This lesson contains a lab simulation in which you will configure the basic startup information on a Cisco router running the Cisco IOS® Software. When you have successfully completed the lab, you should have some basic knowledge of configuring a Cisco router for startup and a better understanding of the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI).

You are working on the Cisco Interactive Mentor simulation environment (CIM-SE) console (displayed in your browser).

 

The default router name is "Router." Giving each router a unique name aids in network management by allowing you to uniquely identify each router within the network. The name of the router is considered to be the host name and is displayed in the system prompt. Let's change the host name from "Router" to "CIM-Router1." Notice that the name in the system prompt changes immediately after the hostname command is entered.

Task	Command
1 From user EXEC mode, enter privileged EXEC mode.	enable
2 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
3 From global configuration mode, configure a new host name.	hostname CIM-Router1

 

Set the system clock so that error messages will have accurate time stamps. The router will use this information to time-stamp error messages. Use the following information for the time and date: 11:56:50 11 March 1999. Then use the show clock command to view the new clock setting.

A real router will accept any time and date, in the correct format.

Task	Command
1 From global configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	exit
2 From privileged EXEC mode, set the system clock.	clock set 11:56:50 11 March 1999
3 From privileged EXEC mode, view the clock setting.	show clock

 

The message-of-the-day banner is displayed at login and is useful for sending startup messages to all connected terminals. By default, no message is displayed at logon. Enter the banner motd command in global configuration mode. When using the banner motd command, enter a few blank spaces and then type a delimiting character. The information typed until the next delimiting character is recognized as the message of the day. In this simulation, use the pound key (#) as the delimiting character. For the purposes of this exercise, the CIM-SE will accept only a one-word message of the day. Note that there is a space between the delimiting characters and the word. Configure "TechnologyDepartment" as the message of the day, making sure that there is no space between the words. Then exit completely out of the EXEC and reenter user EXEC mode, and you will see the message-of-the-day banner displayed.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, return to global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, configure a message-of-the-day banner.	banner motd # TechnologyDepartment #
3 From global configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	exit
4 From privileged EXEC mode, exit the EXEC entirely.	exit
5 Press Return when prompted, to enter user EXEC mode.	<CR>

 

An interface can be given a description to document specific information about that interface. The configured description appears in the output when you display the configuration information that exists in router memory. Because of limitations in the tool, the CIM-SE will accept only a one-word interface description. Use the description interface configuration command to assign the description FirstSerialInNetwork1 to interface serial 0, making sure that there are no spaces between the words in the description.

Now display the running configuration to see the interface description you just configured. To display the running configuration, use the show running-config command in privileged EXEC mode.

In a configuration display, the exclamation marks function as line separators to make reading easier. In this configuration, notice how commands entered at the interface configuration level, such as the interface description command, appear indented underneath the interface they were entered on. Global-level commands are not indented, so you can easily identify which configuration parameters are set at the global configuration level and which are set at the various configuration sublevels.

Notice the commands that you have configured so far in this Basic Configuration Lab: hostname, banner motd, and interface description.

Task	Command
1 From user EXEC mode, enter privileged EXEC mode.	enable
2 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
3 From global configuration mode, enter interface configuration mode.	interface serial 0
4 From interface configuration mode, configure an interface description.	description FirstSerialInNetwork1
5 From interface configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	Ctrl-Z
6 From privileged EXEC mode, display the running configuration.	show running-config

 

You can use the password command in line configuration mode to configure a password to restrict access to a router. Console passwords can be established on individual lines. Remember that passwords are case sensitive. Passwords can be configured for console terminals or for incoming Telnet sessions. Configure the password cisco for console line 0. Then exit the EXEC completely and log back into the router. You will be prompted for the console password you just configured before you can enter user EXEC mode.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, enter line configuration mode for a console line.	line console 0
3 From line configuration mode, configure a console password.	password cisco
4 From line configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	Ctrl-Z
5 From privileged EXEC mode, exit the EXEC entirely.	exit
6 Press Return when prompted.	<CR>
7 Enter the console password at the prompt, to enter user EXEC mode.	cisco

 

To further restrict access to the router, configure the password cisco for virtual-terminal lines zero through four.

Task	Command
1 From user EXEC mode, enter privileged EXEC mode.	enable
2 From Privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
3 From global configuration mode, enter line configuration mode for a virtual terminal.	line vty 0 4
4 From line configuration mode, configure a virtual-terminal password.	password cisco

 

Use the enable password global configuration command to configure an enable password to restrict access to privileged EXEC mode. Use cisco as the password. Then return to user EXEC mode and test the enable password by reentering privileged EXEC mode.

Task	Command
1 From line configuration mode, return to global configuration mode.	exit
2 From global configuration mode, configure an enable password.	enable password cisco
3 From global configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	exit
4 From privileged EXEC mode, return to user EXEC mode.	disable
5 From user EXEC mode, reenter privileged EXEC mode, entering the enable password when prompted.	enable cisco

 

To copy logging messages, such as errors, to an internal buffer, use the logging buffered command. The buffer is circular, so that newer messages overwrite older ones after the buffer is filled. Having a log of these messages can be useful when troubleshooting network problems. Now let's generate some logging messages.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, return to global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, configure the system to log messages to an internal buffer.	logging buffered

 

Use the ip address command to assign an IP address and subnet mask to the Ethernet 0 interface. Use the IP address 10.1.2.2 and the subnet mask 255.0.0.0. An interface must be assigned a unique logical network address before it can establish connectivity to a network. IP addressing and subnets are discussed later in this CIM. For additional information, see Understanding TCP/IP.

Task	Command
1 From global configuration mode, enter interface configuration mode.	interface ethernet 0
2 From interface configuration mode, assign an IP address to the interface.	ip address 10.1.2.2 255.0.0.0

 

Routers ship from the factory with all interfaces deactivated, referred to as being in a shutdown state. Use the no shutdown interface configuration command to activate the Ethernet 0 interface. Note the two logging messages that appear in the CIM-SE after the no shutdown command is issued. These indicate that the protocol, the software component of the network connection, and the interface, the hardware component, are both active. Both components must be active before the connection will carry network traffic. Then return to privileged EXEC mode and use the show logging command to view the contents of the log.

Task	Command
1 From interface configuration mode, activate the interface.	no shutdown
2 From interface configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	Ctrl-Z
3 From privileged EXEC mode, view the system log.	show logging

 

To configure the system to time-stamp logging messages, use the service timestamps log datetime command. With time-stamped logging messages, you will know when errors occurred on the router. Then use the show logging command to see how this changes the log.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, configure the system to timestamp logging messages.	service timestamps log datetime
3 From global configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	exit
4 From privileged EXEC mode, view the system log.	show logging

 

Use the ip address command to assign an IP address and subnet mask to the serial 0 interface. Use the IP address 11.1.2.1 and the subnet mask 255.0.0.0. Then use the no shutdown interface configuration command to activate the serial 0 interface. Note that only one logging message appears in the CIM-SE after the no shutdown command is issued, and that this message indicates the interface state was changed to down. Serial interfaces must receive a control signal, indicating the presence of another serial interface on the other end of the link, in order to stay active. Since there is no serial interface connected to the serial 0 interface, it can't stay in the up state. However, the interface is still active. That is, it is passively waiting to receive a control signal from another serial interface. When it does, the serial 0 interface and the serial interface on the other end of the link will both automatically go into the up state.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, enter interface configuration mode.	interface serial 0
3 From interface configuration mode, assign an IP address to the interface.	ip address 11.1.2.1 255.0.0.0
4 From interface configuration mode, activate the interface.	no shutdown

 

To view information about a particular interface, you can use the show interface command, which provides the following important information:

• Interface state (for example, UP, DOWN, LOOPED)
• Protocol addresses
• Bandwidth
• Reliability and load
• Encapsulation type
• Packet rates
• Error rates
• Signaling status (that is, data carrier detect [DCD], data set ready [DSR], data terminal ready [DTR], request to send [RTS], clear to send [CTS])

Note: Cisco routers default to High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC) encapsulation. Serial interfaces carry a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 1500 bytes and have a bandwidth capacity of 1.544 Mbps.

From privileged EXEC mode, display the interface information with the show interface command.

Task	Command
1 From interface configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	Ctrl-Z
2 From privileged EXEC mode, display interface information for the interface.	show interfaces serial 0

 

The Cisco IOS Software provides an easy way to remove commands from a configuration: simply navigate to the proper mode and type no followed by the command to be removed. You have already done this: the shutdown command is configured on all interfaces by default, and you removed it by entering the no shutdown command. In interface configuration mode, use the shutdown command to deactivate the serial 0 interface. You configured an IP address on the serial 0 interface with the ip address command, so you can remove this command by typing no, followed by the ip address command. Use the no ip address command to remove the IP address configured on the interface.

Then, from privileged EXEC mode, use the show interface command to display the interface information again, and note the changes.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, enter interface configuration mode.	interface serial 0
3 From interface configuration mode, deactivate the interface.	shutdown
4 From interface configuration mode, remove the IP address.	no ip address
5 From interface configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	Ctrl-Z
6 From privileged EXEC mode, display interface information for the interface.	show interface serial 0

 

Once again, display the running configuration to see the changes you have made. To display the running configuration, use the show running-config command in privileged EXEC mode.

Notice the commands that you have configured in this Basic Configuration Lab: hostname, service timestamps, banner motd, interface description, console (line con) password, Telnet (line vty) password, enable password, interface no shutdown, and ip address.

If an interface is in a shutdown state, "shutdown" appears indented under that particular interface. Also, commands that are enabled by default are not displayed in output of show running-config.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, display the running configuration.	show running-config

 

To display the startup configuration that is stored in NVRAM, use the show startup-config command in privileged EXEC mode.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, display the startup configuration.	show startup-config

 

Save the current running configuration by using the copy running-config startup-config command to overwrite the startup configuration stored in NVRAM. A Cisco IOS Router stores configurations in two locations—RAM and NVRAM. Stored in RAM, the running configuration is used by the router during operation. Any configuration changes to the router are made to the running configuration, and they take effect immediately after the command is entered. The startup configuration is saved in NVRAM and is loaded as the running configuration when the router boots up. If a router loses power or is reloaded, changes to the running configuration are lost unless they have been saved to the startup configuration.

When editing a configuration, save often.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, save the running configuration.	copy running-config startup-config

 

Now use the show startup-config command to view the startup configuration again.

Notice that the commands you configured in the Basic Configuration Lab and later viewed in the running configuration by issuing the show running-config command—hostname, service timestamps, interface description, console (line con) password, Telnet (line vty) password, enable password, interface no shutdown, ip address—are now in the startup configuration.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, display the startup configuration.	show startup-config

 

You will now make a change in the running configuration that you will then undo (to demonstrate the value of saving your configuration often when you are making changes to it). Enter global configuration mode and then interface configuration mode. Use the ip address command to assign an IP address and subnet mask to the Ethernet 1 interface (on a real router there will probably be many interfaces to assign addresses to, and if you discover that you used the wrong subnet mask on every interface, you will probably want to revert to the last saved copy of the configuration). Use the IP address 172.16.82.1 and the subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Also, use the no shutdown command to activate the interface. Then return to global configuration mode.

Task	Command
1 From privileged EXEC mode, enter global configuration mode.	configure terminal
2 From global configuration mode, enter interface configuration mode.	interface ethernet 1
3 From interface configuration mode, activate the interface.	no shutdown
4 From interface configuration mode, assign an IP address to the interface.	ip address 172.16.82.1 255.255.0.0
5 From interface configuration mode, return to global configuration mode.	exit

 

Return to privileged EXEC mode. Then use the copy startup-config running-config command to revert to the last saved configuration. This command loads the startup configuration from NVRAM into RAM, where it immediately becomes the running configuration. This does not affect the startup configuration in NVRAM.

Task	Command
1 From global configuration mode, return to privileged EXEC mode.	exit
2 From privileged EXEC mode, copy the startup configuration to RAM.	copy startup-config running-config

 

Display the running configuration. Notice that it has reverted to the last saved version and is now identical to the startup configuration.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, display the running configuration.	show running-config

 

Look at the system log again, using the show logging command. All logging messages added to the log recently will have time stamps that reflect what the router clock was reading when the configuration changes were made. This is because these messages were added to the log after the system was configured to time-stamp logging messages with the service timestamps log datetime command.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, view the system log.	show logging

 

Finally, you will use one more command that can be used to collect information about the configuration and status of a router. This information can be very helpful in troubleshooting router problems. The show version command provides much information, including the following:

Software Version	- Cisco IOS Software version (stored in Flash)
Bootstrap Version	- Bootstrap version (stored in boot ROM)
System Uptime	- Time since last reboot
System Restart Information	- Method of restart (for example, power cycle, crash)
Software Image Name	- Cisco IOS filename stored in Flash
Router Type and Processor Type	- Model number and processor type
Memory Type and Allocation (Shared/Main)	- Main processor RAM  - Shared packet I/O buffering
Software Features	- Supported protocols/feature sets
Hardware Interfaces	- Interfaces available on router
Configuration Register	- Bootup specifications, console speed setting, etc.

From privileged EXEC mode, display the software version information with the show version command.

Task	Command
From privileged EXEC mode, display version information.	show version

 

You are finished with the Configuration Lab. Now, continue with the next section of this CIM.