode can be protected by assigning a custom privilege level to the
user account then set allowed commands and block the rest, thus limiting the
configuration capability.
Issuing exit here will bring us back to the privileged EXEC mode.
To change a device configuration, you need to enter the global configuration mode. This mode
can be accessed by typing configure terminal (or conf t, the abbreviated version of the
command) from the enable mode. The prompt for this mode is hostname(config).
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Global configuration mode commands are used to configure a device.
You can set a hostname, configure authentication, set an IP address for an interface, etc.
From this mode, you can also access sub modes, for example the interface mode, from where
you can configure interface options. You can get back to a privileged EXEC mode by typing the
end /exit command. You can also type CTRL + C to exit the configuration mode.
A global configuration mode contains many sub-modes. For example, if you want to configure
an interface you have to enter that interface configuration mode. Each sub mode contains only
commands that pertain to the resource that is being configured.
To enter the interface configuration mode you need to specify which interface you would like to
configure. This is done by using the interface INTERFACE_TYPE/INTERFACE_NUMBER
global configuration command, where INTERFACE_TYPE represents the type of an interface
(Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Serial…) and INTERFACE_NUMBER represents the interface number,
since Cisco devices usually have more than one physical interface.
Once inside the interface configuration mode, you can get a list of available commands by
typing the “?” character.
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CHAPTER TWO
Both Router and Switch are the connecting devices in networking. The main objective of router
is to connect various networks simultaneously and it works in network layer, whereas the main
objective of switch is to connect various devices simultaneously and it works in data link layer.
Switch connects multiple devices to create a network; a router connects multiple switches, and
their respective networks, to form an even larger network. These networks may be in a single
location or across multiple locations. Here is the arrangement of switch and router.
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A network switch (also called switching hub, bridging hub, officially MAC Bridge) is a
computer networking device that connects devices together on a computer network, by using
packet switching to receive, process and forward data to the destination device. Unlike less
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advanced network hubs, a network switch forwards data only to one or multiple devices that
need to receive it, rather than broadcasting the same data out of each of its ports.
A network switch is a multiport network bridge that uses hardware addresses to process and
forward data at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. Switches can also process data at
the network layer (layer 3) by additionally incorporating routing functionality that most
commonly uses IP addresses to perform packet forwarding; such switches are commonly known
as layer-3 switches or switches. Beside most commonly used Ethernet switches, they exist for
various types of networks, including Fiber Channel, Asynchronous Transfer Mode, and Infini
Band.
In technical terms, a router is a Layer 3 network gateway device, meaning that it connects two or
more networks and that the router operates at the network layer of the OSI model. Routers
contain a processor (CPU), several kinds of digital memory, and input- output (I/O) interfaces.
They function as special-purpose computers, one that does not require a keyboard or display.
The router’s memory stores an embedded operating system (O/S). Compared to general-purpose
OS products like Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS, router operating systems limit what
kind of applications can be run on them and also need much smaller amounts of storage space.
Examples of popular router operating systems include Cisco Internetwork Operating System
(IOS) and DD-WRT. These operating systems are manufactured into a binary firmware image
and are commonly called router firmware.
By maintaining configuration information in a part of memory called the routing table, routers
also can filter both incoming and outgoing traffic based on the addresses of senders and
receivers.
A class of portable Wi-Fi router is called travel routers are marketed to people and families who
want to use the functions of a personal router at other locations besides home. Routing devices
called mobile hotspots that share a mobile (cellular) Internet connection with Wi-Fi clients are
also available. Many mobile hotspot devices only work with certain brands of cell service.
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How to accesses a router
1.Connect the router to the modem: The router sends the modem’s internet connection to any
computer connected to its network. Ensure that both the modem and the router have their power
cables plugged in. Plug one end of a network cable into your modem. Plug the other end into the
port on your router labeled Internet, WAN, or WLAN. The labels will vary depending on the
type of router you have.
2.Install the software: Depending on the router brand and model, you may or may not receive
software to install on the computer. This software is typically an interface to connect to the
router and adjust the settings, though it is not required.
3.Connect your computer to the router: You can do this either through an Ethernet cable or over Wi-
Fi. If this is your first time setting the router up, then connect your computer via Ethernet so that
you can configure the wireless network.
Typically, the Ethernet ports on the Router are labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. but any port not labeled
“WAN,” “WLAN,” or “Internet” will work. Connect the other end of the cable to the Ethernet
port on your computer.
How does a router learn about paths (routes) to destinations? There are several routing
mechanisms that may be used as input sources to assist a router in building its route table.
Typically, routers use a combination of the following routing methods to build a router’s route
table:
Although there are specific advantages and disadvantages for implementing them, they are not
mutually exclusive.
These routes come from the active router interfaces. Routers add a directly connected route when
an interface is configured with an IP address and is activated. Directly connected interfaces are
routes that are local to the router. That is, the router has an interface directly connected to one or
more networks or subnets. These networks are inherently known through the routers configured
interface attached to that network. These networks are immediately recognizable and traffic
directed to these networks can be forwarded without any help from routing protocols.
Static Routing
Static routing is a type of network routing technique. Static routing is not a routing protocol;
instead, it is the manual configuration and selection of a network route, usually managed by the
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network administrator. It is employed in scenarios where the network parameters and
environment are expected to remain constant. Static routing is only optimal in a few situations.
Network degradation, latency and congestion are inevitable consequences of the non-flexible
nature of static routing because there is no adjustment when the primary route is unavailable.
Static routes are routes to destination hosts or networks that an administrator has manually
entered into the router’s route table. Static routes define the IP address of the next hop router and
local interface to use when forwarding traffic to a particular destination.
Because this type of route has a static nature, it does not have the capability of adjusting to
changes in the network. If the router or interface defined fails or becomes unavailable, the route
to the destination fails.
This type of routing method has the advantage of eliminating all traffic related to routing
updates. Static routing tends to be ideal where the link is temporary or bandwidth is an issue, so
you want to use this method for dial-up networks or point-to-point WAN links. You can
implement static routes in conjunction with other routing methods to provide routes to
destinations across dial backup links when primary links implementing dynamic routing
protocols have failed.
To design an entire network with only this method because you would have to enter a static route
on every router for each network they are not directly attached to, thus highly impractical. In
addition, if a link or a router within the internetwork fails or is added, you would have to
reconfigure each router, removing the failed route or adding a new route. Meanwhile, routers
obviously cannot forward traffic to that destination because the original path has become invalid.
Static routing can have an extreme amount of overhead in the form of intense administrative
hours spent getting the network up and keeping it going.
You want to implement static routes in very small-to-small networks, with perhaps as little as 10
to 15 links total. Even then, dynamic routes offer so much more versatility.
Static routes conserve bandwidth because they do not cause routers to generate route update
traffic; however, they tend to be time consuming because a system administrator has to manually
update routes when changes occur in the network.
Static routes are also ideal for a stub network providing a single dedicated point-to- point WAN
connection outside the network to an upstream ISP (Internet Service Provider) providing Internet
access.
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Default
In computer networking, the default route is a configuration of the Internet Protocol (IP) that
establishes a forwarding rule for packets when no specific address of a next-hop host is available
from the routing table or other routing mechanisms. Or the route that takes effect when no other
route is available for an IP destination address. If a packet is received on a routing device, the
device first checks to see if the IP destination address is on one of the device’s local subnets. If
the destination address is not local, the device checks its routing table. If the remote destination
subnet is not listed in the routing table, the packet is forwarded to the next hop toward the
destination using the default route. The default route generally has a next-hop address of another
routing device, which performs the same process. The process repeats until a packet is delivered
to the destination.
The default route is generally the address of another router, which treats the packet the same
way: if a route matches, the packet is forwarded accordingly; otherwise, the packet is forwarded
to the default route of that router. The route evaluation process in each router uses the longest
prefix match method to obtain the most specific route. The network with the longest subnet mask
or network prefix that matches the destination IP address is the next-hop network gateway. The
process repeats until a packet is delivered to the destination host, or earlier along the route, when
a router has no default route available and cannot route the packet otherwise. In the latter case,
the packet is dropped and an ICMP Destination Unreachable message may be returned. Each
router traversal counts as one hop in the distance calculation for the transmission path.
Dynamic Routing
Dynamic routing is a networking technique that provides optimal data routing. Unlike static
routing, dynamic routing enables routers to select paths according to real-time logical network
layout changes. In dynamic routing, the routing protocol operating on the router is responsible
for the creation, maintenance and updating of the dynamic routing table. In static routing, all
these jobs are manually done by the system administrator.
Dynamic routing uses multiple algorithms and protocols. The most popular are Routing
Information Protocol (RIP) and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).
1. The router delivers and receives the routing messages on the router interfaces.
2. The routing messages and information are shared with other routers, which use exactly the same
routing protocol.
3. Routers swap the routing information to discover data about remote networks.
4. Whenever a router finds a change in topology, the routing protocol advertises this topology
change to other routers.
Dynamic routing is easy to configure on large networks and is more intuitive at selecting the best
route, detecting route changes and discovering remote networks. However, because routers share
updates, they consume more bandwidth than in static routing; the routers’ CPUs and RAM may
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also face additional loads because of routing protocols. Finally, dynamic routing is less secure
than static routing.
Benefits of Router
2.2. Passwords
The Wi-Fi network password’ is the password that you use to join the wireless network. Unless
you have set your network to “No security”, you are already using a Wi-Fi network password. If
you are using the router’s default password or a memorable one that you have set yourself, then
you should consider replacing this password with a strong password. Remember, that we do not
consider the router’s default password to be strong.
The router’s admin account is the account that you use to log into the router to make
configuration changes. Your router shipped with a default “admin” password. To upgrade the
“admin” account with a strong password, go to the ADMINISTRATION section. It is usually the
first option. On most routers, you can also change the administrator user name from admin. This
will make things harder for hackers, but if you’ve got a 12 character strong password in place,
then having people be able to guess what your admin user id is called isn’t going to do them
much good.
The first reason is router’s default password is printed on the side of the router, and so is on
display to anyone within touching distance of the unit. As we already know, sharing passwords
or leaving passwords in sight is absolutely not good security practice. Given that our highly
important network password is on view to everyone walking past it, we need to change the
default as a matter of urgency.
Second, in creating network passwords, router manufacturers often prefer convenience over
security. This means that they will prefer shorter passwords over longer ones. Shorter passwords
are easier to discover (by a method known as brute-force) than longer ones. Whilst all router
manufacturers have different standards for default password generation (and some may be
secure), we will always err on the side of caution and assume that the default Wi-Fi network
password is going to be easy for attackers to discover, and replace it with something strong and
unique.
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2.3. Wildcard Masks
A wildcard mask is a mask of bits that indicates which parts of an IP address are available for
examination. A wildcard Mask matches everything in the network portion of an IP address with a
Zero. Also note the two rules: 0-bit = match and 1-bit = ignore. Wildcard mask can be used to
target a specific host/IP address, entire network, subnet, or even a range of IP addresses. For
example if we wanted to target, a specific host every bit in the hosts IP address must match. As
we mentioned earlier a 0-bit is a match and a 1-bit = ignore. Therefore, to target Wildcard Mask
for the host is 0.0.0.0.
Example: To target a specific network every bit in the ‘Network’ portion of the IP address must
be a match. Therefore, if a class C network has the IP 192.168.1.0 the wildcard Mask would be
0.0.0.255. From these examples, you can see the benefit of using Wildcard Masks. They are
different from subnet masks in that they can target a specific Host, specific IP address, specific
Network, specific Subnet, or a range of IP addresses. They can even target all even or all odd
networks. All of these capabilities make the Wildcard Mask much more flexible than the Subnet
mask.
A wildcard mask can be thought of as an inverted subnet mask. For example, a subnet mask of
255.255.255.0 (binary equivalent = 11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000) inverts to a
wildcard mask of 0.0.0.255 (binary equivalent = 00000000.00000000.00000000.11111111).
Wildcard mask is a 32-bit quantity used in conjunction with an IP address to determine which
bits in an IP address should be ignored when comparing that address with another IP address.
Wildcard masks use the following rules to match binary 1s and 0s:
Wildcard mask bit 0: Match the corresponding bit value in the address.
Wildcard mask bit 1: Ignore the corresponding bit value in the address.
Wildcard masking for access lists operates differently from an IP subnet mask. A zero in a bit
position of the access list mask indicates that the corresponding bit in the address must be
checked; a one in a bit position of the access list mask indicates the corresponding bit in the
address is not ‘interesting’ and can be ignored.
Counter Example
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192.168.24.0/24
or 192.168.24.0 with 255.255.255.0 subnet mask
In binary arithmetic, inverse a number means “flipping” one state to the other (i.e from “on” to
“off”, from “0” to “1”).
The inverse of the subnet mask in binary format is then the following
00000000.00000000.00000000.11111111
In decimal format, the inverse subnet mask looks like this 0.0.0.255
When you know, remember, or count the quantity of IP addresses or IP subnet within certain
VLSM network; you should be able to quickly deduct how the wildcard or inverse subnet mask
in question looks like. This way, you can skip the binary arithmetic and use strict decimal
arithmetic to get you a much quicker result with much simpler way.
This FAQ presents two quick ways of finding out how the wildcard or inverse subnet mask looks
like using simple decimal-number-based calculation of the quantity of available IP addresses or
IP subnet within certain IPv4 VLSM network. Following is the list of ways.
This is one way of doing the simple calculation. Note that when we do binary inverse, we do it
octet by octet. Each octet has number from 0 to 255. To quickly find the inverse subnet mask,
you can use the result of 255 subtracted by the given octet.
Inverse is 0.0.0.31
Example #3: 255.255.255.252
255 – 255 = 0
255 – 252 = 3
Inverse is 0.0.0.3
Host Number: -this is another way of finding inverse subnet mask. In /24 or smaller subnets,
only last octet indicates the number of unique IP addresses exist within the subnet in question.
Specifically for /30, the last octet indicates four unique numbers of IP addresses; from 0 to 3.
Take the last number and apply that to inverse subnet mask.
As to the 1st three octets, they should “automatically” convert to 0 since only the last octet
“matters” from number of IP address perspective in /24 or smaller subnets.
When you have subnet larger than /24, you need to consider other octets in addition to the last
one. Using the 2nd method (the Host Number), you will apply the last number of each octet to
the inverse.
Keep in mind that similar to Class C subnet calculation (/24 or smaller subnet), basic concept
applies to Class B (/16 or smaller subnet up to /23) and Class A (/8 or smaller subnet up to /15)
subnet calculations. When the first 3 octets in Class C subnet calculation are always constant and
only last octet changes (as shown above), the first 2 and last octets in Class B subnet calculation
are always constant where only the third octet changes. Similarly, the first and last two octets in
Class A subnet calculation are always constant where only the second octet changes.
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Example #1: 255.255.254.0
3rd octet: 254 —> two /24 subnets, from 0 to 1
4th octet: 0 —> 256 IP addresses, from 0 to 255
Inverse is 0.0.1.255
Inverse is 0.0.7.255
Inverse is 63.255.255.255
Note that the constants in Class A and B subnet calculation is slightly different than in the Class
C subnet calculation. The constants in Class C subnet calculation, which are the first three octets,
are all 0. In Class B subnet calculation, the constants are 0 for the first two octets while the last
octet is constant 255. In Class A subnet calculation, the constant is 0 for the first octet while the
last two octet’s constant is 255.
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2.4. Access Control Lists
An access control list (ACL) is a list of rules that specifies which users or systems are granted or
denied access to a particular object or system resource. Access control lists are also installed in
routers or switches, where they act as filters, managing which traffic can access the network.
It is a table that tells a computer operating system which access rights each user has to a
particular system object, such as a file directory or individual file. Each object has a security
attribute that identifies its access control list. The list has an entry for each system user with
access privileges. The most common privileges include the ability to read a file (or all the files in
a directory).
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Access control lists are used throughout many IT security policies, procedures, & technologies.
An access control list is a list of objects; each entry describes the subjects that may access that
object. Any access attempt by a subject to an object that does not have a matching entry on the
ACL will be denied. Technologies like firewalls, routers, and any border technical access device
are dependent upon access control lists in order to properly function. One thing to consider when
implementing an access control list is to plan for and implement a routine update procedure for
those access control lists.
Deny traffic you do not want based on packet tests (for example, addressing or traffic type)
Identify packets for priority or custom queuing
Restrict or reduce the contents of routing updates
Provide IP traffic dynamic access control with enhanced user authentication using the lock-and-
key feature
Identify packets for encryption
Identify Telnet access allowed to the router virtual terminals Specify packet traffic for dial-in
remote sites using dial-on-demand routing (DDR)
The previous sections describe the purpose of ACLs as well as guidelines for ACL creation. This
section covers standard and extended ACLs and named and numbered ACLs, and it provides
examples of placement of these ACLs.
There are two types of IPv4 ACLs:
Standard ACLs: These ACLs permit or deny packets based only on the source IPv4 address.
Extended ACLs: These ACLs permit or deny packets based on the source IPv4 address and
destination IPv4 address, protocol type, source and destination TCP or UDP ports, and more.
The following example shows how to create a standard ACL. In this example, ACL 10 permits
hosts on the source network 192.168.10.0/24. Because of the implied “deny any” at the end, all
traffic except for traffic coming from the 192.168.10.0/24 network is blocked with this ACL.
The following example shows, the extended ACL 100 permits traffic originating from any host
on the 192.168.10.0/24 network to any IPv4 network if the destination host port is 80 (HTTP).
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R1(config)# access-list 100 permit tcp 192.168.10.0 0.0.0.255 any eq www
R1(config)#
Notice that the standard ACL 10 is only capable of filtering by source address, while the
extended ACL 100 is filtering on the source and destination Layer 3 and Layer 4 protocol (for
example, TCP) information.
Remote working is not typically limited by location. Assuming the user has access to technology
and an internet connection, they could remotely work from anywhere; a partner’s office, for
example, or a roadside service station whilst away from the office on another job.
When an organization needs to provide employees or third parties remote access to its network,
there are a number of solutions available.
When employees need to remotely access their company files, a virtual private network (VPN) is
often the tool of choice. VPNs are designed to give employees the online privacy and anonymity
they (and their company) require, by turning a public internet connection into a private network.
VPN software creates a “data tunnel” between the corporate network and an exit node in another
location (such as your workplace), which may be anywhere in the world.
In other words, VPNs provide a kind of telepresence: they can make it seem as if you are at the
office on your company machine with all of your applications and files at your disposal. To fully
achieve its goals, a VPN must accomplish two important tasks:
VPNs achieve this second step by encrypting data, these encryption and masking features help
protect your online activities and keep them anonymous. Since VPN services establish secure
and encrypted connections, an organization’s employees can get the remote access they need
with greater privacy than the public internet. However, let us face it: using an unsecured Wi-Fi
network is simply not an option for company users, because your private information would be
totally exposed to anyone snooping on that network.
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For all these reasons, VPNs have become a popular option for companies who need to give their
employees remote access, but want to provide online security and privacy.
VPNs are certainly an improvement over using unprotected methods to remotely access an
organization’s network, and in certain business environments, they can provide a useful service.
However, VPNs carry a number of drawbacks and inherent risks. Let us examine a few of the
major issues.
Not optimal for remote vendor access: While VPNs may be good for giving remote access to
internal employees, it is not the optimal solution for three crucial tasks: identifying, controlling,
and auditing third-party vendors. VPNs simply do not have the degree of granular control needed
to properly monitor or restrict where a vendor can go and what they can do on a company’s
network.
VPNs are exploited in major data breaches: A note of caution for those thinking of using VPNs:
their reputation has suffered a major blow due to their implication in a number of serious data
breaches. National news stories have reported on how hackers exploited VPNs to cause data
breaches at several major companies. For example, in the case of data breaches suffered by
Home Depot and Target, malicious actors apparently stole VPN credentials, giving them access
to company networks, and the hackers also obtained an administrative credential. This
combination let them infiltrate and move through company networks.
VPNs are leveraged in multi-stage cyberattacks: Hackers have also exploited VPNs in prolonged
multi-stage cyberattacks. VPNs are specifically mentioned by name in the alert as a major initial
access point for hackers.
Audit and compliance risks: Another drawback to using VPNs for remote access: they may
expose organizations to compliance or regulatory risk. As cyberattacks have become more
costly, sophisticated, and frequent, some policy-making groups have imposed tougher standards
on their auditing processes and regulators are asking tougher questions about third-party access
methods. Many remote access tools such as VPNs may not be able to provide the level of audit
detail required and fail to meet these higher standards.
2. Desktop Sharing
Desktop sharing is another way organizations can provide remote access to users. These software
tools can provide real-time sharing of files, presentations, or applications with coworkers,
vendors, or other clients. There are many applications made possible by desktop sharing
including remote support, webinars, and online conferences with audio and visual content
(presentation sharing), and real-time global collaboration on projects.
Another application of desktop sharing is remote login for workers who need access to their
work computers from any Web-connected device (desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet).
Like VPNs, desktop sharing software tools come with a number of drawbacks. First, there are
authentication risks. Anyone, anywhere, can log into a desktop sharing tool if they have the
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credentials, meaning they have access to the whole network as if they are in the building. During
a remote support session, if an employee surrenders control of their machine to a remote rep
whose account has been compromised, your company’s internal sensitive files could become
visible to bad actors and used for nefarious purposes.
Second, desktop sharing tools are not the best solution for supporting enterprise environments.
While these tools can be utilized to provide desktop support and handle helpdesk tasks, they
typically do not have the security and functionality required for complex enterprise remote
support such as server or application maintenance. They often lack the strict security controls
(logging and audit) that enterprises in highly regulated industries need. In addition, while
desktop sharing can be useful for end-user support, there are additional tools and protocols
needed when supporting servers, databases, and other enterprise applications.
To go beyond VPNs and desktop sharing, you need an alternative that can manage identities
closer than mere IAM technologies such as Active Directory. This is especially true of the
privileged or admin accounts used for many enterprise-level support tasks. In order to securely
manage credentials for privileged accounts, a better solution was developed: Privileged Access
Management, or PAM.
PAM is a set of tools and technologies that can be used to secure, control, and monitor access via
privileged accounts to an organization’s resources. The most effective PAM solutions address
several areas of information security defense, such as advanced credential security, systems, and
data access control, credential obfuscation and user activity monitoring. Ensuring continuous
oversight of these target areas helps lower the threat of unauthorized network access, and makes
it easier for IT managers to uncover suspicious activity on the network.
Best practices in PAM indicate that least privilege protocols should be enforced, where users
only have access to the specific limited resources they need, rather than free reign to roam the
entire network. In addition, network managers should be able to restrict or expand user access as
needed, in real-time.
Many organizations need to provide privileged accounts to two types of users: internal users
(employees) and external users (technology vendors and contractors). However, organizations
that use vendors or contractors must protect themselves against potential threats from these
sources. External users pose a unique threat because network managers cannot control the
security best practices of their vendor partners; they can only protect against risky user behavior.
Vendor privileged access management (VPAM) refers to solutions that address the risks posed
from these external vendors and contractors, which are unique to third-party remote access users.
As the name implies, VPAM is related to PAM – but there are key differences. Traditional PAM
solutions are designed to manage internal privileged accounts, based on the reasonable
assumption that admins know the identity and employment status of each person accessing the
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network. However, this is not the case with third-party users, and so VPAM solutions use multi-
factor authentication to provide an extra layer of protection.
In general, network managers and admins must be able to identify and authenticate external users
via more advanced VPAM methods that can confirm these users are connected to active vendor
employee accounts. A strong, effective VPAM solution will be able to continuously monitor
vendor user activity, using detailed tracking to provide optimal protection against unauthorized
use.
Both PAM and VPAM have the same overall goal: maintaining network security for all users
who have advanced permissions, whether they be internal or external.
Remote Desktop
The most sophisticated form of remote access enables users on one computer to see and interact
with the actual desktop user interface of another computer. Setting up remote desktop support
involves configuring software on both the host (local computer controlling the connection) and
target (remote computer being accessed). When connected, this software opens a window on the
host system containing a view of the target’s desktop.
Advantages
Remote work is not all bad, of course. If it were, remote working would not be as popular as it is
becoming among workers and employers alike. Here are some advantages of remote working to
keep in mind:
1. Flexibility
whilst the lack of routine was listed as a “Disadvantage” because some people struggle to get
motivated, others in fact thrive on it. For example, with a flexible work schedule, parents are able
take their kids to and from school, which relieves reliance on childcare. In addition to this, there
are people who just perform more efficiently when they are in charge of their own schedule.
2. Less costly
working at home part or full- time means less or no commuting, which means less money spent
on transport costs. Many remote workers will also make their lunch and coffee at home. Another
way remote workers save money is on their wardrobe! After all, unless you do video
conferencing, no one says you cannot wear informal clothes all day – no need for a work
wardrobe.
3. Work at your own pace.
Most people working remotely can choose how and when to work on projects, as long as they
deliver them in by the deadline. They can take breaks, or push through and complete a task all in
one go. While self-discipline is necessary when it comes to working from home, several studies
have shown that at-home workers tend to be more productive than their on-site counterparts.
4. Less sick days
how many times have you decided not to go to the office because you have a bad cold or a sore
throat? When you are at home, you can take care of yourself and still get work done. Researchers
have found that remote workers are off ill less frequently than on-site workers.
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5. Technological advances make so much possible. Working in an office means that you can hand
in reports and communicate with colleagues without any delays. Nowadays though, the huge
choice of ways to stay connected by phone and internet ensure that speed is not an issue, even if
you are working remotely. 4G networks are available in many countries, and coverage areas are
increasing every day. In addition to making it possible to upload and send data four times faster
than with 3G, 4G allows for easy transfer of higher definition videos and images. If security is an
issue, 4G is also the best option for keeping documents and other information safe. Software can
also help like Microsoft Office 365 mean that you can collaborate with colleagues on documents
in real time, even if one of you is in the office and the other at home.
Disadvantages
1. Lack of routine
not all-remote work is the same; some people do have to follow a schedule and check in with
their employer at key times. For those in results-based areas like freelancing though, there are no
rules about when, for example, you have to get out of bed. There probably are not meetings to go
to either, and if there are, these kinds of home workers can often dial in to participate if they
want. It may sound like a dream, but some remote workers can struggle with the lack of a
schedule, finding it difficult to feel motivated or work efficiently.
2. No workplace social life
even if you are interacting with clients or co-workers virtually, it is not the same as banter in the
office or getting lunch together. Remote workers often report feeling a little isolated. This is why
many of them prefer to come into the office at least a few days a week, or possibly do their work
in public places like coffee shops.
3. The challenge of the work/life balance.
You would think that remote working would make it easier to devote time to your personal life.
However, when you do not have specific hours or a clear separation of workplace and home
space, it can be hard to “switch off” and stop thinking about work you have to do, or stop
constantly checking your phone or inbox.
4. Distractions
Then again, while some struggle with “switching off” from work, others have trouble switching
on. Working at home means all the distractions of your personal life, good and bad. If you have
small children around, they may demand your attention. On the other hand, the TV may just beg
you to watch it for an hour or two. Without the filters that many workplaces put up, remote
workers have constant access to time- wasting websites, personal emails and social networks –
which can be deadly for productivity.
5. Complete dependence on technology
Since you are not face-to-face with colleagues or clients when you are a remote worker, you
have to make sure you are easily reachable by email, phone and other platforms your office or
external contacts may use (Skype for Business, Dropbox, etc.). Luckily, there are many solutions
to help you communicate and transfer data quickly. A 4G network, for example, offers incredible
speed, security and image definition.
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Remote Access to Files
Basic remote network access allows files to be read from and written to the target, even without
remote desktop capability in place. Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology provides remote
login and file access functionality across wide area networks (WANs). A VPN requires client
software be present on host systems and VPN server technology installed on the target network.
Syslog messages are based on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) type of Internet Protocol (IP)
communications. Syslog messages are received on UDP port 514. Syslog message text is
generally no more than 1024 bytes in length. Since the UDP type of communication is
connectionless, the sending or receiving host has no knowledge receipt for retransmission. If a
UDP packet gets lost due to congestion on the network or due to resource unavailability, it will
simply get lost – no one would know about it.
Syslog Daemon
A Syslog Daemon or Server is an entity that would listen to the Syslog messages that are sent to
it. You cannot configure a Syslog Daemon to ask a specific device to send it Syslog Messages. If
a specific device has no ability to generate Syslog Messages, then a Syslog Daemon cannot do
anything about it. To make this thing clear, you can consider a Syslog Server or Syslog Daemon
as a TV, which can only display you the program that is currently running on a specific channel.
You cannot ask another station to send a new program on that channel.
1. PRI
2. HEADER
3. MSG.
The total length of the packet cannot exceed 1,024 bytes, and there is no minimum length
1. PRI
The Priority part is a number that is enclosed in angle brackets. This represents both the Facility
and Severity of the message. This number is an eight-bit number. The first 3 least significant bits
represent the Severity of the message (with 3 bits you can represent 8 different Severities) and
the other 5 bits represent the Facility of the message. You can use the Facility and the Severity
values to apply certain filters on the events in the Syslog Daemon.
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Note that Syslog Daemon cannot generate these Priority and Facility values. They are generated
by the applications on which the event is generated. Following are the codes for Severity and
Facility. Please note that the codes written below are the recommended codes that the
applications should generate in the specified situations. You cannot, however, be 100 % sure, if
it really is the correct code sent by the application. For example: An application can generate a
numerical code for severity as 0 (Emergency) when it should have generated 4 (Warning)
instead. Syslog Daemon cannot do anything about it. It will simply receive the message as it is.
a) Severity Codes: The Severity code is the severity of the message that has been generated.
b) Facility Codes
The facility is the application or operating system component that generates a log message.
Following are the codes for facility:
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Calculating Priority Value
The Priority value is calculated by first multiplying the Facility number by 8 and then adding the
numerical value of the Severity. For example, a kernel message (Facility=0) with a Severity of
Emergency (Severity=0) would have a Priority value of 0 (0+80). Also, a “local use 4” message
(Facility=20) with a Severity of Notice (Severity=5) would have a Priority value of 165 (5+820).
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In the PRI part of a Syslog message, these values would be placed between the angle brackets as
<0> and <165> respectively.
2. Header
The HEADER part contains the following things:
a) Timestamp — The Time stamp is the date and time at which the message was generated. Be
warned, that this timestamp is picked up from the system time and if the system time is not
correct, you might get a packet with totally incorrect time stamp
b) Hostname or IP address of the device.
3. MSG
The MSG part will fill the remainder of the Syslog packet. This will usually contain some
additional information of the process that generated the message, and then the text of the
message. The MSG part has two fields:
a) TAG field
b) CONTENT field
The value in the TAG field will be the name of the program or process that generated the
message. The CONTENT contains the details of the message.
As mentioned above, since Syslog protocol is UDP based, it is unreliable. It does not guarantee
you the delivery of the messages. They may either be dropped through network congestion, or
they may be maliciously intercepted and discarded.
As mentioned above, since each process, application and operating system was written somewhat
independently, there is little uniformity to the content of syslog messages. For this reason, no
assumption is made upon the formatting or contents of the messages. The protocol is simply
designed to transport these event messages.
The receiver of a Syslog packet will not be able to ascertain that the message was indeed sent
from the reported sender.
One possible problem associated with the above-mentioned point is of Authentication. A
misconfigured machine may send syslog messages to a Syslog Daemon representing itself as
another machine. The administrative staff may become confused because the status of the
supposed sender of the messages may not be accurately reflected in the received messages.
Another problem associated with point 2 is that an attacker may start sending fake messages
indicating a problem on some machine. This may get the attention of the system administrators
who will spend their time investigating the alleged problem. During this time, the attacker may
be able to compromise a different machine, or a different process on the same machine.
The Syslog protocol does not ensure ordered delivery of packets.
An attacker may record a set of messages that indicate normal activity of a machine. Later, that
attacker may remove that machine from the network and replay the syslog messages to the
Daemon.
2.7. Miscellaneous
Intrusion Notification
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In some situations, you might want to configure the switch to send a notification to an SNMP
NMS when MAC addresses are learned by the system or deleted from the CAM table. An
example of where this might be used could be a switch that is deployed in a particularly
restrictive security zone in the network, like an R&D lab or a DMZ, and where you want to
determine if there is anomalous MAC address learning behavior in that part of the network. The
following command enables this feature:
Secure management: Think security for switch management. Use SSH, a dedicated management
VLAN, OOB, and so on as much as possible.
Native VLAN: Always use a dedicated VLAN ID for trunk ports and avoid using VLAN 1 at all.
User ports: Non-trunking. (Cisco VoIP phones being the exception. See Chapter 9, “Introduction
to Endpoint, SAN, and Voice Security.”)
Port security: Use for access ports whenever possible.
SNMP: Limit to the management VLAN if possible and treat community strings like superuser
passwords. (See Chapter 4, “Implementing Secure Management and Hardening the Router,” for
more information.)
STP attacks: Use BPDU guard and root guard.
CDP: Only use if necessary. CDP should be left on for switch ports connected to VoIP phones.
An attacker can learn much from CDP advertisements.
Unused ports: Disable and put them in an unused VLAN for extra security.
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CHAPTER THREE
ROUTERS
3.1. Router Basic Configuration
A Router is a computer, just like any other computer including a PC. Routers have many of the
same hardware and software components that are found in other computers including:
CPU
RAM
ROM
Operating System
Router is the basic backbone for the Internet. The main function of the router is to connect two or
more than two network and forwards the packet from one network to another. A router connects
multiple networks. This means that it has multiple interfaces that each belong to a different IP
network. When a router receives an IP packet on one interface, it determines which interface to
use to forward the packet onto its destination. The interface that the router uses to forward the
packet may be the network of the final destination of the packet (the network with the destination
IP address of this packet), or it may be a network connected to another router that is used to
reach the destination network. A router uses IP to forward packets from the source network to
the destination network. The packets must include an identifier for both the source and
destination networks. A router uses the IP address of the destination network to deliver a packet
to the correct network. When the packet arrives at a router connected to the destination network,
the router uses the IP address to locate the specific computer on the
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network.
A router uses IP to forward packets from the source network to the destination network. The
packets must include an identifier for both the source and destination networks. A router uses the
IP address of the destination network to deliver a packet to the correct network. When the packet
arrives at a router connected to the destination network, the router uses the IP address to locate
the specific computer on the network.
The primary responsibility of a router is to direct packets destined for local and remote networks
by:
The router uses its routing table to determine the best path to forward the packet. When the
router receives a packet, it examines its destination IP address and searches for the best match
with a network address in the router’s routing table. The routing table also includes the interface
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to be used to forward the packet. Once a match is found, the router encapsulates the IP packet
into the data link frame
A network consists of only a few routers. Using a dynamic routing protocol in such a case does
not present any substantial benefit. On the contrary, dynamic routing may add more
administrative overhead.
A network is connected to the Internet only through a single ISP. There is no need to use a
dynamic routing protocol across this link because the ISP represents the only exit point to the
Internet.
Connected Routes
Those network that are directly connected to the Router are called connected routes and are not
needed to configure on the router for routing. They are automatically routed by the Router.
Dynamic Routes: Dynamic routing protocol uses a route that a routing protocol adjusts
automatically for topology or traffic changes. Non-adaptive routing algorithm When a ROUTER
uses a non-adaptive routing algorithm it consults a static table in order to determine to which
computer it should send a PACKET of data. This is in contrast to an ADAPTIVE ROUTING
ALGORITHM, which bases its decisions on data which reflects current traffic conditions (Also
called static route) adaptive routing algorithm When a ROUTER uses an adaptive routing
algorithm to decide the next computer to which to transfer a PACKET of data, it examines the
traffic conditions in order to determine a route which is as near optimal as possible. For example,
it tries to pick a route, which involves communication lines which have light traffic. This
strategy is in contrast to a NON-ADAPTIVE ROUTING ALGORITHM. (Also called Dynamic
route)
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3.3. Dynamic Routing
Dynamic routing is a technique in which a router learns about routing information without an
administrator’s help and adds the best route to its routing table. A router running a dynamic
routing protocol adds the best route to its routing table and can also determine another path if the
primary route goes down. Also a networking technique provides optimal data routing. Unlike
static routing, dynamic routing enables routers to select paths according to real-time logical
network layout changes
At the dynamic routing section, we will discuss the implementation of RIPv1, RIPv2, EIGRP,
and Single-Area OSPF.
A routing protocol is the communication used between routers. A routing protocol allows routers
to share information about networks and their proximity to each other. Routers use this
information to build and maintain routing tables. Autonomous System: An AS is a collection of
networks under a common administration that share a common routing strategy. To the outside
world, an AS is viewed as a single entity. The AS may be run by one or more operators while it
presents a consistent view of routing to the external world.
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Dynamic Routing Protocol:
Metric:
There are cases when a routing protocol learns of more than one route to the same destination.
To select the best path, the routing protocol must be able to evaluate and differentiate between
the available paths. For this purpose a metric is used. A metric is a value used by routing
protocols to assign costs to reach remote networks. The metric is used to determine which path is
most preferable when there are multiple paths to the same remote network.
Each routing protocol uses its own metric. For example, RIP uses hop count, EIGRP uses a
combination of bandwidth and delay, and Cisco’s implementation of OSPF uses bandwidth.
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Basic Router Configuration
Table 3.1 lists the interfaces supported for each router and their associated port labels on the
equipment.
When you first boot up your Cisco router, some basic configuration has already been performed.
All of the LAN and WAN interfaces have been created, console and VTY ports are configured,
and the inside interface for Network Address Translation has been assigned.
Use the show running-config command to view the initial configuration, as shown in Example 1-
1.
You need to gather some or all of the following information, depending on your planned network
scenario, prior to configuring your network
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o Determine the IP routing parameter information, including IP address, and ATM permanent
virtual circuits (PVCs). These PVC parameters are typically virtual path identifier (VPI), virtual
circuit identifier (VCI), and traffic shaping parameters.
o Determine the number of PVCs that your service provider has given you, along with their VPIs
and VCIs. – For each PVC determine the type of AAL5 encapsulation supported. It can be one of
the following: AAL5SNAP
o This can be either routed RFC 1483 or bridged RFC 1483. For routed RFC 1483, the service
provider must provide you with a static IP address. For bridged RFC 1483, you may use DHCP
to obtain your IP address, or you may obtain a static IP address from your service provider.
AAL5MUX PPP
o With this type of encapsulation, you need to determine the PPP-related configuration items.
If you plan to connect over an ADSL or G.SHDSL line: – Order the appropriate line from your
public telephone service provider. For ADSL lines—ensure that the ADSL signaling type is
DMT (also called ANSI T1.413) or DMT Issue 2. For G.SHDSL lines—Verify that the
G.SHDSL line conforms to the ITU G.991.2 standard and supports Annex A (North America) or
Annex B (Europe). Once you have collected the appropriate information, you can perform a full
configuration on your router, beginning with the tasks in the “Configuring Basic Parameters”
section.
Perform these steps to configure selected global parameters for your router:
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Configure Fast Ethernet LAN Interfaces
The Fast Ethernet LAN interfaces on your router are automatically configured as part of the
default VLAN and as such, they are not configured with individual addresses. Access is afforded
through the VLAN. You may assign the interfaces to other VLANs if desired.
The Cisco 851 and Cisco 871 routers each have one Fast Ethernet interface for WAN connection.
The Cisco 857, Cisco 877, and Cisco 878 routers each have one ATM interface for WAN
connection.
Based on the router model you have, configure the WAN interface(s) using one of the following
procedures:
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This procedure applies only to the Cisco 851 and Cisco 871 router models. Perform these steps
to configure the Fast Ethernet interface, beginning in global configuration mode:
This procedure applies only to the Cisco 857, Cisco 876, Cisco 877 and Cisco 878 models.
Perform these steps to configure the ATM interface, beginning in global configuration mode:
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Configuring a Loopback Interface
The loopback interface acts as a placeholder for the static IP address and provides default routing
information
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Configuration Example
The loopback interface in this sample configuration is used to support Network Address
Translation (NAT) on the virtual-template interface. This configuration example shows the
loopback interface configured on the Fast Ethernet interface with an IP address of
10.10.10.100/24, which acts as a static IP address.
The loopback interface points back to virtual-template1, which has a negotiated IP address.
!
interface loopback 0
ip address 10.10.10.100 255.255.255.0 (static IP address)
ip nat outside
!
interface Virtual-Template1
ip unnumbered loopback0
no ip directed-broadcast
ip nat outside
!
To verify that you have properly configured the loopback interface, enter the show interface
loopback command. You should see verification output similar to the following example:
Router# show interface loopback 0
Loopback0 is up, line protocol is up
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Hardware is Loopback
Internet address is 10.10.10.100/24
MTU 1514 bytes, BW 8000000 Kbit, DLY 5000 usec,
reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255
Encapsulation LOOPBACK, loopback not set
Last input never, output never, output hang never
Last clearing of “show interface” counters never
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue 0/0, 0 drops; input queue 0/75, 0 drops
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec,
0 packets/sec 0 packets input, 0 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 0 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
0 packets output, 0 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 0 interface resets
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
Perform these steps to configure parameters to control access to the router, beginning in global
configuration mode.
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Configuration Example
The following configuration shows the command-line access commands. You do not need to
input the commands marked “default.” These commands appear automatically in the
configuration file generated when you use the show running-config command.
!
line con 0
exec-timeout 10 0
password 4youreyesonly
login
transport input none (default)
stopbits 1 (default)
line vty 0 4
password secret
login
!
3.5. RIP
How to Configure RIPv1 and RIPv2 in Cisco Routers
When would you need this: When you need to implement a routing protocol for a small network
and you need the configuration to be simple. Routing Information Protocol is the simplest that it
can get.
Special Requirements: None.
Router(config)#router rip
2. Identify the networks to be advertised using the ‘network’ command. Using this command, you
need to identify only the networks that are directly connected to the router:
Router(config-router)#network network-id
If the network is sub netted, you will need to write the main network address without the need to
write the subnets. For example, if you have the following subnets connected to the router
(172.16.0.0/24, 172.16.1.0/24, and 172.16.2.0/24), you can put them all in single ‘network’
command like this:
Router(config router) #network 172.16.0.0. The router is intelligent enough to figure out which
subnets are connected to the router.
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3. If you need to adjust the timers (update, invalid, hold down, and flush timers), use the ‘timers
basic’ command. All the four parameters of this command, update, invalid, hold down, and flush
timer consecutively, are in seconds:
Router (config-router)#timers basic 30 180 180 240 The example above is set with the default
values of the RIP timers. Remember to keep the relativity of the timer values. Always keep it as
(n 6n 6n 8n). If, for example, you set the update timer to 40, you need to make the other timers
240 240 320 consecutively. It is highly recommended that you keep the timers on their default
values.
4. You will need to stop the updates from being broadcasted to the Internet, if one of the router
interfaces is connected to the Internet. For this purpose, use the ‘passive interface’ command.
This command prevents the interface from forwarding any RIP broadcasts, but keeps the
interface listening to what others are saying in RIP.
5. RIP, by nature, sends updates as broadcast. If the router is connected through non-broadcast
networks (like Frame Relay), you will need to tell RIP to send the updates on this network as
unicast. This is achieved by the ‘neighbor’ command:
Router (config-router)#version 2 If you like to stick to version one, just replace the 2 in the
command above with 1. Furthermore, you can control the versions of the updates sent and
received on each interface to have more flexibility in support of both versions.
This is achieved by the ‘ip rip send version’ and ‘ip rip receive version’ commands:
Router (config-if)#ip rip send version 2
Router (config-if)#ip rip receive version 1
Router (config) #ipv6 router rip process-name where the process-name can be any unique
process name you select. The process name is of local significance, i.e., you do not need to use
the same process name on all the routers participating in the RIPng process.
3. On the interface you want to participate in the RIPng process, assign an IP address:
Router (config-if) #ipv6 address ipv6-address/prefix length where ipv6-address is the IPv6
address you want to assign to this interface. Prefix-length is the IPv6 prefix length of the network
this interface is connected to. If you do not wish to assign an IPv6 address to the interface, you
can enable the IPv6 operation on the interface and let it create its own link-local address using
the following command:
Router (config-if)#ipv6 enable
Router (config-if) #ipv6 rip process-name where the process-name should be the process name
that you have selected in step 2. Repeat this step on all interface you want to take part in the
RIPng routing process.
3.6. IGRP
How to Configure IGRP (Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)
Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) is a distance vector interior routing protocol (IGP)
invented by Cisco. It is used by routers to exchange routing data within an autonomous system.
GRP is a proprietary protocol. IGRP was created in part to overcome the limitations of RIP
(maximum hop count of only 15, and a single routing metric) when used within large networks.
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IGRP supports multiple metrics for each route, including bandwidth, delay, load, MTU, and
reliability; to compare two routes these metrics are combined together into a single metric, using
a formula which can be adjusted through the use of pre-set constants. The maximum hop count
of IGRP-routed packets is 255 (default 100), and routing updates are broadcast every 90 seconds
(by default).
IGRP is considered a classful routing protocol. Because the protocol has no field for a subnet
mask, the router assumes that all sub network addresses within the same Class A, Class B, or
Class C network have the same subnet mask as the subnet mask configured for the interfaces in
question. This contrasts with classless routing protocols that can use variable length subnet
masks. Classful protocols have become less popular as they are wasteful of IP address space.
In order to address the issues of address space and other factors, Cisco created EIGRP (Enhanced
Interior Gateway Routing Protocol). EIGRP adds support for VLSM (variable length subnet
mask) and adds the Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL) in order to improve routing and
provide a loopless environment. EIGRP has completely replaced IGRP, making IGRP an
obsolete routing protocol. In Cisco IOS versions 12.3 and greater, IGRP is completely
unsupported. In the new Cisco CCNA curriculum (version 4), IGRP is mentioned only briefly, as
an “obsolete protocol”.
The IGRP protocol allows a number of gateways to coordinate their routing. Its goals are the
following:
Stable routing even in very large or complex networks. No routing loops should occur, even as
transients.
Fast response to changes in network topology.
Low overhead. That is, IGRP itself should not use more bandwidth than what is actually needed
for its task.
Splitting traffic among several parallel routes when they are of roughly equal desirability
Taking into account error rates and level of traffic on different paths.
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Router B
RouterB# conf t
RouterB(config)# interface eth0
RouterB(config-if)# ip address 71.0.0.1 255.0.0.0
RouterB(config-if)# exit
RouterB(config)# interface serial0
RouterA(config-if)# ip address 20.30.40.1 255.255.255.252
RouterA(config-if)# exit (config)# router igrp 1
RouterA(config-router)# redistribute connected
RouterA(config-router)# network 20.0.0.0
RouterA(config-router)# network 70.0.0.0
RouterA(config-router)# network 71.0.0.0
A few other commands might come in useful. Variance 2 can be used to configure IGRP to load
balance between equal cost paths. The command passive-interface eth0 disables IGRP from
sending updates out of eth0.
Testing
Only shows the sending or receiving of IGRP packets and the number of routes in each update. It
does show the routes that are advertised!
Seems as debug ip igrp events but also shows the routes that are advertised.
As with debugging any routing problem, look at the routing table. Is there a static route that takes
precendece?
This command is always useful to quickly verify which links are and which aren’t.
3.7. EIGRP
How to Configure EIGRP on a Cisco Router
When would you need this: When you are implementing a routing protocol on a large
Internetwork and all the networking devices involved are Cisco devices or devices supporting
EIGRP.
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Special Requirements: EIGRP is a Cisco proprietary protocol. So, either all the routers in the
Internetwork must be Cisco routers, or the routers should be EIGRP capable.
Before we start, if you have not set the bandwidth of the interfaces, set them now. For correct
routing decisions, you need to set the bandwidth for the serial interfaces depending on the WAN
technologies that you are using. This is done using the following command on each serial
interface:
Where bandwidth is the bandwidth of the WAN connection in kilobits per second.
Next, you can start configuring EIGRP as in the following steps:
2. Instruct the router to advertise the networks that are directly connected to it.
3. By default, EIGRP packets consume a maximum of 50% of the link bandwidth, as configured
with the ‘bandwidth’ interface configuration command. You might want to change that value if a
different level of link utilization is required or if the configured bandwidth does not match the
actual link bandwidth (it may have been configured to influence route metric calculations). Use
the following command to set the percentage of bandwidth to be used on each interface
separately:
Router (config-if) #ip bandwidth-percent eigrp bandwidth percentage
Where bandwidth-percentage is the percentage of bandwidth to be used
4. You can change the intervals of the hello packets and the hold down timer on each interface using
command:
Router (config-if) #ip hello-interval eigrp autonomous system timer where autonomous-system is
the autonomous system number and time is the new hello packet interval time in seconds. Router
(config-if) #ip hold-time eigrp autonomous-system time
Where autonomous-system is the autonomous system number and time is the new hold down
time in seconds.
5. Check your configuration on the routers after configuring all the routers in the internetwork using
the following commands: To display information about interfaces configured for EIGRP.
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Router #show ip eigrp interfaces interface-type autonomous-system Display the EIGRP
discovered neighbors.
Router #show ip eigrp neighbors to display the EIGRP topology table for a given process.
Router #show ip eigrp topology autonomous-system
Or
Router #show ip eigrp topology network-address subnet mask To display the number of packets
sent and received for all or a specified EIGRP process.
Router #show ip eigrp traffic autonomous-system where interface-type is the interface type.
Autonomous-system autonomous system number. Network-address and subnet mask are the
network address and subnet mask.
Although it is not recommended, if you need to change the way the metrics of the routes are
calculated, you can set them using the command: Router (config-router) #metric weights type-of-
service K1 K2 K3 K4 K5
Where type-of-service is the type of service index and the values of k1–k5 are used to calculate
the metric using the following equation:
It is highly recommended that you leave the metric in the default values unless you are a highly
experienced network designer.
When would you need this: When you are implementing a routing protocol on a large IPv6
Internetwork and all the networking devices involved are Cisco devices or devices supporting
EIGRP.
Special Requirements: EIGRP is a Cisco proprietary protocol. So, either all the routers in the
Internetwork must be Cisco routers, or the routers should be EIGRP capable.
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1. Enable IPv6 routing on the router:
Router (config)#ipv6 unicast-routing
2. Enable EIGRP on the router:
Router (config) #ipv6 router eigrp autonomous-system number
Where autonomous-system-number is the number of the autonomous system in which this
EIGRP process will run. Remember to use the same autonomous system number in all the
routers that you want to exchange routing information.
3. Enable IPv6 on the interface you want to participate in the EIGRP process:
Router (config-if) #ipv6 enable Using the ‘ipv6 enable’ command will inform the router to create
a link-local IPv6 address for this interface. If you want to use a different IPv6 address, you can
use the following command instead of ‘ipv6 enable’:
Router (config-if ) #ipv6 address ipv6-address/prefix length
Where ipv6-address is the IPv6 address you want to assign to this interface. Prefix-length is the
prefix length for the IPv6 address.
4. Enable EIGRP on the interface connected to other EIGRP-enabled routers by identifying the
autonomous system number this interface will be part of:
Router (config-if) #ipv6 eigrp autonomous-system-number where autonomous-system-number is
the number of the autonomous system in which this EIGRP process will run. Remember to use
the same autonomous system number used in steps 2 and 4.
5. If you want to manually set up the RouterID to control the internal process of EIGRP, you can
use the following optional steps:
Router (config-if) #ipv6 router eigrp autonomous system numberRemember to use the same
autonomous system number used in steps 2 and 4.
Router (config-router) #eigrp router-id router-id where router-id is the RouterID used in the
EIGRP process. The RouterID is formatted as an IPv4 address even if you are using EIGRP for
IPv6 networks. Router (config-router)#exit
6. By default, EIGRP packets consume a maximum of 50% of the link bandwidth, as configured
with the ‘bandwidth’ interface configuration command. You might want to change that value if a
different level of link utilization is required or if the configured bandwidth does not match the
actual link bandwidth (it may have been configured to
influence route metric calculations). Use the following command to set the percentage of
bandwidth to be used on each interface separately:
Router (config-if) #ipv6 bandwidth-percent eigrp autonomous-system-number bandwidth
percentage
Where autonomous-system-number is the number of the autonomous system in which this
EIGRP process will run. Bandwidth-percentage is the percentage of bandwidth to be used.
7. To troubleshoot, use the following commands:
Router#show ipv6 eigrp autonomous-system-number
Router#show ipv6 eigrp interface interface-type interface-number
Router#show ipv6 eigrp interface interface-type interface-number autonomous-system-number
1. If you are using discontinuous networks, which is mostly the case, you should turn off auto-
summarization using the following command: Router (config)#no ip auto-summary.
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2. You can set manual summary addresses using the following command: Router (config-if)#ip
eigrp summary address autonomous system summarized-network summary-subnet mask where
autonomous-system is the autonomous system number and summarized summarized-network is
the network address expressing the summary of multiple networks. Summary-subnet mask is the
subnet mask for the summarized address.
3. When you are using non-broadcast networking technologies such as Frame Relay and SMDS,
you will need to turn off split-horizon to let EIGRP perform efficiently and effectively.
Router (config-if)#no ip split-horizon autonomous-system where autonomous-system is the
autonomous system number.
4. To clear the neighbour table, use the command:
Router#clear ip eigrp neighbors
3.8. OSPF
When would you need this: When you need to set up dynamic routing with Cisco and non-Cisco
routers.
OSPF is one of the most widely used dynamic routing protocols. Cisco’s version of OSPF is
compatible with non-Cisco routers. Single-area OSPF is suitable for small-to-medium
internetworks. An area is a logical grouping of routers running OSPF. All routers in the same
area share the same topology database. Multiple-Area OSPF is used for large networks to
prevent their topology databases from becoming out of the capability of the router. Single-area
OSPF configuration is as follows:
1. Since OSPF best route calculations rely solely on bandwidth, you need to set up the bandwidth
of the serial interface involved in the routing process using the following command on the
interface:
Router(config-if)#bandwidth bandwidth
Where: bandwidth is the bandwidth of the connection in kilobits per second. Remember that this
command does not change the actual bandwidth. It only changes the bandwidth value being used
by the routing protocol for the purpose of best path calculation.
2. Instruct the router to activate the OSPF routing process:
Router (config)#router ospf process-number Where: process-number is the process number of
OSPF. This process number is of local significance. It does not have to be the same on all
routers.
3. Instruct the router to advertise the directly connected networks:
Router(config-router)#network network-address wildcard mask area 0 Where: network-address
is the network address of a directly connected network. Wildcard-mask is the wildcard mask of
the network address. Since we are setting a single-area OSPF, we will always use ‘area 0’.
4. Repeat step 3 for every network that is directly connected to the router. If you finished the first
four steps on all the routers involved in the process, everything should work just fine.
If you want to do more configurations, there are a few optional advanced steps to go through:
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1. To change the selection process of the DR (Designated Router) and BDR (Backup Designated
Router), use the following command to change the router’s OSPF priority on a certain interface:
Router(config)#ip ospf priority priority
Where: priority is the priority (0–255). The router with the highest priority becomes the DR. A
priority of 0 means that this router will never be elected as DR.
2. To restart the whole process of DR and BDR elections, use the command:
3. To change the cost of a certain link in the OSPF process, use the following command:
Router(config-if)#ip ospf cost suggested-cost
Where: CC is the suggested cost (0–65, 535).
If you want to do more configurations, there are a few optional advanced steps to go through:
1. To change the selection process of the DR (Designated Router) and BDR (Backup Designated
Router), use the following command to change the router’s OSPF priority on a certain interface:
Router(config)#ipv6 ospf priority priority where priority is the priority (0–255). The router with
the highest priority becomes the DR. A priority of 0 means that this router will never be elected
as DR.
2. To restart the whole process of DR and BDR elections, use the command:
3. To change the cost of a certain link in the OSPF process, use the following command:
Router(config-if)#ipv6 ospf cost suggested-cost
Where CC is the suggested cost (0–65,535) For troubleshooting, you can use the following
commands:
When would you need this: When your network design requires redundancy and high
availability?
To understand why and how HSRP protocol works, you need to look into an example. For each
local network, there is a default-gateway. This default-gateway is usually the LAN interface of
the router. If your network design requires high availability and redundancy, you can use HSRP
to set up a different interface in a different router to operate as a standby interface such that
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whenever the main default-gateway fails, the standby becomes active and the network operation
is not interrupted.
HSRP operates by setting a main IP address and a standby IP address for the routers’ interfaces
that are taking part in the HSRP operation. Most of the time, the IP address used as the default-
gateway is called the virtual IP. Let us jump into the configuration:
When would you need this: When your network design requires redundancy and high
availability.
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VRRP operates by setting a main IP address and a standby IP address for the routers’ interfaces
that are taking part in the VRRP operation. Most of the time, the IP address used as the default-
gateway is called the virtual IP. Let us jump into the configuration:
3.9. DHCP
How to Configure a Cisco Router as a DHCP Client
When would you need this: When your ISP gives you a dynamic IP address upon each
connection or you need to configure the router to obtain its interface IP address automatically?
Special Requirements: None.
Router(config-if)#ip address dhcp Some service providers might ask you to use a client-id and/or
a hostname of their own choice. This can be done by adding the following parameters to the
command above:
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Router(config-if)#ip address dhcp client-id interfacename hostname hostname
Where interface-name is the interface name that will be used for the client-id and hostname is the
hostname that will be used for the DHCP binding. This hostname can be different from the one
that was set for the router in the global configuration. You can use both of these parameters, one
of them, or none of them.
When would you need this: When using the router as a DHCP server to provide IP addresses and
related information to DHCP clients?
Special Requirements: DHCP server software is supported for these series: 800, 1000, 1400,
1600, 1700 series (support for the Cisco 1700 series was added in Cisco IOS Release 12.0[2]T),
2500, 2600, 3600, 3800, MC3810, 4000, AS5100, AS5200, AS5300, 7000, 7100, 7200, MGX
8800 with an installed Route Processor Module, 12000, uBR900, uBR7200, Catalyst 5000
family switches with an installed Route Switch Module, Catalyst 6000 family switches with an
installed Multi-Layer Switch Feature Card, and Catalyst 8500.
The configuration steps are as follows:
Implementation notes:
1. You can create a DHCP database agent that stores the DHCP binding database. A DHCP
database agent is any host; for example, an FTP, TFTP, or RCP server that stores the DHCP
bindings’ database. You can configure multiple DHCP database agents, and you can configure
the interval between database updates and transfers for each agent. To configure a database agent
and database agent parameters, use the following command in global configuration mode:
2. DHCP service uses port 67 and 68. So, if you are using a firewall, remember to open these ports.
To clear DHCP server variables, use the following commands as needed:
If you want to clear a certain binding not all of them, replace the * in the previous command with
the IP address to be cleared.
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When would you need this: When using the router as a DHCP server to provide IPv6 in stateless
and stateful configuration of DHCPv6.
Special Requirements: DHCPv6 support in IOS.
If you have a DHCP server other than the router and you would like the router to pass the DHCP
requests to this DHCP server laying outside the LAN, go to the LAN interface that does not have
the DHCP server and type the following command:
Router(config-if)#ip helper-address dhcp-server-address
where dhcp-server-address is the IP address of the DHCP server located outside this LAN.
IPv6
If you have a DHCPv6 server other than the router and you would like the router to pass the
DHCPv6 requests to this DHCPv6 server laying outside the LAN, go to the LAN interface that
does not have the DHCPv6 server and type the following command:
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Special Requirements: None.
There are two types of NAT that can be configured on a Cisco router: static and dynamic.
1. Establish static translation between an inside local address and an inside global address:
Router(config)#ip nat inside source static local-ip-address global-ip-address where local-ip
address is the (inside) local address and global-ip-address is the (inside) global address.
2. Specify the local interface (the interface connected to the internal network). This is done by
going to the interface configuration mode and issuing:
Router(config-if)#ip nat inside
3. Specify the global interface (the interface connected to the external network).
This is done by going to the interface configuration mode and issuing:
Router(config-if)#ip nat outside
This type is used when you want the router to do the mapping dynamically. This method is
useful when you have too many global and local addresses and you do not want to do the
mapping manually, or when the number of global addresses available is less than the local
addresses.
A. The number of global IP addresses is more than one and it is equal or less than the local
addresses.
2. Define the range of local addresses permitted to participate in the translation using an access-list:
Router(config)#access-list access-list-number permit local-network-address wildcard-mask
Where access-list-number is the number of the access-list, which is usually a standard access list;
thus, the number can be any number from 1 to 99; local-network-address is the network address
of the local network or the starting IP address of the range; and wildcard-mask is the wildcard
mask used to define the range. You can issue more than one access-list sentence in the same
access-list to define the specific IP address range(s). If you are not familiar with wildcard masks,
refer to the note in section.
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3. Associate the pool and the local range in a dynamic NAT translation command:
Router(config)#ip nat inside source list access-list number pool nat-pool-name [overload]
Where : access-list-number is the number of the access-list, nat-pool-name is the name of the
global pool, and overload : This parameter must be used when you have global IP addresses less
than local IP addresses (this type of NAT is also known as Port Address Translation, PAT).
4. Specify the local interface. This is done by going to the interface configuration mode and
issuing:
Router(config-if)#ip nat inside
5. Specify the global interface. This is done by going to the interface configuration mode and
issuing:
Router(config-if)#ip nat outside
B. The other scenario is when there is only one global IP address and a group of local IP
addresses.
In this case, the only global IP address is assigned to the interface connected to the global
network.
1. Define the range of local addresses permitted to participate in the translation using an access-list:
Router(config)#access-list access-list-number permit local-network-address wildcard mask
Where: access-list-number is the number of the access-list, which is usually a standard accesslist;
thus, the number can be any number from 1 to 99, local-network-address is the network address
of the local network or the starting IP address of the range, and wildcard-mask is the wildcard
mask used to define the range. You can issue more than one access-list sentence in the same
access-list to define the specific IP address range(s). If you are not familiar with wildcard masks,
refer to the note in Section.
2. Associate the pool and the local range in a dynamic NAT translation command:
Router(config)#ip nat inside source list access-listnumber interface interface-type interface-
number overload .
Where: access-list-number is the number of the access-list, interface-type is the type of the
interface that has the global IP address (e.g., serial or Ethernet), and interface-number is the
number of the interfaces. An example of the interface type and number is serial 0 or Ethernet 0/0.
3. Specify the local interface. This is done by going to the interface configuration mode and
issuing:
4. Specify the global interface. This is done by going to the interface configuration mode and
issuing:
Router(config-if)#ip nat outside
Troubleshooting Commands
Disabling NAT
When you have IPv6-only devices that need to communicate with IPv4-only devices.
Special Requirements: None.
NAT-PT, where PT stands for Protocol Translation, is a tunneling protocol that is used to
translate IPv6 into IPv4 and vice versa. NAT-PT can operate in one of the three modes: static,
dynamic, and Port Address. Translation.
Before configuring NAT-PT, you need to enable IPv6 routing on the translation router using this
command:
Router(config)#ipv6 unicast-routing
1. In static configuration, an IPv6 address is statically mapped into an IPv4 address using the
following command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 source ipv6-address ipv4- address
Where ipv6-address is the IPv6 address assigned to the IPv6-only host and ipv4-address is the
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IPv4 address assigned to the IPv4-only host. The previous command needs to be configured once
for every address. In a similar fashion, we need to identify the reversed mapping from IPv4 to
IPv6 using the following command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 source ipv4-address ipv6- address
where: ipv6-address is the IPv6 address assigned to the IPv6-only host and ipv4-address is the
IPv4 address assigned to the IPv4-only host. The next step is to enable IPv6 NAT on the IPv4
interface:
Router(config-if)#ipv6 nat
2. In dynamic configuration, you will need to configure translation in both ways: IPv6-to-IPv4 and
IPv4-to-IPv6. For the first option, IPv6-to-IPv4, you will need to identify the IPv6 addresses
using an access-list and map it to an IPv4 address pool to be used in the translation.
First, we identify the pool of IPv4 addresses using the command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 pool pool-name start-address end-address prefix-length prefix-
length
Where pool-name is the name of the NAT pool, start-address and end-address are the first and
last addresses in the pool, and prefix-length is the prefix length of the IPv4 network. Next, we
create a named access-list to identify the range of IPv6 addresses that are allowed to participate
in the translation. This is done using the following commands:
Router(config)#ipv6 access-list acl-name
Router(config-ipv6-acl)#permit ip ipv6-source-prefix/ prefix-length any
Where: acl-name is the name of the access-list, ipv6-source-prefix is the IPv6 prefix address of
the hosts that are allowed to use this NAT translation, and prefix-length is the IPv6 network
prefix length.
Repeat the last command as many times as you need to include all the addresses you want to
participate in the translation.
The last step is to configure the mapping using the following command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 source list acl-name pool pool-name
Where acl-name is the name of the access-list identified in the previous step and pool-name is
the name of the NAT pool we identified earlier. In the second part, we will need to identify the
IPv4-to-IPv6 mapping using similar commands to the ones used before but exchanging IPv4 and
IPv6 addresses.
First, we identify the pool of IPv6 addresses using the command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 pool pool-name start-address end-address prefix-length prefix-
length
Where pool-name is the name of the NAT pool, start-address and end-address are the first and
last addresses in the pool, and prefix-length is the prefix length of the IPv6 network. Next, we
create a numbered (or named) access-list to identify the range of IPv4 addresses that are allowed
to participate in the translation.
This is done using the following commands:
Router(config)#access-list acl-number permit ip ipv4- network-address wildcard-mask
Where acl-number is the number of the access-list. The number should be within the range 1-99
because it is a standard ACL; ipv4-network-address is the IPv4 network that includes the hosts
that are allowed to use this NAT translation; and wildcard-mask is the wildcard mask that
identifies the range.
Repeat the last command as many times as you need to include all the addresses you want to
participate in the translation using the same access-list number.
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The last step is to configure the mapping using the following command:
Router(config)#ipv6 nat v6v4 source list acl-number pool pool-name
Where acl-name is the name of the access-list identified in the previous step and pool-name is
the name of the NAT pool we identified earlier.
3. Port Address Translation is configured in an identical manner to the previous case of dynamic
mapping with the exception of one small difference. In the mapping command, add the word
overload at the end after the pool name.
4. For verification purposes, use the following commands:
Router#show ipv6 nat translations
Router#clear ipv6 nat translation *
Router#debug ipv6 nat detail
3.11. PPP
How to Configure PPP on a Cisco Router
When would you need this: When you are creating a WAN link? This procedure might also be
required when the other end of a WAN link is not a Cisco router. Point-to-Point Protocol can be
used in synchronous, asynchronous, HSSI, and ISDN links.
1. Get to the interface configuration mode of the router’s serial interface and issue the following
command,
Router(config-if)#encapsulation ppp
2. If you want to configure authentication (which is almost always the case), go through the
following steps:
When you are setting up a Frame-relay WAN connection rented from a service provider.
1. At the central node, on the serial interface, change the encapsulation type to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
2. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
3. Assign an IP address to the interface
Router(config-if)#ip address central-ip-address subnetmask1
where the central ip address and subnetmask1 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay interface on the central side of the link.
4. Map the Frame-relay DLCI number to a destination IP address:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay map ip-address2 dlci-number encapsulation-type
where
ip address2 is the IP address of the other side of the link. dlci-number is the virtual circuit
number given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. encapsulation-type is the type of
encapsulation standard used. The value is usually either Cisco or ietf. This information should
also be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
This command is repeated once for every terminal node. Each terminal node would have a
different DLCI number.
5. On the terminal end, the serial interface encapsulation type is changed to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
6. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. Usually, it is the
same type used in step 2.
7. Assign an IP address to the interface
Router(config-if)#ip address ip-address2 subnetmask2
where the ip address2 and subnetmask2 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay interface on the second side of the link.
8. Map the Frame-relay DLCI number to a destination IP address:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay map central-ip-address dlci-number encapsulation-type
where central-ip-address is the IP address of the central side of the link. dlci-number is the
virtual circuit number given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. encapsulation-type is the
type of encapsulation standard used. The value is usually either Cisco or ietf. This information
should also be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
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Point-to-Multipoint Using Logical Interfaces
1. At the central node, on the serial interface, change the encapsulation type to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
2. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
3. Assure that there is no IP address assigned to the interface
Router(config-if)#no ip address
4. Create logical interface:
Router(config-if)#interface serial interface-number.- logical-interface-number point-to-
multipoint
5. On the logical interface, assign an IP address:
Router(config-if)#ip address ip-address1 subnetmask1
where the ip-address1 and subnetmask1 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay logical interface on the central side of the link.
6. Map the interface to a specific DLCI number:
Router(config-subif)#Frame-relay interface-dlci dlcinumber
where dlci-number is the virtual circuit number given to you by the Frame-relay service
provider. This DLCI number resembles the virtual circuit leading to a specific remote node.
7. Repeat steps 6 for as many remote nodes as you need.
8. On the remote node, the serial interface encapsulation type is changed to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
9. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. Usually, it is the
same type used in step 2.
10. Assign an IP address to the interface
Router(config-if)#ip address ip-address2 subnetmask2
where the ip-address2 and subnetmask2 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay interface on the remote side of the link.
11. Map the Frame-relay DLCI number to a destination IP address:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay map ip-address1 dlci-number encapsulation-type
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where ip-address1 is the IP address of the first side of the link. dlci-number is the virtual circuit
number given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. encapsulation-type is the type of
encapsulation standard used. The value is usually either Cisco or ietf. This information should
also be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
12. Repeat steps 8, 9, 10, and 11 on each remote node using different IP addresses and DLCI
numbers.
1. At the central node, on the serial interface change the encapsulation type to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
2. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
3. Assure that there is no IP address assigned to the interface
Router(config-if)#no ip address
4. Create logical interface:
Router(config-if)#interface serial interface-number.- logical-interface-number point-to-point
5. On the logical interface, assign an IP address:
Router(config-if)#ip address ip-address1 subnetmask1
where the ip-address1 and subnetmask1 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay logical interface on the central side of the link.
6. Map the interface to a specific DLCI number:
Router(config-subif)#Frame-relay interface-dlci dlcinumber
Where dlci-number is the virtual circuit number given to you by the Frame-relay service
provider. This DLCI number resembles the virtual circuit leading to a specific remote node.
7. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 for as many remote nodes as you need.
8. On the remote node, the serial interface encapsulation type is changed to Frame-relay:
Router(config)#interface serial interface-number
Router(config-if)#encapsulation Frame-relay
where interface number is the number of the serial interface connected to the Frame-relay
equipment.
9. Configure the LMI type:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay lmi-type lmi-type
where lmi-type is the type of LMI standard used. The supported types are Cisco, ansi and q933a.
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This information should be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. Usually, it is the
same type used in step 2.
10. Assign an IP address to the interface
Router(config-if)#ip address ip-address2 subnetmask2
where the ip-address2 and subnetmask2 are the IP address and subnetmask assigned to the
Frame-relay interface on the remote side of the link.
11. Map the Frame-relay DLCI number to a destination IP address:
Router(config-if)#Frame-relay map ip-address1 dlci-number encapsulation-type
where ip-address1 is the IP address of the first side of the link. dlci-number is the virtual circuit
number given to you by the Frame-relay service provider. encapsulation-type is the type of
encapsulation standard used. The value is usually either Cisco or ietf. This information should
also be given to you by the Frame-relay service provider.
12. Repeat steps 8, 9, 10, and 11 on each remote node using different IP addresses and DLCI
numbers.
Cisco routers employ a technique called split-horizon. This technique is used to eliminate routing
loops by which a routing update cannot be forwarded to the same interface it came from.
Building on that logic, split-horizon can cause issues when using Frame-relay point-to-multipoint
topologies. Now think of a scenario where a routing update is coming from one of the remote
points connected on the other end of a point-to-multipoint link. The routing update, due to split-
horizon, will not be forwarded on the same physical link over to the other points connected to the
point-to-multipoint topology, because it will be considered coming from one interface and
cannot be forwarded over to the same interface. This way, the other points will not be able to
exchange routing updates.
Split-horizon can be disabled using the following command on the interface level:
Router(config-if)#no ip split-horizon
On OSPF, you can use the following command:
Router(config-if)#ip ospf network point-to-multipoint
Switches divide broadcast domain through VLAN (Virtual LAN). VLAN is a partitioned
broadcast domain from a single broadcast domain. Switch doesn’t forward packets across
different VLANs by itself. If we want to make these virtual LANs communicate with each other,
a concept of Inter VLAN Routing is used.
Inter VLAN routing is a process in which we make different virtual LANs communicate with
each other irrespective of where the VLANs are present (on same switch or different switch).
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Inter VLAN Routing can be achieved through a layer-3 device i.e. Router or layer-3 Switch.
When the Inter VLAN Routing is done through Router it is known as Router on a stick.
Router on a Stick:
The Router’s interface is divided into sub-interfaces, which acts as a default gateway to their
respective VLANs.
Configuration:
Here is a topology in which there is a router and a switch and some end hosts. 2 different VLANs
have been created on the switch. The router’s interface is divided into 2 sub-interfaces (as there
are 2 different VLANs) which will acts as a default gateway to their respective VLANs. Then
router will perform Inter VLAN Routing and the VLANs will communicate with each other.
First we will assign IP address to the host PC1 as 192.168.1.10/24, Server 192.168.1.20/24, and
the other host PC2 will have IP address 192.168.2.10/24 manually.
Now, we will make sub-interface of fa0/0 as fa0/0.1 and fa0/0.2 and assign IP addresses as
192.168.1.1/24 and 192.168.2.1/24 respectively on the router’s ports.
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NOTE : Here encapsulation type dot1q is used for frame tagging between the 2 different VLAN.
When the switch forwards packet of one VLAN to another, it inserts a VLAN into the Ethernet
header.
Now, we will make 2 different VLANs on switch namely VLAN 2 and VLAN 3 giving names
HR_dept and sales_dept.
Switch# vlan 2
Switch# name HR_dept
Switch# vlan 3
Switch# name sales_dept
Switch# int range fa0/1-2
Switch# switchport mode access
Switch# switchport access vlan 2
Switch# int fa0/3
Switch# switchport mode access
Switch# switchport access vlan 3
Here, we have assigned VLAN 2 to the specific switch ports fa0/1, fa0/2 and vlan 3 to fa0/3
respectively.
NOTE: int range fa0/1-2 command is used as there are more than one host present in a single
VLAN.
Now to check reachability of PC2 from PC1, we will try to PING PC2 from PC1.
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From the above figures, we see that the packet is delivered to the router by the switch, because
now the broadcast domain have been divided by the different VLANs present on the switch
therefore, the packet will be delivered to the default gateway (as PC2 is present on different
network) and then to the destination.
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CHAPTER FOUR
SWITCHES
4.1. Switch basic configuration
Scenario In this lab, you will examine and configure a standalone LAN switch. Although a
switch performs basic functions in its default out-of-the-box condition, there are a number of
parameters that a network administrator should modify to ensure a secure and optimized LAN.
This lab introduces you to the basics of switch configuration.
Step 1: Cable a network. Cable a network that is similar to the one in the topology diagram.
Create a console connection to the switch. You can use any current switch in your lab as long as
it has the required interfaces shown in the topology. The output shown in this lab is from a 2960
switch. If you use other switches, the switch outputs and interface descriptions may appear
different.
Note: PC2 is not initially connected to the switch. It is only used in Task 5.
Step 2: Clear the configuration on the switch. Clear the configuration on the switch using the
procedure in Appendix 1.
Switch>enable
Switch#
Notice that the prompt changed in the configuration to reflect privileged EXEC mode.
Switch#show vlan
Step 6: Examine flash memory.
Issue one of the following commands to examine the contents of the flash directory.
Switch#dir flash:c2960-lanbase-mz.122-25.SEE3
The output should look similar to this:
Directory of flash:/c2960-lanbase-mz.122-25.SEE3/
6 drwx 4480 Mar 1 1993 00:04:42 +00:00 html
618 -rwx 4671175 Mar 1 1993 00:06:06 +00:00 c2960-lanbase-mz.122-25.SEE3.bin
619 -rwx 457 Mar 1 1993 00:06:06 +00:00 info
32514048 bytes total (24804864 bytes free)
Step 7: Examine the startup configuration file. To view the contents of the startup configuration
file, issue the show startup-config command in privileged EXEC mode.
Switch#show startup-config
startup-config is not present
Let’s make one configuration change to the switch and then save it. Type the following
commands:
Switch#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)#hostname S1
S1(config)#exit
S1#
To save the contents of the running configuration file to non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), issue the
the command copy running-config startup-config.
Switch#copy running-config startup-config
Destination filename [startup-config]? (enter)
Building configuration…
[OK]
Note: This command is easier to enter by using the copy run start abbreviation.
Now display the contents of NVRAM using the show startup-config command.
S1#show startup-config
Using 1170 out of 65536 bytes
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!
version 12.2
no service pad
service timestamps debug uptime
service timestamps log uptime
no service password-encryption
!
hostname S1
!
<output omitted>
The CAM table is used in multilayer switching for the purpose of quickly switching frames to
their destination. The switch looks at the incoming frame’s source MAC address and enters it
into the CAM table and keeps it there for 300 seconds before aging out. This is the default value.
If the device connected to that switchport is moved to another port, the switch records the
incoming source MAC address, updates the CAM table and removes it’s previous entry for the
same MAC address.
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CAM Table Before Host B Communicates on the Network [table id=1 /]
1. Limiting the number of MAC addresses to a single switch port, i.e if more than the limit, Mac
addresses are learned from a single port then appropriate action will be taken.
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2. If unauthorized access is observed, the traffic should be discarded by using any of the options, or
more appropriately, the user should generate a log message so that unauthorized access can be
easily observed.
Port security –
Switches learn MAC addresses when the frame is forwarded through a switch port. By using port
security, users can limit the number of MAC addresses that can be learned to a port, set static
MAC addresses, and set penalties for that port if it is used by an unauthorized user. Users can
either use restrict, shut down or protect port-security commands.
Protect – This mode drops the packets with unknown source mac addresses until you remove
enough secure mac addresses to drop below the maximum value.
Restrict – This mode performs the same function as protecting, i.e drops packets until enough
secure mac addresses are removed to drop below the maximum value. In addition to this, it will
generate a log message, increment the counter value, and will also send an SNMP trap.
Shut down – This mode is mostly preferred as compared to other modes as it shut down the port
immediately if unauthorized access is done. It will also generate a log, increment counter value,
and send an SNMP trap. This port will remain in a shutdown state until the administrator will
perform the “no shutdown” command.
Sticky – This is not a violation mode. By using the sticky command, the user provides static Mac
address security without typing the absolute Mac address. For example, if user provides a
maximum limit of 2 then the first 2 Mac addresses learned on that port will be placed in the
running configuration. After the 2nd learned Mac address, if the 3rd user wants to access then the
appropriate action will be taken according to the violation mode applied.
Note – The port security will work on access port only i.e to enable port security, the user first
has to make it an access port.
Configuration
Applying port-security on fa0/1 interface of switch .first, convert the port to an access port and
will enable port-security.
S1(config)#int fa0/1
S1(config-if)#switchport mode access
S1(config-if)#switchport port-security
Use sticky command so that it will learn the Mac address dynamically and will provide the limit
and the appropriate action that should be taken.
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If the user wants to provide a static entry, then configure that by starting its Mac address.
S1(config-if)#switchport port-security
S1(config-if)#switchport port-security violation shutdown
S1(config-if)#switchport port-security mac-address aa.bb.cc.dd.ee.ff
4.4. VLANs
A VLAN is a switched network that is logically segmented by function, project team, or
application, without regard to the physical locations of the users. VLANs have the same
attributes as physical LANs, but you can group end stations even if they are not physically
located on the same LAN segment. Any switch port can belong to a VLAN, and unicast,
broadcast, and multicast packets are forwarded and flooded only to end stations in the VLAN.
Each VLAN is considered a logical network, and packets destined for stations that do not belong
to the VLAN must be forwarded through a router or a switch supporting fallback bridging.
Because a VLAN is considered a separate logical network, it contains its own bridge
Management Information Base (MIB) information and can support its own implementation of
spanning tree.
VLANs are often associated with IP subnetworks. For example, all the end stations in a
particular IP subnet belong to the same VLAN. Interface VLAN membership on the switch is
assigned manually on an interface-by-interface basis. When you assign switch interfaces to
VLANs by using this method, it is known as interface-based, or static, VLAN membership.
Traffic between VLANs must be routed or fallback bridged. The switch can route traffic between
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VLANs by using switch virtual interfaces (SVIs). An SVI must be explicitly configured and
assigned an IP address to route traffic between VLANs.
Note
If you plan to configure many VLANs on the switch and to not enable routing, you can use the
sdm prefer vlan global configuration command to set the Switch Database Management (sdm)
feature to the VLAN template, which configures system resources to support the maximum
number of unicast MAC addresses.
VLAN Port Membership Modes You configure a port to belong to a VLAN by assigning a
membership mode that specifies the kind of traffic the port carries and the number of VLANs to
which it can belong. Table 12-1 lists the membership modes and membership and VTP
characteristics.
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Configuring Normal-Range VLANs
Normal-range VLANs are VLANs with VLAN IDs 1 to 1005. If the switch is in VTP server or
VTP transparent mode, you can add, modify or remove configurations for VLANs 2 to 1001 in
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the VLAN database. (VLAN IDs 1 and 1002 to 1005 are automatically created and cannot be
removed.)
You can cause inconsistency in the VLAN database if you attempt to manually delete the
vlan.dat file. If you want to modify the VLAN configuration, use the commands described in
these sections and in the command reference for this release. To change the VTP configuration.
You use the interface configuration mode to define the port membership mode and to add and
remove ports from VLANs. The results of these commands are written to the running-
configuration file, and you can display the file by entering the show running-config privileged
EXEC command. You can set these parameters when you create a new normal-range VLAN or
modify an existing VLAN in the VLAN database:
VLAN ID
VLAN name
VLAN type (Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interface [FDDI], FDDI network entity title
[NET], TrBRF, or TrCRF, Token Ring, Token Ring-Net)
VLAN state (active or suspended)
Maximum transmission unit (MTU) for the VLAN
Security Association Identifier (SAID)
Bridge identification number for TrBRF VLANs
Ring number for FDDI and TrCRF VLANs
Parent VLAN number for TrCRF VLANs
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) type for TrCRF VLANs
VLAN number to use when translating from one VLAN type to another
Although the switch does not support Token Ring connections, a remote device such as a
Catalyst 5000 series switch with Token Ring connections could be managed from one of the
supported switches. Switches running VTP Version 2 advertise information about these Token
Ring VLANs:
Follow these guidelines when creating and modifying normal-range VLANs in your network:
The switch supports 1005 VLANs in VTP client, server, and transparent modes.
Normal-range VLANs are identified with a number between 1 and 1001. VLAN numbers 1002
through 1005 are reserved for Token Ring and FDDI VLANs.
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VLAN configuration for VLANs 1 to 1005 are always saved in the VLAN database. If the VTP
mode is transparent, VTP and VLAN configuration are also saved in the switch running
configuration file.
The switch also supports VLAN IDs 1006 through 4094 in VTP transparent mode (VTP
disabled). These are extended-range VLANs and configuration options are limited. Extended-
range VLANs are not saved in the VLAN database.
Before you can create a VLAN, the switch must be in VTP server mode or VTP transparent
mode. If the switch is a VTP server, you must define a VTP domain or VTP will not function.
The switch does not support Token Ring or FDDI media. The switch does not forward FDDI,
FDDI-Net, TrCRF, or TrBRF traffic, but it does propagate the VLAN configuration through
VTP.
The switch supports 128 spanning-tree instances. If a switch has more active VLANs than
supported spanning-tree instances, spanning tree can be enabled on 128 VLANs and is disabled
on the remaining VLANs. If you have already used all available spanning-tree instances on a
switch, adding another VLAN anywhere in the VTP domain creates a VLAN on that switch that
is not running spanning-tree. If you have the default allowed list on the trunk ports of that switch
(which is to allow all VLANs), the new VLAN is carried on all trunk ports. Depending on the
topology of the network, this could create a loop in the new VLAN that would not be broken,
particularly if there are several adjacent switches that all have run out of spanning-tree instances.
You can prevent this possibility by setting allowed lists on the trunk ports of switches that have
used up their allocation of spanning-tree instances.
If the number of VLANs on the switch exceeds the number of supported spanning-tree instances,
we recommend that you configure the IEEE 802.1s Multiple STP (MSTP) on your switch to map
multiple VLANs to a single spanning-tree instance.
To access config-vlan mode, enter the vlan global configuration command with a VLAN ID.
Enter a new VLAN ID to create a VLAN, or enter an existing VLAN ID to modify that VLAN.
You can use the default VLAN configuration or enter multiple commands to configure the
VLAN. For more information about commands available in this mode, see the vlan global
configuration command description in the command reference for this release. When you have
finished the configuration, you must exit config-vlan mode for the configuration to take effect.
To display the VLAN configuration, enter the show vlan privileged EXEC command.
To access VLAN database configuration mode, enter the vlan database privileged EXEC
command. Then enter the vlan command with a new VLAN ID to create a VLAN, or enter an
existing VLAN ID to modify the VLAN. You can use the default VLAN configuration or enter
multiple commands to configure the VLAN. For more information about keywords available in
this mode, see the vlan VLAN database configuration command description in the command
reference for this release. When you have finished the configuration, you must enter apply or exit
for the configuration to take effect. When you enter the exit command, it applies all commands
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and updates the VLAN database. VTP messages are sent to other switches in the VTP domain,
and the privileged EXEC mode prompt appears.
The configurations of VLAN IDs 1 to 1005 are always saved in the VLAN database (vlan.dat
file). If the VTP mode is transparent, they are also saved in the switch running configuration file.
You can enter the copy running-config startup-config privileged EXEC command to save the
configuration in the startup configuration file. To display the VLAN configuration, enter the
show vlan privileged EXEC command.
When you save VLAN and VTP information (including extended-range VLAN configuration
information) in the startup configuration file and reboot the switch, the switch configuration is
selected as follows:
If the VTP mode is transparent in the startup configuration, and the VLAN database and the VTP
domain name from the VLAN database matches that in the startup configuration file, the VLAN
database is ignored (cleared), and the VTP and VLAN configurations in the startup configuration
file are used. The VLAN database revision number remains unchanged in the VLAN database.
If the VTP mode or domain name in the startup configuration does not match the VLAN
database, the domain name and VTP mode and configuration for the first 1005 VLANs use the
VLAN database information.
If VTP mode is server, the domain name and VLAN configuration for the first 1005 VLANs use
the VLAN database information
4.5. STP
Configuring STP
This part describes how to configure the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) on port-based VLANs on
the Catalyst 3560 switch. The switch can use either the per-VLAN spanning-tree plus (PVST+)
protocol based on the IEEE 802.1D standard and Cisco proprietary extensions, or the rapid per-
VLAN spanning-tree plus (rapid-PVST+) protocol based on the IEEE 802.1w standard.
STP Overview
STP is a Layer 2 link management protocol that provides path redundancy while preventing
loops in the network. For a Layer 2 Ethernet network to function properly, only one active path
can exist between any two stations. Multiple active paths among end stations cause loops in the
network. If a loop exists in the network, end stations might receive duplicate messages. Switches
might also learn end-station MAC addresses on multiple Layer 2 interfaces. These conditions
result in an unstable network. Spanning-tree operation is transparent to end stations, which
cannot detect whether they are connected to a single LAN segment or a switched LAN of
multiple segments. The STP uses a spanning-tree algorithm to select one switch of a redundantly
connected network as the root of the spanning tree. The algorithm calculates the best loop-free
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path through a switched Layer 2 network by assigning a role to each port based on the role of the
port in the active topology:
Spanning tree forces redundant data paths into a standby (blocked) state. If a network segment in
the spanning tree fails and a redundant path exists, the spanning-tree algorithm recalculates the
spanning-tree topology and activates the standby path. Switches send and receive spanning-tree
frames, called bridge protocol data units (BPDUs), at regular intervals. The switches do not
forward these frames but use them to construct a loop-free path. BPDUs contain information
about the sending switch and its ports, including switch and MAC addresses, switch priority, port
priority, and path cost. Spanning tree uses this information to elect the root switch and root port
for the switched network and the root port and designated port for each switched segment.
When two ports on a switch are part of a loop, the spanning-tree port priority and path cost
settings control which port is put in the forwarding state and which is put in the blocking state.
The spanning-tree port priority value represents the location of a port in the network topology
and how well it is located to pass traffic. The path cost value represents the media speed.
The stable, active spanning-tree topology of a switched network is controlled by these elements:
The unique bridge ID (switch priority and MAC address) associated with each VLAN on each
switch.
The spanning-tree path cost to the root switch.
The port identifier (port priority and MAC address) associated with each Layer 2 interface.
When the switches in a network are powered up, each functions as the root switch. Each switch
sends a configuration BPDU through all of its ports. The BPDUs communicate and compute the
spanning-tree topology. Each configuration BPDU contains this information:
The unique bridge ID of the switch that the sending switch identifies as the root switch
The spanning-tree path cost to the root
The bridge ID of the sending switch
Message age
The identifier of the sending interface
Values for the hello, forward delay, and max-age protocol timers
When a switch receives a configuration BPDU that contains superior information (lower bridge
ID, lower path cost, and so forth), it stores the information for that port. If this BPDU is received
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on the root port of the switch, the switch also forwards it with an updated message to all attached
LANs for which it is the designated switch. If a switch receives a configuration BPDU that
contains inferior information to that currently stored for that port, it discards the BPDU. If the
switch is a designated switch for the LAN from which the inferior BPDU was received, it sends
that LAN a BPDU containing the up-to-date information stored for that port. In this way, inferior
information is discarded, and superior information is propagated on the network.
For each VLAN, the switch with the highest switch priority (the lowest numerical priority value)
is elected as the root switch. If all switches are configured with the default priority (32768), the
switch with the lowest MAC address in the VLAN becomes the root switch. The switch priority
value occupies the most significant bits of the bridge ID.
A root port is selected for each switch (except the root switch). This port provides the best path
(lowest cost) when the switch forwards packets to the root switch. The shortest distance to the
root switch is calculated for each switch based on the path cost. A designated switch for each
LAN segment is selected. The designated switch incurs the lowest path cost when forwarding
packets from that LAN to the root switch. The port through which the designated switch is
attached to the LAN is called the designated port. All paths that are not needed to reach the root
switch from anywhere in the switched network are placed in the spanning-tree blocking mode.
The IEEE 802.1D standard requires that each switch has a unique bridge identifier (bridge ID),
which controls the selection of the root switch. Because each VLAN is considered as a different
logical bridge with PVST+ and rapid PVST+, the same switch must have a different bridge IDs
for each configured VLAN. Each VLAN on the switch has a unique 8-byte bridge ID. The 2
most-significant bytes are used for the switch priority, and the remaining 6 bytes are derived
from the switch MAC address. The switch supports the IEEE 802.1t spanning-tree extensions,
and some of the bits previously used for the switch priority are now used as the VLAN identifier.
The result is that fewer MAC addresses are reserved for the switch, and a larger range of VLAN
IDs can be supported, all while maintaining the uniqueness of the bridge ID. As shown in Table
4-2, the 2 bytes previously used for the switch priority are reallocated into a 4-bit priority value
and a 12-bit extended system ID value equal to the VLAN ID.
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Spanning tree uses the extended system ID, the switch priority, and the allocated spanning-tree
MAC address to make the bridge ID unique for each VLAN. Support for the extended system ID
affects how you manually configure the root switch, the secondary root switch, and the switch
priority of a VLAN. For example, when you change the switch priority value, you change the
probability that the switch will be elected as the root switch. Configuring a higher value
decreases the probability; a lower value increases the probability.
Propagation delays can occur when protocol information passes through a switched LAN. As a
result, topology changes can take place at different times and at different places in a switched
network. When an interface transitions directly from nonparticipation in the spanning-tree
topology to the forwarding state, it can create temporary data loops. Interfaces must wait for new
topology information to propagate through the switched LAN before starting to forward frames.
They must allow the frame lifetime to expire for forwarded frames that have used the old
topology. Each Layer 2 interface on a switch using spanning tree exists in one of these states:
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When you power up the switch, spanning tree is enabled by default, and every interface in the
switch, VLAN, or network goes through the blocking state and the transitory states of listening
and learning. Spanning tree stabilizes each interface at the forwarding or blocking state.
When the spanning-tree algorithm places a Layer 2 interface in the forwarding state, this process
occurs:
1. The interface is in the listening state while spanning tree waits for protocol information to move
the interface to the blocking state.
While spanning tree waits the forward-delay timer to expire, it moves the interface to the
learning state and resets the forward-delay timer.
2. In the learning state, the interface continues to block frame forwarding as the switch learns end-
station location information for the forwarding database.
3. When the forward-delay timer expires, spanning tree moves the interface to the forwarding state,
where both learning and frame forwarding are enabled.
Blocking State
A Layer 2 interface in the blocking state does not participate in frame forwarding. After
initialization, a BPDU is sent to each switch interface. A switch initially functions as the root
until it exchanges BPDUs with other switches. This exchange establishes which switch in the
network is the root or root switch. If there is only one switch in the network, no exchange occurs,
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the forward-delay timer expires, and the interface moves to the listening state. An interface
always enters the blocking state after switch initialization. An interface in the blocking state
performs these functions:
Listening State
The listening state is the first state a Layer 2 interface enters after the blocking state. The
interface enters this state when the spanning tree decides that the interface should participate in
frame forwarding. An interface in the listening state performs these functions:
Learning State
A Layer 2 interface in the learning state prepares to participate in frame forwarding. The
interface enters the learning state from the listening state. An interface in the learning state
performs these functions:
Forwarding State
A Layer 2 interface in the forwarding state forwards frames. The interface enters the forwarding
state from the learning state. An interface in the forwarding state performs these functions:
Disabled State
A Layer 2 interface in the disabled state does not participate in frame forwarding or in the
spanning tree. An interface in the disabled state is nonoperational. A disabled interface performs
these functions:
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Discards frames received on the interface
Discards frames switched from another interface for forwarding
Does not learn addresses
Does not receive BPDUs
4.6. VTP
This portion describes how to use the VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) and the VLAN database
for managing VLANs with the Catalyst 3560 switch.
Understanding VTP
A VTP domain (also called a VLAN management domain) consists of one switch or several
interconnected switches under the same administrative responsibility sharing the same VTP
domain name. A switch can be in only one VTP domain. You make global VLAN configuration
changes for the domain. By default, the switch is in the VTP no-management-domain state until
it receives an advertisement for a domain over a trunk link (a link that carries the traffic of
multiple VLANs) or until you configure a domain name. Until the management domain name is
specified or learned, you cannot create or modify VLANs on a VTP server, and VLAN
information is not propagated over the network. If the switch receives a VTP advertisement over
a trunk link, it inherits the management domain name and the VTP configuration revision
number. The switch then ignores advertisements with a different domain name or an earlier
configuration revision number.
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When you make a change to the VLAN configuration on a VTP server, the change is propagated
to all switches in the VTP domain. VTP advertisements are sent over all IEEE trunk connections,
including Inter-Switch Link (ISL) and IEEE 802.1Q. VTP dynamically maps VLANs with
unique names and internal index associates across multiple LAN types. Mapping eliminates
excessive device administration required from network administrators. If you configure a switch
for VTP transparent mode, you can create and modify VLANs, but the changes are not sent to
other switches in the domain, and they affect only the individual switch. However, configuration
changes made when the switch is in this mode are saved in the switch running configuration and
can be saved to the switch startup configuration file.
Configuring VTP
Configuration Mode
You can use the vtp global configuration command to set the VTP password, the version, the
VTP file name, the interface providing updated VTP information, the domain name, and the
mode, and to disable or enable pruning. For more information about available keywords, see the
command descriptions in the command reference for this release. The VTP information is saved
in the VTP VLAN database. When VTP mode is transparent, the VTP domain name and mode
are also saved in the switch running configuration file, and you can save it in the switch startup
configuration file by entering the copy running-config startup-config privileged EXEC
command. You must use this command if you want to save VTP mode as transparent, even if the
switch resets. When you save VTP information in the switch startup configuration file and reboot
the switch, the switch configuration is selected as follows:
If the VTP mode is transparent in the startup configuration and the VLAN database and the
VTP domain name from the VLAN database matches that in the startup configuration file, the
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VLAN database is ignored (cleared), and the VTP and VLAN configurations in the startup
configuration file are used. The VLAN database revision number remains unchanged in the
VLAN database.
If the VTP mode or domain name in the startup configuration do not match the VLAN
database, the domain name and VTP mode and configuration for the first 1005 VLANs use the
VLAN database information.
You can configure all VTP parameters in VLAN database configuration mode, which you access
by entering the vlan database privileged EXEC command. For more information about available
keywords, see the vtp VLAN database configuration command description in the command
reference for this release. When you enter the exit command in VLAN database configuration
mode, it applies all the commands that you entered and updates the VLAN database. VTP
messages are sent to other switches in the VTP domain, and the privileged EXEC mode prompt
appears. If VTP mode is transparent, the domain name and the mode (transparent) are saved in
the switch running configuration, and you can save this information in the switch startup
configuration file by entering the copy running-config startup-config privileged EXEC
command.
These sections describe guidelines you should follow when implementing VTP in your network.
Domain Names
When configuring VTP for the first time, you must always assign a domain name. You must
configure all switches in the VTP domain with the same domain name. Switches in VTP
transparent mode do not exchange VTP messages with other switches, and you do not need to
configure a VTP domain name for them.
Passwords
You can configure a password for the VTP domain, but it is not required. If you do configure a
domain password, all domain switches must share the same password and you must configure
the password on each switch in the management domain. Switches without a password or with
the wrong password reject VTP advertisements. If you configure a VTP password for a domain,
a switch that is booted without a VTP configuration does not accept VTP advertisements until
you configure it with the correct password. After the configuration, the switch accepts the next
VTP advertisement that uses the same password and domain name in the advertisement. If you
are adding a new switch to an existing network with VTP capability, the new switch learns the
domain name only after the applicable password has been configured on it.
VTP Version
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Follow these guidelines when deciding which VTP version to implement:
All switches in a VTP domain must run the same VTP version.
A VTP Version 2-capable switch can operate in the same VTP domain as a switch running VTP
Version 1 if Version 2 is disabled on the Version 2-capable switch (Version 2 is disabled by
default).
Do not enable VTP Version 2 on a switch unless all of the switches in the same VTP domain are
Version-2-capable. When you enable Version 2 on a switch, all of the Version-2-capable
switches in the domain enable Version 2. If there is a Version 1-only switch, it does not
exchange VTP information with switches that have Version 2 enabled.
If there are TrBRF and TrCRF Token Ring networks in your environment, you must enable VTP
Version 2 for Token Ring VLAN switching to function properly. To run Token Ring and Token
Ring-Net, disable VTP Version 2.
Configuration Requirements
When you configure VTP, you must configure a trunk port so that the switch can send and
receive VTP advertisements to and from other switches in the domain. If you are configuring
VTP on a cluster member switch to a VLAN, use the rcommand privileged EXEC command to
log in to the member switch. For more information about the command, see the command
reference for this release. If you are configuring extended-range VLANs on the switch, the
switch must be in VTP transparent mode. VTP does not support private VLANs. If you
configure private VLANs, the switch must be in VTP transparent mode. When private VLANs
are configured on the switch, do not change the VTP mode from transparent to client or server
mode.
When a switch is in VTP server mode, you can change the VLAN configuration and have it
propagated throughout the network.
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When you configure a domain name, it cannot be removed; you can only reassign a switch to a
different domain. To return the switch to a no-password state, use the no vtp password global
configuration command. This example shows how to use global configuration mode to configure
the switch as a VTP server with the domain name eng_group and the password mypassword:
Switch# config terminal
You can also use VLAN database configuration mode to configure VTP parameters. Beginning
in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to use VLAN database configuration mode to
configure the switch as a VTP server:
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When you configure a domain name, it cannot be removed; you can only reassign a switch to a
different domain. To return the switch to a no-password state, use the no vtp password VLAN
database configuration command. This example shows how to use VLAN database configuration
mode to configure the switch as a VTP server with the domain name eng_group and the
password mypassword:
When a switch is in VTP client mode, you cannot change its VLAN configuration. The client
switch receives VTP updates from a VTP server in the VTP domain and then modifies its
configuration accordingly.
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Use the no vtp mode global configuration command to return the switch to VTP server mode. To
return the switch to a no-password state, use the no vtp password privileged EXEC command.
When you configure a domain name, it cannot be removed; you can only reassign a switch to a
different domain.
VLANIF interface A VLANIF interface is a Layer 3 logical interface that can be used to
implement inter-VLAN Layer 3 connectivity. It is simple to configure a VLANIF interface, so
VLANIF interfaces are the most commonly used for inter-VLAN communication. However, a
VLANIF interface needs to be configured for each VLAN and each VLANIF interface requires
an IP address. As a result, this technology wastes IP addresses.
Dot1q termination sub-interface A sub-interface is also a Layer 3 logical interface that can be
used to implement inter-VLAN Layer 3 connectivity. A Dot1q termination sub-interface applies
to scenarios where a Layer 3 Ethernet interface connects to multiple VLANs. In such a scenario,
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data flows from different VLANs preempt bandwidth of the primary Ethernet interface;
therefore, the primary Ethernet interface may become a bottleneck when the network is busy.
VLAN aggregation VLAN aggregation associates a super-VLAN with a super-VLAN. The sub-
VLANs share the IP address of the super-VLAN, which acts as the gateway IP address, to
implement Layer 3 connectivity with an external network. Proxy ARP can be enabled between
sub VLANs to implement Layer 3 connectivity between sub-VLANs. VLAN aggregation
conserves IP addresses. VLAN aggregation applies to scenarios where multiple VLANs share a
gateway. For details about VLAN aggregation, see VLAN Aggregation Configuration.
VLAN Switch switch-vlan VLAN Switch switch-vlan requires a pre-configured static
forwarding path along switching nodes on a network. When a switching node receives VLAN-
tagged frames matching VLAN Switch entries, it directly forwards the frames to corresponding
interfaces according to the static forwarding path, thus implementing Layer 2 communication.
Switch-VLAN does not require lookup of the MAC address table, so the forwarding efficiency
and security are enhanced. If a switching node connects to many user devices, the network
administrator needs to configure each user device in advance to establish a static forwarding
path. This increases the manual configuration workload and makes network management
inconvenient. Switch-VLAN applies to small-scale networks.
Host_1 (source host) and Host_2 (destination host) connect to the same Layer 3 switch, are
located on different network segments, and belong to VLAN 2 and VLAN 3, respectively. After
VLANIF 2 and VLANIF 3 are created on the switch and allocated IP addresses, the default
gateway addresses of the hosts are set to IP addresses of the VLANIF interfaces.
When Host_1 sends a packet to Host_2, the packet is transmitted as follows (assuming that no
forwarding entry exists on the switch):
1. Host_1 determines that the destination IP address is on a different network segment from its own
IP address, and therefore sends an ARP Request packet to request the gateway MAC address.
The ARP Request packet carries the destination IP address of 10.1.1.1 (gateway’s IP address)
and all-F destination MAC address.
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2. When the ARP Request packet reaches IF_1 on the Switch, the Switch tags the packet with
VLAN 2 (PVID of IF_1). The Switch then adds the mapping between the source MAC address,
VLAN ID, and interface (1-1-1, 2, IF_1) in its MAC address table.
3. The Switch detects that the packet is an ARP Request packet and the destination IP address is the
IP address of VLANIF 2. The Switch then encapsulates VLANIF 2’s MAC address of 3-3-3 into
the ARP Reply packet before sending it from IF_1. In addition, the Switch adds the binding of
the IP address and MAC address of Host_1 in its ARP table.
4. After receiving the ARP Reply packet from the Switch, Host_1 adds the binding of the IP
address and MAC address of VLANIF 2 on the Switch in its ARP table and sends a packet to the
Switch. The packet carries the destination MAC address of 3-3-3 and destination IP address of
10.2.2.2 (Host_2’s IP address).
5. After the packet reaches IF_1 on the Switch, the Switch tags the packet with VLAN 2.
6. The Switch updates its MAC address table based on the source MAC address, VLAN ID, and
inbound interface of the packet, and compares the destination MAC address of the packet with
the MAC address of VLANIF 2. If they are the same, the Switch determines that the packet
should be forwarded at Layer 3 and searches for a Layer 3 forwarding entry based on the
destination IP address. If no entry is found, the Switch sends the packet to the CPU. The CPU
then searches for a routing entry to forward the packet.
7. The CPU looks up the routing table based on the destination IP address of the packet and detects
that the destination IP address matches a directly connected network segment (network segment
of VLANIF 3). The CPU continues to look up its ARP table but finds no matching ARP entry.
Therefore, the Switch broadcasts an ARP Request packet with the destination address of 10.2.2.2
to all interfaces in VLAN 3. The ARP Request packet will be send from IF_2.
8. After receiving the ARP Request packet, Host_2 detects that the IP address is its own IP address
and sends an ARP Reply packet with its own. Additionally, Host_2 adds the mapping between
the MAC address and IP address of VLANIF 3 to its ARP table.
9. After IF_2 on the Switch receives the ARP Reply packet, IF_2 tags the packet with VLAN 3 to
the packet and adds the binding of the MAC address and IP address of Host_2 in its ARP table.
Before forwarding the packet from Host_1 to Host_2, the Switch removes the tag with VLAN 3
from the packet. The Switch also adds the binding of Host_2’s IP address, MAC address, VLAN
ID, and outbound interface in its Layer 3 forwarding table.
The packet sent from Host_1 then reaches Host_2. The packet transmission process from Host_2
to Host_1 is similar. Subsequent packets between Host_1 and Host_2 are first sent to the
gateway (Switch), and the Switch forwards the packets at Layer 3 based on its Layer 3
forwarding table.
When hosts in different VLANs connect to multiple Layer 3 switches, you need to configure
static routes or a dynamic routing protocol in addition to VLANIF interface addresses. This is
because IP addresses of VLANIF interfaces can only be used to generate direct routes.
In Figure 4-14, Host_1 (source host) and Host_2 (destination host) are located on different
network segments, connect to Layer 3 switches Switch_1 and Switch_2, and belong to VLAN 2
and VLAN 3, respectively. On Switch_1, VLANIF 2 and VLANIF 4 are created and allocated IP
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addresses of 10.1.1.1 and 10.1.4.1. On Switch_2, VLANIF 3 and VLANIF 4 are created and
allocated IP addresses of 10.1.2.1 and 10.1.4.2. Static routes are configured on Switch_1 and
Switch_2. On Switch_1, the destination network segment in the static route is 10.1.2.0/24 and
the next hop address is 10.1.4.2. On Switch_2, the destination network segment in the static route
is 10.1.1.0/24 and the next hop address is 10.1.4.1.
When Host_1 sends a packet to Host_2, the packet is transmitted as follows (assuming that no
forwarding entry exists on Switch_1 and Switch_2):
1. The first six steps are similar to steps 1 to 6 in inter-VLAN communication when hosts connect
to the same switch. After the steps are complete, Switch_1 sends the packet to its CPU and the
CPU looks up the routing table.
2. The CPU of Switch_1 searches for the routing table based on the destination IP address of
10.1.2.2 and finds a static route. In the static route, the destination network segment is
10.1.2.0/24 and the next hop address is 10.1.4.2. The CPU continues to look up its ARP table but
finds no matching ARP entry. Therefore, Switch_1 broadcasts an ARP Request packet with the
destination address of 10.1.4.2 to all interfaces in VLAN 4. IF_2 on Switch_1 transparently
transmits the ARP Request packet to IF_2 on Switch_2 without removing the tag from the
packet.
3. After the ARP Request packet reaches Switch_2, Switch_2 finds that the destination IP address
of the ARP Request packet is the IP address of VLANIF Switch_2 then sends an ARP Reply
packet with the MAC address of VLANIF 4 to Switch_1.
4. IF_2 on Switch_2 transparently transmits the ARP Reply packet to Switch_1. After Switch_1
receives the ARP Reply packet, it adds the binding of the MAC address and IP address of
VLANIF4 in its ARP table.
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5. Before forwarding the packet of Host_1 to Switch_2, Switch_1 changes the destination MAC
address of the packet to the MAC address of VLANIF 4 on Switch_2 and the source MAC
address to the MAC address of VLANIF 4 on itself. In addition, Switch_1 records the
forwarding entry (10.1.2.0/24, next hop IP address, VLAN, and outbound interface) in its Layer
3 forwarding table. Similarly, the packet is transparently transmitted to IF_2 on Switch_2.
6. After Switch_2 receives packets of Host_1 forwarded by Switch_1, the steps similar to steps 6 to
9 in inter-VLAN communication when hosts connect to the same switch are performed. In
addition, Switch_2 records the forwarding entry (Host_2’s IP address, MAC address, VLAN,
and outbound interface) in its Layer 3 forwarding table.
4.8. Miscellaneous
This part contains miscellaneous configurations that are specific to certain access points.
The Cisco Aironet 700W series access points have one 10/100/1000BASE-T PoE Uplink/WAN
port and four 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 local Ethernet ports for wired device connectivity. The
fourth port functions as a PoE-Out port when the AP is powered by 802.3at Ethernet switch,
Cisco power injector AIR-PWRJ4=, or Cisco Power Supply. By default, all four local Ethernet
ports are disabled. You can be enable them when required. You can also configure the local
Ethernet ports to a VLAN ID using the interface configuration command, vlan vlan-id.
ap#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
ap(config)#lan-Port port-id 1
ap(config-lan-port)#vlan 25
ap(config-lan-port)#end
Like other Cisco Access points 702W AP series also can be configured as a Workgroup Bridge
(WGB). A WGB can provide a wireless infrastructure connection for Ethernet-enabled devices.
Devices that do not have a wireless client adapter in order to connect to the wireless network can
be connected to the WGB through the Ethernet port. The WGB supports up to 20 Ethernet-
enabled devices to a Wireless LAN (WLAN). The WGB associates to the root AP through the
wireless interface. In this way, wired clients obtain access to the wireless network. A WGB can
associate to:
An AP
A root bridge (in AP mode)
A controller through a lightweight AP
When a Cisco 702W access point acts as a WGB, the wired Ethernet clients behind the WGB can
be either connected to the LAN or WAN ports present on the 702W AP.
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