CCNA Command Guide - Adam Vardy
CCNA Command Guide - Adam Vardy
Command Guide
Routing and Switching Command
Guide with Examples
Introduction
The CCNA Certification is a good foundation for other networking certifications
should you may want to pursue in the future. Cisco Routers and Switches take up
a huge chunk of the exam. The CCNA will test how much you know of Cisco
hardware and software.
CCNA Command Guide: Routing and Switching Command Guide with Examples
is designed to help you pass the CCNA Certification exam. The book is filled with
the following:
Illustrations: The book is filled with diagrams and pictures that will help you
understand the concepts and functions of Cisco Routers and Switches.
Command Guides: Each chapter includes several command guides that will
help you improve your Routing and Switching Management skills.
Outlined Concepts: This book contains a good outline of topics, technical
terms and information. This should help you understand and remember terms
that are sure to come out in the certification exam.
While the main goal of this book is to help you pass the CCNA examination, most
of the information found in this book has practical applications that you will find
useful when performing your job as an IT professional.
This book is divided into two parts:
Part One: Routing with Cisco Routers
Part Two: Switching with Cisco Switches
At this point, you should understand that the concept of Routing and Switching is
very similar except from the network layer they operate on. Most of the commands
are the same but the command protocols are different. Much of this will be
discussed in detail in the latter portions of each part.
Unlike other books that you can download from the internet, this book is very easy
to use because of the special formatting it uses. Important concepts are in
boldface, italics or both. Since this is book is a command guide, the sample
command lines that you can use to configure Cisco Routers and Switches are
highlighted by using a special font.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Table of Contents
Part 1. Routing with CISCO Routers
Chapter 1. Layer 3 Routers
Layer 3 (Network Layer)
Functions of Layer 3 Router
Types of Protocol
Router Functions
Chapter 2. Router Management
Cisco Routers
Using the Cisco Routers
Local Connection
Configuring a CISCO Router
Cisco IOS Setup Mode Commands
Password Configuration
VTY Password
Setting-Up a Router Banners
Auxiliary Password
Privileged Password
Password Encryption
Recovering A Lost Password
Chapter 3. Network Routing
Types of Network Routes
Routing Protocols
Routed Protocols
Routing Methods
Chapter 4. Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
Characteristics of EIGRP
Components of EIGRP
Routing Tables
EIGRP Packet Types
Convergence
Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL)
Classful vs. Classless Routing
Configuring EIGRP
Managing EIGRP Operation
Other EIGRP-related Terms
Chapter 5. Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) Protocol
Characteristics of OSPF
Convergence
Cost Metric
OSPF Hierarchy
Selecting a Designated Router (DR)
Router ID (RID)
Configuring the OSPF
OSPF Protocol Configuration
Pertinent Commands
Part 2. Switching with CISCO Switches
Chapter 6. Layer 2 Switches
Hubs
Bridges
Switches
Hubs vs. Bridges vs. Switches
Switch Functions
Glossary of Terms (Switching)
Chapter 7. Switch Management
Handling Methods for Cisco Switches
Console Port
Auxiliary Ports
Chapter 8. Network Traffic Management
Switching Modes
Chapter 9. Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
Part 1
The above figure shows how data packets are sent, processed and read by an
intermediary device. In this case, the intermediary device is a router. The flow of
the data packets from source to destination hosts (sender to receiver) in the figure
describes how data is being processed by two different LANs. The router inspects
the data packets first in the network layer before it sends it to the data-link frame
layer in the form of data frames. These data frames are then sent to specific
physical devices.
While the main function of the router is to transfer data packets through the
source and destination hosts of each network, it is also responsible for:
1. Inspection of the IP written in each passing data packet.
Types of Protocol
At the network layer, there are two types of recognized protocols: routing
protocols and routed protocols.
1. Routing Protocols: These protocols are used to transfer route update
packets from one host to another. Information about new routes and new
networks are stored within the route update packets. These packets are sent by
routers to each other whenever a new route is opened or a new network is
established.
Among the more prominent routing protocols are Routing Information
Protocol (RIP; Chapter 11), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol
(EIGRP; Chapter 12), and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) Protocol
(Chapter 13).
These routing protocols employ varying systematic metrics to determine
which routes and networks are better compared to others.
2. Routed Protocols: These protocols are used to transfer data packets as well
as to identify hosts from networks in the global environment. Routed protocols
assign a unique logical address for each host in the network.
Good examples of routed protocols are AppleTalk, SNA, IPX and IPv6.
Router Functions
The four basic functions performed by a Layer 3 router are:
1. Maintaining routing protocols;
2. Establishing routing tables by means of routing protocols;
3. Keeping tab of routing tables; and
4. Routing data packets.
Keep in mind that logical IP address follows a hierarchy. They have numbers that
correspond to the name of the network and numbers that correspond to the host
device.
Consider the IP address of the network is 192.168.45.0 for example. Hosts within
the network must have an IP address that begins with 192.168.45. Consequently,
hosts within the network described by an IP address 192.168.62.0 should have
hosts whose IP address begins with 192.168.62. In the two examples, the first
three numbers are used to identify the network while the last number is used to
identify the host.
Routing Protocols
Before two networks are able to send data packets to and from each other, the
routers need to set up a consistent routing protocol. The different stages of setting
up a consistent routing protocol are:
1. Setting up the routing protocol for each router;
2. Accessing the interface of each router; and
3. Customizing the options for routing protocols.
Unless the router is programmed to negotiate routing protocols with each other,
you have to execute each stage to manage routing protocols.
Routing Tables
While routing protocols contain specific instructions on how the router should
exchange information in forms of data packets within networks, routing tables
manage the changes within the network, the paths for each network and the
metrics for each path. Aside from that, routing tables also keep track of the
following:
1. List of networks remembered and forgotten by each router
2. Data stored within the router interface
3. Metrics related to each path.
Cisco Routers
The three classifications of Cisco Routers are as follows:
Cisco Router
Entry-level Router
Midrange Router
Top-of-the-line Router
Top-of-the-line Cisco routers are designed to perform the following the routers in
their respective networks:
WAN gateway connectivity
Inter-VLAN routing
Open Shortest Path Fist (OSPF) backup designated router (BDR)
OPSF designated router (DR)
Local Connection
A typical cisco router has several ports that where line plugs can be inserted
to connect to the host computer or other similar network-enabled devices.
Other ports, typically bearing different colors from the rest, serve other
functions other than ensuring connectivity to network layers. These ports
are:
Auxiliary Port
This port is used to connect a router to the main computer frame by
means of a rollover cable. The modem connected to the auxiliary port of
the router is connected via a telephone line to a similar modem that is
connected to the main computer frame.
In theory, auxiliary ports are really designed with remote connections.
The only difference is that setting up remote connections with the aid of
auxiliary port requires a modem to be locally connected to the router via
the auxiliary port.
Console Port
Similar to Auxiliary Ports, Console ports are designed to connect main
computer frame to router through a rollover cable. This port is used to
link the router to the console locally.
The Cisco Operating System has a console facility that aids user
sets both the IP address (192.168.72.30) and the subnet mask
(255.255.255.255.0).
To start a command interface, you first select it before implementing:
RT1(config-if) #no shutdown
To exit a command interface, you select it again before implementing:
RT1(config-if) #no shutdown
The IOS prompt shows you what configuration mode you are in while keying
in the IOS commands. Here are the different configuration modes:
Global
Mode
Configuration (config)
Password Configuration
Router credentials can be changed by configuring Cisco IOS commands by
entering credential values to password and login variables. Cisco routers dont
have a pre-programmed password.
Cisco features routers that supply information to the network and the devices on it
based on the kind of access enabled by a specific password. Cisco routers allow
four kinds of access:
Console Password
Auxiliary
Password
VTY
Password
Privileged
Password
By default, both the auxiliary port and console port are enabled regardless if a
password is a configured for each of them. This poses a security vulnerability to
the router network thus Cisco recommends that, at the very least, a console
password must be configured.
Also by default, the VTY lines are disabled. Enabling VTY require the
configuration of VTY password. To set the password for the Cisco router, the Cisco
IOS interface can be instructed to prepare the router for authentication. In the IOS
interface, implement the following commands to set the console password:
router001 > en
router001 #configure t
router001 (config)#line cons 0)
router001 (config-line) #password x1dmv4
VTY Password
The following commands can be implemented in the Cisco IOS interface:
router001 > en
router001 #config t
router001 (config) #line vty 0 ?
14 last line number
router001 (config-line) #line vty 0-12
This command selects all the 012 VTY access lines available.
Older versions of Cisco routers
only use four VTY lines but
newer implementations have at
least 1,180 VTY lines. This is
why the previous commands
had to pose first an inquiry on
how many VTY lines are
available.
#password
newx1dmv4
Cisco devices have several VTY access lines because of two major reasons:
1. Several VTY access lines allow multiple users to manage the router:
Large router networks grants access to more than one router manager. By
using SSH or Telnet, router managers can access the router through remote
connection.
2. A VTY access line allows a user to connect to a different device also
connected to the router. In this case, two VTY lines are required. One that
connects the computer unit to the router and another that connects the router
to the other device.
Default gateway
To reset the settings of the router and delete any configuration stored in the
NVRAM:
1. Press the Mode button and held it for a few seconds. Hold the Mode button
until the LED indicators in the router begin blinking.
2. Wait for the LED indicators to stop blinking before you stop holding the Mode
button. After all the LED has stopped blinking, the router should reboot by
itself.
3. Release the Mode button
The Cisco bootstrap program allows router managers to tweak the booting
procedure of any Cisco router connected to the computer host. The boot command
does the following:
Manage the loaded Cisco IOS image file
Enable the Ctrl + Break system key while the router is booting
Select which initial configuration should be used
Enable manual booting
Format the size of the NVRAM.
The following command block instructs the IOS interface to show the available
options for the boot command:
router001 >
router001 >en
Password: x1dmv4
router001 #config t
router001 (config) #
router001 (config) #boot ?
system
System Image
manual
Manual Boot
boothlpr
boots the Helper System Image
private-config-file
Private Configuration File
Buffersize
Determines the size for filesystem-simulated NVRAM
helper-config-file
Helper Configuration File
config-file
Configuration File
Helper
Helper Image
enable-break
Enables the Break process while booting
router001 (config) #exit
router001 #disable
router001 >
The following are the global configuration settings that can be executed using the
boot command:
booth1pr
buffersize
config-file
enable-break
helper
helper-configfile
manual
private-configfile
system
The following command block is used to configure the router to access a particular
IOS image file that is stored within the flash memory:
router001 >
router001 > en
Password: x1dmv4
router001 #conf t
router001 (config) #
router001 (config) #boot system flash:/c1440example.com-mz.120-32.EY
router001 (config) #exit
router001 #disable
router001 >
The above code allows access to the image file bearing an address of :
flash:/c1440-example.com-mz.120-32.EY
In order to verify the options encoded on the said image file, the IOS command
show boot can be used as in the example below:
router001 >
router001 > en
Password: x1dmv4
router001 #conf t
router001 show boot
BOOT path-list
: flash:/c1440-example.commz.120-
32.EY
Config file
: flash:/configuration.txt
:
: yes
: no
Manual Boot
: no
NVRAM/Config file
buffer size: 62642
router001 #disable
router001 >
The show boot command displays the current settings of the boot resources of the
router.
System
Flash
Auxiliary Password
Most Cisco routers have auxiliary ports. These ports can be protected by
integrating a password specifically for auxiliary ports. To setup a password for
auxiliary ports, the following command lines can be implemented in the system:
router001 > en
router001 #config t
router001 (config) #line aux 0
router001 (config-line) #password aux1dan4
router001 (config-line) #login
router001 (config-line) #exit
router001 (config) #exit
router001 #disable
router001 >
These two lines can be used interchangeably:
router001 > en
router001 > enable
The same goes for this line:
router001 #config t
router001 #conf ter
router001 #configure terminal
These two lines enable the privileged global configuration mode in the Cisco IOS.
This configuration mode allows you to implement commands that can tweak the
settings of the global router or simply the settings of the entire router. Also:
line aux 0
password
aux1dmv4
Privileged Password
There are IOS commands that should only be configured by specific users as these
commands are crucial to the overall functionality of the router. The two
commands used to setup a privileged password are:
enable
privx1dan14
enable
cryptx1dan14
Before you set the privileged password, you must first enable this option by keying
in the following commands:
enable
password
Password Encryption
Passwords are saved in plain text format by default in the startup configuration
file in NVRAM and running configuration in the RAM. By implementing the show
start-up config command and the show running-config command, the
passwords will be displayed in simple text. This poses a security risk especially if
the routers hold confidential data resources in the system. This is why it is advised
that passwords must be encrypted in the system.
Other passwords like theconsole password, auxiliary password, and VTY password
are not encrypted regardless if the command enable secret is used to
configure any of the three passwords. To encrypt these passwords, the service
password-encryption command must be used. Consider the command block
below:
router001 > en
router001 #config t
router001 (config) #service password-encryption
router001 (config) #exit
router001 #disable
router001 >
network route. Each route joins two end nodes, each representing a network
device that is capable of being assigned with IP address. Examples of which are
smart phones, tablets, gaming consoles, camera interface, and computer hosts.
It is possible to have more than one route in between nodes. This is because the
router employs a special algorithm that computes for the best route available
before a data packet is sent from one point (source) to another (destination). The
algorithm takes into consideration route metrics, which include the cost of the
resources, and the time it takes to send the data packets.
Within the data transmission path, there should at least be two routers positioned
anywhere in between the source and destination nodes. For example, when
sending a message via a chat module installed in your computer, the computer
sends packets of data containing the message you intend to send to a computer
user elsewhere. These data packets pass through the home router. The home
router then transmits these data packets to the Internet Service provider (ISP) via
the outbound gateway. The Internet Service Providers outbound gateway then
transmits the packets through cables and cables of integrated network chain until
it reaches the network/ server of the recipient user. Data packets will be received
by the router of the receiving host computer at lightning speed. Notice that,
depending on the location of the recipient, data packets traveled through at least
four routers:
Home router of the sender
Outbound Gateway (ISP) of the sender
Inbound Gateway (ISP) of the recipient
Home router of the recipient
Firewalls can be introduced to static routes to filter routing data within the
network border.
Regardless of the route, Virtual Private Networking (VPN) safeguards the data
sending mechanism regardless of the route where the data travels.
In other words, security risks can be managed by building a firewall or by
using VPN.
However, while static routes have many upsides, they also have a few
downsides like:
a. Management Overhead: Maintenance can be tricky because every
time the data transmission paths change, the router configuration must be
updated.
b. Scalability: Static routes are impractical when managing larger
networks. Wide-scale networks are composed of thousands of routes to
reach other areas of the network. A good example of these networks is
commercial internet connections provided by the Internet Service
Provider. Houses are connected to a single network managed by a server.
Even so, it is impractical (and almost impossible) to configure all the
routes to be static. Also, should any of the routes change, all the static
routes in the network must also be changed. This is the reason why static
networks are perfect only for small-scale networks.
c. Accuracy: If the network routes change and no configurations were
made on the static network, the router will not have an accurate
understanding of the network. As a result, data transmissions are either
delayed or lost completely.
Static routes can be configured by using the Cisco interface by entering
the following command:
ip route dest-ip subnet {next-hop_ip | interface}
2. Default routes
Whenever data packets are sent to a new destination network, packets follow
a different kind of static routes. New destination networks are not likely to
have an entry in the routing tables so a new route is assigned to them. This
route is called default routes. It is not uncommon for a router to receive a
data packet addressed to a new network that it has no information of; in this
case, the router transmits the data packet through the default route.
Network managers always make sure that a default route is configured in the
router in case data packets addressed to newer unrecognized networks is
a. Low maintenance: Unlike static routes that require constantly updating the
routing configuration whenever the network landscape changes, dynamic
routes require no such laborious task. Dynamic routing immediately recognizes
changes in data transmission paths. In response, router settings are
immediately configured to complement changes in the network. This task is
managed by routing protocols who exchange information with other routers on
a regular basis.
b. Accuracy: Dynamic routes use routing protocols to gather information about
other routers. This exchange of information between routers is done by sending
back and forth update packets so the routing protocols can immediately
configure router settings.
c. Scalability: Unlike static routes that are best-suited for smaller networks,
dynamic networks are perfect for larger networks. Routing protocols manage
hundreds or possibly thousands of routes in large-scale networks. This seems
to be a logistical nightmare for static routes. For dynamic routes however, this
is just another day in the office. Routing protocols minimize
miscommunication among routers by constantly communicating with routes
within their network
Dynamic routes only have one known disadvantage: network overheads.
Since routing protocols facilitate a constant exchange of information with
other routers, dynamic routes consume more bandwidth causing network
overheads.
Routing Protocols
The main function of routing protocols is to exchange routes, network and metric
information in forms of data packets to determine the best route available. This
information is used to build a routing table that contains all the pertinent
information about routes and the corresponding metrics associated to it.
There are several routing protocols but you only need to know three of them:
Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP); and
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
Routed Protocols
The source and destination address of each data packet is assigned by routed
protocol. The address tagged in the data packet is a unique combination of
numbers that correspond to the address of the source and destination node. The
most commonly-used routed protocols are:
Novell Netware Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
AppleTalk
Internet Protocol ver. 4 (IPv4)
Internet Protocol ver. 6 (IPv6)
Depending on the results of the evaluations made by the routing protocol, the
routers choose a destination for a data packet based on decision criteria. Routing
tables build an inventory list of all the networks, paths, routes and metrics
associated with all the nodes it has touched bases with before. Decisions made by
the routing protocols are based on the information stored in the routing table.
Routing protocols base their decisions on two aspects:
1. Administrative/Virtual distance: This aspect measures the reliability of
the information integrated in the data packets about the destination node.
Routers gather information about the network routes through the following:
Direct connection to the network: Routers do not use intermediaries to gather
information about the routes. Updates in the form of data packet are sent to
different routers for information-gathering purpose.
Indirect connection to the network (via other routers): Pieces of information
about other network not within range are gathered from what information
other routers have gathered.
Static Route connection to the network: The router is not directly in touch with
a network but it is informed of its existence by the static route.
Routers compute for the reliability of the information based on the source.
It follows a hierarchy that favors routers nearest it. Cisco measures
Administrative
Distance Values
Direct Connection
Static route
Internal EIGRP
90
OSPF
110
120
External EIGRP
170
Routers prefer information with lower administrative distance values.
2. Routing Protocol Metrics: This computes the costs associated with each
route. Examples of weighted costs are as follows: link state, available
bandwidth and traffic.
The various routing protocol differs on how they calculate the efficiency of
each of the router hence it is understandable that each of the routing
protocols may have different preferred routes compared to the rest. When
routing protocols disagree with each other, routers select the best route by
computing for administrative distances instead.
Here are some of the metrics used in route selection:
a. Bandwidth: This refers to the capacity of information that can be held by a
route to reach the destination. Bandwidth is measured in terms of bits per
second (bps). Routes with higher bandwidth are preferred by most routing
protocols because data packets tend to reach the destination point faster with a
larger bandwidth. This metric is given more weight by EIGRP.
b. Hop Count: This refers to the number of routers between the source node
and the destination node. Router protocols tend to pick routes with less hop
counts to minimize delay. RIP is notorious for using this metric on determining
which route to pick.
c. Cost: This refers to the value computed based on the bandwidth of a network
route. The figure is measure by 108 / bandwidth. OSPF uses this route more
heavily than it does other routing protocol metric.
d. Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU): This refers to the size of each data
packet. MTU is measured in terms of bytes. The bigger the size, the bigger the
amount of data that can be transferred at any given time. EIGRP uses MTU
heavily, preferring higher MTU values.
e. Load: This refers to the bandwidth presently consumed by the data traffic at
any given route. It is computed by getting the difference between the available
unused bandwidth and the total bandwidth of the route. EIGRP picks network
routes with lower load.
f. Reliability: This refers to the how much time is available in a specific route.
EIGRP selects route with higher reliability values.
g. Delay: This refers to the average amount of time a data packet takes to reach
the destination host. This is compute based on the following metric:
Propagation delay: This refers to the time taken by the signal to spread
throughout all the transmission paths.
Transmission delay: This refers to the time taken by data packets in between
hops.
Queuing delay: This refers to the time a packet spends in queue before it is
released to an outbound port.
Processing delay: This refers to the time spend by the router to inspect the
encoded destination address.
Routing Methods
Routers use the different standards through which routing protocols compute for
the most viable route. Before they even measure the efficiency of each route,
routing protocols initiate a progressive trade of information between routers to
build a reliable routing table. This exchange of information is done through many
different methods. These are:
1. Distance Vector Routing: Routers, who are using protocols that measure
distance between nodes, complete their routing table by the information taken
from their own direct connection and from neighboring routers.
This is a routing procedure where routers trust the information sent to them
by neighbor routers. The information sent by neighbor routers is also sent to
a different neighbor router who might not have direct connection with the
original router that sent the information. Rumor routing is another name for
distance routing.
Distance vector routing employs the following special mechanisms to avoid
incurring routing loops:
Triggered update: This feature lets different routers share updates with each
other once a router becomes functional or when something has changed within
the network.
Poison reverse: This feature sends a message to all neighbor routers that a
specific network is down and therefore must not be used as a route for a data
packet.
Split horizon: This feature hinders the promotion of the route back to its
original promoter.
Hold-down timer: This feature hinders the acceptance of new updates on
specific routes for a preset period if the route is deemed unavailable. This
prevents the re-advertisement of routes that are not functional as this may
Maximum
Protocol
Hop Count
RIP
15
OSPF
255 (subject
configuration)
EIGRP
Unlimited
to
user
Routing loops eventually lead to a route failing. This often takes time before
all the concerned routers are informed.
The two protocols that use distance vector routing procedures are RIP and
IGRP (not to be confused with EIGRP).
2. Link-State Routing: Routing protocols that follow link-state routing
procedures build routing tables using information exclusively from the updates
gathered from neighbor routers. Instead of just pooling the information found
in the neighbors routing table, link-state protocol gets a good view of the
network topology and routes within and beyond neighboring routers.
Link-state protocols are characterized by the following:
Compared to distance vector protocol that sends and receives route updates on
a regular basis, link-state protocol only sends and receives update when change
has been detected in any of the immediate routes.
Aside from routing tables, link-state protocol also manages topology and
neighbor tables.
Updates send by neighbor routers only contain information about routes the
changed.
Routers under link-state protocols exchange hello packets to get a good
understanding of neighbor routers.
Link-state routing is prominently configured in the Open Shortest Path First
(OSPF).
3. Hybrid Routing
Protocols that employ hybrid routing combines the properties of both linkstate and distance vectors including:
Similar with distance vector protocols, hybrid routing protocols use
administrative distance metric to determine route quality.
Similar with link-state protocols, hybrid routing protocols use MTU, load,
reliability, delay and available bandwidth to determine route quality.
Cisco-proprietary Enhance IGRP (EIGRP) uses hybrid routing procedures.
Convergence: This refers to the first exchange of information made by the
routers to each other as they attempt to connect to the network.
Characteristics of EIGRP
EIGRP is widely-acknowledged as more of a distance vector protocol, but by
definition, it is also a hybrid routing protocol because it has advanced features
usually found only in link-state protocols. Here are the characteristics of the
EIGRP:
1. EIGRP evaluates the efficiency of the routes by using these metrics:
Default Metrics: Delay and Bandwidth
Optional Metrics: MTU, load, Reliability
Diffusing Update Algorithm: Route efficiency.
2. As with the rest of link-state routing protocols, OSPF and EIGRP direct the
updates about routes only if it detects deviations within the network.
3. EIGRP is only exclusive to Cisco routers.
4. EIGRP performs its functions using two main directorial distance figures:
170 routes from other protocols
90 routes from EIGRP
Components of EIGRP
This router protocol comprises four components:
1. Protocol-dependent Modules: These are independent modules utilized by
specific protocols when sending and receiving data packets within the OSI
network layer.
2. Reliable Transport Protocol (RTP): This protocol guarantees a
dependable delivery system that transports the EIGRP unicast or multicast
data packets to routers nearby.
3. Neighbor Discovery/ Recovery: EIGRP employs a smart system that
determines the existence of the nearest routers within the local network.
4. Dual finite-state machine: In order to estimate and determine routes that
are free from loops, EIGRP uses a routing algorithm that recognizes a metric
that selects routes based on the feasibility of each routing successors.
Routing Tables
EIGRP collects data about nearby routers and the landscape of the network and
then stores it to a sequence of tables called routing tables. The three kinds of
routing tables used by the EIGRP are:
1. Neighbor Table: This stores information using the local network or
computer systems directly connected to each other. The information is then
organized in a table that contains addressing and interface figures. Each Cisco
routers uses its own EIGRP; hence:
Each router is given a clear map of all the neighbor routers within the same
network.
Each router is given an inventory of details of each peer router.
2. Topology Table: This summarizes all network destinations that are
routable through EIGRP and estimations using a metric that detects whether a
destination is in an active or passive status. Each Cisco router also runs OPSF
to manage a separate link-state table; hence:
Each router has a clear map of network topology not just of its own network
but the networks in surrounding network areas of neighbor routers.
Each router gets a deeper understanding of the network topology by using linkstate and neighbor table. It gets a clear picture of how the topology within the
routers and its neighboring routers surrounding network vicinity work.
The topology table manages the following in each of the network destinations:
Successor Route: This is the most efficient route to the destination point as
determined by DUAL.
Feasible Successor Route: This is the second best route to the destination
point, also determined by DUAL.
3. Routing Table: This is a collection of all destination routes mapped down
using the information obtained from all the entries in the topology table. If
both the link-state and neighbor tables count the number of available routes,
the routing table describes each route.
Convergence
As mentioned earlier EIGRP has faster convergence than that of both IGRP and
RIP because routers in the same local network merely exchange ACK packets
instead of the usually distance vector protocols. With EIGRP, routers become
more familiar with each other while undergoing the convergence procedure by
exchanging network parameters to each of their neighbor tables.
Routers are only considered as nearby or neighboring routers if the
following conditions are satisfied:
Routers have successfully transmitted and received ACK/ Hello packets with
each other.
They have the same independent system that has the same interface with
similar routing designs.
Each of their ACK/ Hello timer is set to the correct value especially for the
following metrics:
a. Network frequency at which each routers exchange ACK/ Hello
packets with each other
b. Farthest distance before the routers consider a router out of
coverage network
Discontiguous Networks are networks that have a number of subnets that
contain varying classes of IP address. They are required when implementing
classless routing protocol.
Configuring EIGRP
Similar to how RIP is configured in a Cisco router, EIGRP is configured by
following these steps:
1. Run the EIGRP on each Cisco router
In the IOS interface, run the following code in global configuration mode:
router eigrp as_id
The as_id is the routing domain identification otherwise known as the
autonomous system (AS) number. The AS number must be the same for all
routers that will be sharing EIGRP routing information. This number should
be within the range of 1 to 65535.
2. Enable EIGRP
As in the previous step, using the IOS interface run the following code to
enable the EIGRP:
Network int_IP
The int_IP in the command is simply the IP address that will identify
which interface will support the OSPF in the network.
Characteristics of OSPF
1. As in EIGRP, route updates are only transmitted when OSPF has detected any
change in the routes.
2. When the OSPF does detect changes, the router automatically transmits a linkstate advertisement (LSA) in one of the routes whose properties are stored in
the routing table. Only information about the changes in one of the routes is
contained in the LSA.
LSA packets leave almost no network footprint or trace.
LSA traffic is kept at a minimum because OSPF keeps an inventory of routes.
LSA traffic is organized in such a way that LSA packets reach the destination
router immediately.
3. Routers shares CKA/ Hello messages with each other as they establish the
values in each of their neighbor tables while undergoing the convergence
process.
4. Unlike EIGRP, which is a Cisco-proprietary protocol, OSPF is supported by
other router manufacturers.
5. OSPF converges fast compared to other protocols (except EIGRP).
6. OSPF works efficiently because it divides the system (routing domain) into
different sectors of control.
7. Limitless amount of network hops are supported by the OSPF.
8. Variable-length subnet masking (VLSM) is supported by the OSPF.
9. OSPF organizes and reads routers in a hierarchical format.
Convergence
During the convergence process, the routers exchange pleasantries by sharing
network parameters before storing received data to each of their neighbor table.
There is no need to discuss in great detail how routers recognize each other as
neighbors since convergence in OSPF is exactly the same with convergence in
EIGRP.
Cost Metric
To measure the value of the connections established by each route, the OSPF
employs a cost metric.
Route cost is a metric that determines the value of each connection by its
bandwidth. By dividing the default 100Mbps or roughly, a million bits per second)
bandwidth with the measured bandwidth of the connection.
For example, if the router measured the actual bandwidth as:
10 Gbps
100,000,000 bps
(10,000,000,000
bps)
10,000,000,000
bps
0.01
1 Gbps
100,000,000 bps
(1,000,000,000
bps)
0.1
1,000,000,000 bps
100 Mbps
100,000,000 bps
(100,000,000 bps)
100,000,000 bps
10 Mbps
(10,000,000 bps)
100,000,000 bps
10
10,000,000 bps
1 Mbps
(10,000,000 bps)
100,000,000 bps
100
1,000,000 bps
The faster the bandwidth of the connection, the lower the route cost. OSPF is
designed to compute for least cost and use it for sending packets.
In the above example, the default reference bandwidth is pegged at 100 Mbps but
using the Cisco IOS interface, you can change this reference value by using this
code:
auto-cost reference bandwidth
This is handy when using high-powered machines that transmit data packets in
high-speeds. Instead of using 100 Mbps as reference, you can set it to 10 Gbps by
OSPF Hierarchy
The OSPF employs a special routing algorithm that determines the shortest path
between the origin point (router) and the destination point (neighbor router). This
special algorithm is called the Djikstra routing algorithm.
The Djikstra algorithm in a router sees the origin router as a root router. The
algorithm assigns areas where there is at a single designated router (DR). Ideally
however, a backup designated router (BDR) is also assigned.
Photo: OSPF Credit: routerprotocol.net
Refer to the figure on the left. Since DR-10 Router is nearer vis--vis other routers,
it is designated as the designated router for Area 10. The same can be said for DR20 router, which is the designated router for Area 20. In other words, if the root
router intends to send a data packet to Router 10-1, it will first assess if the shorter
route (DR-10) is available. If it is, then it sends the data packet through DR-10 en
route to DR 10-1.
Router ID (RID)
This is the IP address generated to serve as an identifier of the router. It is set by
employing the following methods:
Using the command router-id in the Cisco IOS interface
Manually by:
Assigning a high IP address to the routers loopback interface
Assigning a high IP address in the routers active interface
IP_mask
area
This defines the extent by with the
area_idt OSPF can operate.
The IP mask or wildcard mask are in essence simply bit masks. A bit mask is a
combination of numbers 1 or 0 and is hence, following the binary system. In the
OSPF, bit masks have the following significance:
1
Consider the IP address in its entirety. It is divided into four numbers or into 4
bytes with each byte containing 8 bits. The wildcards can be set as any number
within the range of 0.0.0.0 and 255.255.255.255. These decimal numbers have the
following significance:
255
If lets say the command code implemented in the Cisco IOS interface begins with
the following IP address combination: 192.167.25.0 0.0.0.0 then only routers with
IP address 192.167.25.0 are exposed. If, however, the IP address combination is
192.167.25.0 0.0.0.255 then all the routers that begin with 192.167.25 as an IP
address will be exposed.
Here is the corresponding IP address for each of the Cisco router:
Router 10-1
172.10.78.0
Router 10-2
172.10.77.0
Router DR-10
172.10.75.0
Router BDR-10
172.10.76.0
Consider the following command configuration for Router 10-1:
R10-1 >en
R10-1 #config t
R10-1 (config) #router ospf 1
R10-1 (config-router) #network 172.10.78.0 0.0.0.255
area 20
R10-1 (config-router) #network 172.10.78.0 0.0.15.255
area 10
R10-1 (config-router) #exit
R10-1 (config) #exit
R10-1 #disable
R10-1 >
The above command configuration of router 10-1 affects the interface for both
area 20 and area 10 by:
Area 20
Area 10
Pertinent Commands
When reviewing for the CCNA certification, you will find the following commands
(not already mentioned in the previous section of this chapter) handy:
show
ip
interface
ip ospf neighbor
show
ip
database
debug ip ospf
no debug ip ospf
Part 2
Switching with CISCO Switches
the LAN.
Due to the shared bandwidth, all data packets are shared to all devices
connected to the LAN instead.
For example, there are four computer users Matt, Mark, Joe, and Lucas
connected to a network. If a data packet is sent to Matt, the other users see the
packet too. Not only does this undermine privacy of the content of said packet,
Mark, Joe and Lucas need to delete the data packet because it is not addressed to
them. Every time at least one of them receives a data packet, the rest would have
to delete the packet on a regular basis. Not only is this bothersome; it is also
inefficient.
Hubs
Having realized this problem, hubs were later introduced to integrate computer
devices together using a single cable per device. Instead of coaxial cables,
computer hubs use twisted-pair cables. RJ-45 connectors are used at end of cables
to simplify connection.
RJ45 ( rj-group.com )
When data frames are sent to a hub, they are transmitted to all host computers
connected to the hub with the exception of the source device. Simply, the
mechanism of the hub sends the data to all inbound ports except from where the
data frame originated.
Since the data frames are being sent to different inbound ports while at the same
time share the same bandwidth, there is a high possibility for data frames to
collide. To completely devoid the network hub of data frame collisions, the
Ethernet employs a special mechanism called Carrier Sense Multiple Access
Collision Detect (CSMA/CD).
The CSMA/CF uses an algorithm that manages the transmission of data packets to
the rest of the connected devices so that none of the transmitted packets will
collide. This, however, consumes almost half of the bandwidth that could have
been used for faster data transmission.
Hub (cisco.com)
The only way to circumvent the problem is to make the collision domain as little
as possible. This is where Layer 2 bridges and switches come in.
Bridges
Bridges and hubs are both an interrelated computer devices connected in a LAN
by means of a wired connection between each device. The only difference between
bridges and hubs is that the former was able to keep the collision domain at a
minimum.
Bridges and switches both create a single collision domain for every port. This
causes data frames to be sent only through exit ports towards the frame
destination.
Switches
Switches are a network device that creates a single collision domain for each port.
This device transmits data frames via exit ports to reach the destination port of the
computer host where the frames are intended to reach. Other characteristics of
switches are as follows:
Switches are faster than routers. Since switches operate at the data link layer
(Layer 2), they dont have to check the packet header at the network layer
(Layer 3). Switches only require information about the MAC address of both
the source and destination of each data frame.
Switches are faster than bridges. This is because switches use Applicationspecific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) hardware while bridges use software to
fulfill their functions.
Using a switched network has several advantages:
Switches provide a more efficient means to connect different hosts. This
shortens the travel time from source host to destinations host.
Switches prevent data frame collision by making sure that each of the hosts has
its own collision domain.
Switches check the MAC address configured in a data frame before sending it
through the outbound part connected to the inbound port of the destination
host. This makes sure that data frame is flooded to all the computer devices
connected to the switched network.
Features
Technology Duplex Speed
VLAN
Collision Broadcast
Support Domain Domain
Hubs
Port
multiplexing
Half
Turtle
No
Whole
hub
Whole Hub
Bridges
Software
Switching
Half
Deer
No
1 per port
Whole
Bridge
Switches ASIC
Switching
Full/
Half
Cheetah Yes
1 per
VLAN
1 per VLAN
Switch Functions
The three (3) functions that Cisco Switches must accomplish are:
1. List down the MAC addresses of each of the computer devices connected to the
switched network. This is accomplished by Layer 2 switches through the
following:
a. The switch examines every data frame received by the switched network. It
takes note of the number of the entry port and the MAC address inscribed in
the data frame. These pieces of information are then stored in the MAC address
table.
b. The switch gradually forms a comprehensive MAC address table that will be
used as reference for future data frame transmissions.
2. Manage the data frames from each of the outbound ports (source host) or
source switches to the inbound port (destination host) or destination switches.
Layer 2 switches decide where to send the data frames by determining which
inbound port to send the data frame. This is of course dependent on the MAC
address information that came with the received data frame. Switches then
access the MAC address table to do the following:
a. The switch examines the data frame upon entering the networks inbound port.
It checks the MAC address of the source and destination host carried by the
data frame.
b. Using the information gathered from the data frame, it then looks at all the
entries in the MAC address table.
If the information from the data frame checks out with any of the entries in the
MAC address table, the switch cascades the data frame to the inbound port of
the destination host bearing the same MAC address inscribed in the data
frame.
If the information does not check out, it cascades the data frame to all
outbound port of the network with the exception of the port where the data
frame came in.
3. Make sure that no loops are created within the switched network. Data-link
frames do not cease to exist until the frames find their corresponding
destination host. In other words, if a frame is sent but coded with an unknown
MAC address, the frame can spring from one port to another, non-stop within
the network. This is not good because bandwidth consumption is also nonstop. In order to avoid this, a protocol called Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is
used in the system.
Entry-level Switch
Midrange Switch
Top-of-the-line Switch
Notice that if we go back to the chapter that talks about Router Management (Part
2, Chapter 9), youll notice that the hierarchy of switches is the same as the
hierarchy of routers.
Highly-specific functions are handled by top-of-the-line switches. These functions
include:
LAN gateway connectivity
Inter-VLAN routing
VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) domain control
VLAM Membership Policy Server (VMPS)
STP root bridge role
Since the above functions are crucial in the network, these functions must be
managed by a very efficient switch device.
Connecting to a Cisco Switch
Similar to Cisco Routers, Cisco does not have a specialized hardware that allows
direct user contact. Cisco switches can be leveraged to a computer panel where the
Cisco Switch interface is setup. This way, Cisco switches can be maintained by
either connecting remotely or connecting locally from a computer host to the
switch.
Local Connection:
Cisco switches are typically built with multiple ports used to link network devices
or computer hosts. Two of these ports are colored differently than the rest. These
two ports are console and auxiliary ports. Both of these ports serve a different
purpose other than ensuring a stable network connection.
Console Port
Using a rollover cable, this port is used to link the switch and the computer host
together. The console port is used when establishing a local connection to the
switch device. Having a Console facility is common to all Cisco devices controlled
by Ciscio IOS. This facility acts as an interface that displays user prompts,
diagnostic messages, error messages and status messages.
The management computer requires terminal emulation software installed before
the computer and the switch can communicate with each other. Terminal
emulation is supported by the following applications:
HyperTerminal
SecureCRT
TeraTerm
Cisco switches need the following serial parameters setup in the Cisco Switchs
connection profile:
Data bits: 8
Stop bits: 1
Flow control: none
Parity: none
Baud rate: 9600
The above parameters control serial communications between switches by using
communication ports like COM1, COM2, and COM3.
Auxiliary Ports
These are ports whose main role is to connect the switch to the management host
through the rollover cable like that of the console port. The only difference is that
this port is used to establish a local connection between the modem and the
computer. The next step is to tweak the settings of the modem so that it can
receive calls coming from the host computer through the telephone cable.
Establishing a Remote Connection
The common network environment often involves more than one switches. More
often than not, these switches are located in different areas. A network set-up like
this requires remote connection to the switches. The remote management host
allows a working connection between a computer and the switch console. This
remote connection is established via any of the following:
Modem connection via the switchs auxiliary port
Using a secured Telnet software that connections the switchs network IP
address.
Using a Console Terminal Server that connects the switchs console IP address
If the setup dialog box inquires if you want to save the configuration, click
No.
Naming the Switch
The switch can be named using the Cisco IOS command: hostname. The names
of the switches must be changed to avoid confusion when manually configuring
only a select of the switches in operation. This helps identify which switches are
which.
The following commands can be implemented in the IOS interface:
Switch > en
Switch #config t
Switch(config) #hostname switch001
switch001(config) #exit
switch001 #disable
switch001>
Setting the Main IP Address for the Switch
Similar to how the main IP address is set in a router, the Cisco IOS commands ip
default-gateway and ip address are used to build the IP gateway and IP
address of the switch. This method establishes a remote connection to the switch
using both HTTP and Telnet. To adjust the current settings of the management IP
and default gateway of the switch, the following command code can be
implemented:
switch001 > en
switch001 #config t
switch001 (config) #int vlan2
switch001 (config-if) #ip address 192.168.71.22
255.255.255.255.0
switch001 (config-if) #no shutdown
switch001 (config) #ip default0gateway 192.168.71.12
switch001 (config) #exit
switch001 (config-if) #exit
switch001 #disable
switch001 >
Password Configuration
enterprise.info-mz.121-32.ES
switch001 (config) #exit
switch001 #disable
switch001 >
The above commands let you access the image file stored in this address:
flash:/c1440-enterprise.info-mz.121-32.ES
Auxiliary Password
Cisco switchers and routers alike have auxiliary ports. To configure a password for
auxiliary ports, the following command lines can be implemented in the system:
switch001 > en
switch001 #config t
switch001 (config) #line aux 1
switch001 (config-line) #password auxycsco1
switch001 (config-line) #login
switch001 (config-line) #exit
switch001 (config) #exit
switch001 #disable
switch001 >
Privileged Password
Passwords can only be set so that only specific users can access specific functions
disposed of by a Cisco switch.
switch001 > en
switch001 # config t)
switch001 (config) #enable secret cryptycssco1
switch001 (config) #exit
switch001 #disable
switch001 >
Recovering Lost Password
As in Cisco routers, Ciscos password-recovery feature should have been
enabled before the password can be retrieved. If the feature is enabled, the
following steps can be used:
1. When the switch begins to reboot, attempt to interfere with the system through
any of the means enumerated in the previous sections.
2. Using the Cisco IOS Interface, access the file manually.
3. Hide the default configuration file to prevent the switch processors from
accessing it.
4. Manually reboot the switch.
5. Unhide the default configuration file.
6. Relocate the configuration file from NVRAM to the flash memory.
7. Change the password.
8. Save the current configuration file.
9. Restart the switch.
Switching Modes
Upon receipt of data frames, the switch decides what must be done to the data
packets inside the frame. The three things that most Cisco switches do to the
frame they receive are:
Transmit the frame to the destination port
Transmit the frame to all the ports (with that exception of the port the frame
used to get in)
Discards or filters the frame
The three switching modes supported by Layer 2 switches are:
1. Store-and-forward: This switching mode performs these steps:
1. 1.1. The entire data frame is stored inside the switchs temporary
memory.
2. 1.2. The switch implements the frame check sequence (FMS) to make
sure that the contents of the frame is valid.
3. 1.3. The switch checks the MAC address of the source and destination of
the data frame.
4. 1.4. The switch remembers the MAC address of the source of the data
frame in the same row as the incoming port. This information is then
stored in the MAC address table.
5. 1.5. In determining the destination MAC address, the switch then checks
the MAC address table:
If the MAC address table contains the destination MAC address, the switch
transmits the data frame only on the outbound port described in the MAC
address table.
If the MAC address table does not contain the destination MAC address, the
switch sends the data frame on all outbound ports with the exception of where
the data frame went in.
2. Cut-Through: This switching mode is several times faster than the previous
mode. The switch does not save the whole frame within its buffer memory. This
mode manages the data frame immediately upon receipt of the first six bytes of
the data packet:
2.1. The switch immediately checks the first 6 bytes of the destination
MAC address.
2.2. The switch then compares the 6 bytes to the data entry listed in the
MAC address table to compose a list of possible matches.
2.3. Once it finds a compatible match among the entries listed in the MAC
address table, the switch automatically sends the data frame to the
appropriate outbound even before the data frame has finished loading
up in the inbound port of the switch.
This switching method does not compute for the FCS before it proceeds to
transmit the data frame. The only downside of this switching method is that
the switch does not filter the data frame to determine whether the frame is
valid or not. This might cause traffic congestion in the network.
3. Fragment-Free: This switching mode is like a hybrid of the two previous
switching modes. It combines the best features of both switching modes. This
mode knows that valid frames have a size of at least 64 bytes. Fragment-free
mode checks bit size and deems all data frames that have at least 64 bytes as a
valid frame. In this mode, the switch does the following:
3.1. Upon receipt of the frame, this device saves the initial 64 bytes of the
data frame in the switchs temporary memory module.
3.2. The switch inspects the MAC address of both the source and the
destination of the MAC address inscribed in the received frame.
3.3. The switch then records the MAC address of the source and the
corresponding inbound port where the data frame came in to the MAC
address table.
3.4. The switch counterchecks the MAC address of the destination to the
entries in the MAC address table.
If the MAC address table contains the destination MAC address, the switch
transmits the data frame only on the outbound port described in the MAC
address table.
If the MAC address table does not contain the destination MAC address, the
switch sends the data frame on all outbound ports with the exception of where
the data frame went in.
This switching mode transmit the frame as soon as it has received the first
64 bytes of the data frame has been received. Just like cut-through, fragment
free switching mode does not compute for the FCS. Just like store-andforward switching mode, fragment free mode prevents the switch from
transmitting invalid data frames.
Store-and-forward is slower because it calculates for the FCS but it is reliable
because it calculates the FCS.
Cut-through is faster because it does not need to hold the whole data frame and
calculate the FCS but it is less reliable because forwards all frame regardless if
they are valid or not.
10 Gbps
1 Gbps
100 Mbps
19
10 Mbps
100
As you may have noticed, faster bandwidths are assigned with smaller STP cost
factor when STP computes for path cost. This is because STP prefers faster
bandwidths. A 10 Gbps path is obviously faster than a 1 Gbps, STP hence deems it
efficient for data frames to travel at 10 Gbps than 1 Gbps because it saves time by
1/10 of a second.
Spanning Root Protocol then reassigns 1 Gbps path as simply a root port or a
secondary connection to the preferred path. Consequently, it also reassigns 100
MBps and 10 Mbps paths as a designated port and a blocking port respectively.
Root Ports
Once the STP has computed for and assigned a root bridge or the main path, the
switch will use when sending data frames within the data-link layer, the STP will
then select the second least cost as the root port. This port provides connection
between the switch and the STP-designated root bridge. The characteristics
required of a root port are:
A port that incurs the least STP cost en route to the root bridge
A port that connects the root bridge and the nonroot switch directly.
Switches use the STP to communicate among each other while at the same time
calculating the cost in between each path near the root bridge. The other switch
adds the cost measured by their neighbor to come up with the total cost of the
path options between the nonroot switches and the root bridge.
Designated Ports
After the STP has assigned the root port for the switch, the other ports will be
assigned to either act as a designated port or a blocking port.
STP Designated Port: This port transmits received data-link frames in and
out of the LAN.
STP Blocking Port: This port does not transmit any of the data-link frames.
STP Convergence
Once all the ports have been assigned with a specific role (forwarding or blocking)
in the switch networks, the LAN is rid of loops. By building a catalogue of ports
and their roles, the STP is able to stabilize the network despite the existence of
looping links. A stabilized network is often referred to as the converged network.
Hello
Time
Maximum
Age
Message
Age
Port
Identification
BPDU (stpcomputer.com)
Bridge
Identification
Priorit
Disabled
Listening
Duration: 15
seconds
Forward Delay
Timer (Phase 1)
phase
in
preparation
for
transmitting frames to other ports.
This listening phase is named such
because it listens to the BPDUs. Not
every piece of information a listening
port gets from listening to the
network go to the MAC address
table.
The forward delay timer is made up
of both the listening time (phase 1)
and the learning time (phase 1). This
also refers to the amount of time the
port takes before it forwards a data
frame to a different port.
Learning
Duration: 15
seconds
Forward Delay
Timer (Phase 2)
Exclusive Cisco STP Options
For some people, 50 seconds is still too long before the STP is able to converge the
switch networks. Cisco, however, offers a solution for this concern. The following
configuration can only be applied to Cisco routers to diminish dramatically the
delay time before STP convergence:
1. PortFast:
This configuration option can be applied on ports whose participation is not
a requirement of the STP. These ports are not part of the interconnection of
hubs, bridges or switches. For instance, the singular link from the switch to
the host device is unlikely to cause a switching loop; therefore, this link is not
required to take part in the converging process by the STP.
PortFast options turn off the STP protocol for the said link so that the link
becomes active even before the STP convergence process is complete.
To set the hypothetical interface fa0/1 interface using PostFast
configuration, the following commands can be implemented:
switch001 > en
switch001 > config t
switch001 (config) >int fa0/1
switch001 (config-if-range) >spanning-tree portfast
2. BPDUGuard
This configuration option is used alongside the PortFast option when
running the switches on the access layer. When the access layer is enabled,
the PostFast option can cause potential harm to the network if it suddenly
enabled links that interconnect switches together. Remember that the role of
PostFast configuration is to disable STP on ports that are unlikely to create
switching loops. Should a link be turned off accidentally, the exact opposite
will be achieved: more loops will be created instead of avoided.
The BPDU guard prevents this by turning the port into an error-disabled
phase. The guard will then evaluate if PostFast option was correct to disable
the STP of a particular link. If BPDU feels that PostFast erred in disposing of
its functions, the concerned ports will generate an error message to alert the
switch administrator of the mistake.
To set the hypothetical interface fa0/1 interface using the BPDUGuard
configuration, the following commands can be implemented:
switch001 > en
Benefits of VLANs
The many upsides of creating a VLAN include:
1. Upgrade security: Computer hosts or users can be assigned to manage each
VLAN for close monitoring.
2. Upgrade network flexibility and management capability: VLAN
membership can be managed from a singular location even if the switches are
located elsewhere if they are connected to the same network. Inter-VLAN and
VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) allows switch managers to manage network
resources with minimal effort.
3. Upgrade Network Efficiency and Usage: VLAN allows network
managers to set which network resources are available to specific VLAN. This
allows the network to conserve network resources.
4. Set a limit on the broadcast domain size: Probably the most
important use of VLAN is to minimize the size of the broadcast domain.
Subdividing the LAN into smaller logical VLAN will only require frames to be
broadcasted on specific VLANs instead of the whole LAN.
Creating VLANs
To create a VLAN for a Cisco switch, the IOS command vlan must be used. The
command should also assign a number to the VLAN. This number must be
between 2 and 4094. Usually the VLAN is created based on the function it serves.
Consider the block of code below:
Switch001 > en
Switch001 >config t
Switch001 (config) >vlan 2
Switch001 (config-vlan) >name Finance
Switch001 (config-vlan)>exit
Switch001 (config)>
The above code creates a VLAN called Finance.
Kinds of VLAN
Static VLAN: Using the Cisco IOS command switchport access vlan, a
specific port will be assigned to a specific VLAN. This creates a static VLAN.
Otherwise called as the port-based VLAN, static VLANs are based on the ports,
which the computer hosts latch on to establish a connection with the switch.
This is perfect for small-scale networks. This kind of VLAN may need
consistent manual port intervention, making it hard for wide-scale networks to
adopt a static VLAN membership.
Dynamic VLAN: The VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS) is enabled
whenever dynamic VLAN is used. The VMPS maintains the MAC addresses of
all linked devices and lists them down in a table. Each MAC addresses can then
be assigned to a specific VLAN. Regardless of how your devices are connected
in the network, the device will always be allocated to the right VLAN.
VLAN Trunking
This process lets the switches transmit VLAN data through various interswitch
connections connected via a trunk ports. Trunk ports enable VLAN to extend its
reach to more than just one switch.
EtherChannel
When using RTP, switch managers are always advised to enable EtherChannel for
repeating interswitch connections. This process clusters redundant ports into one
virtual trunk. Since this includes grouping several ports together, this process is
also called port trunking. This process is called link aggregation.
As much as eight ports can be grouped together through the EtherChannel. The
benefits of EtherChannel are:
1. Manage faults: EtherChannel is built to have a fault tolerance mechanism
infused to it. Should a link or port start to show signs of failing, EtherChannel
will resend data traffic to other operational ports.
2. Distribute load: Etherchannel is built with a load-balancing algorithms that
distributes network traffic through other ports instead of concentrating on a
single por.
3. Raise Bandwidth: When Etherchannel bundled up eight redundant ports
together to a single virtual port, the bandwidth is increased by as much as the
total bandwidth of each of the eight bundled up ports.
When Cisco developed the EtherChannel, at least two protocols are put in place
and these are:
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP): This protocol uses IEEE
8023.3ad to control the EtherChannel. LACP is not exclusive to just Cisco
switches. In fact, other brands can use LACP for their switches.
Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP): Unlike LACP, PAgP is Cisco-owned.
This protocol can only manage EtherChannel within Cisco switches.
Configuring EtherChannel
The steps below can set the ports to fulfill the function of both VLAN port trunk
and EtherChannel port trunk:
1. Establish an EtherChannel port trunk:
1. 1.1. Create the port trunk by implementing the Cisco IOS command:
interface port-channel.
2. 1.2. Choose which physical interface to assign the EtherChannel trunk
the previous step created. For this step, implement this Cisco IOS
command: interface range.
3. 1.3. Assign the chosen interface to the EtherChannel trunk by
implementing channel-group.
2. Set the VLAN trunk to the logical port trunk:
1. 2.1. Select the EtherChannel port and then implement the Chisco IOS
command: interface port-channel.
2. 2.2. Set the selected EtherChannel port as the trunk port by
implementing the Cisco IOS command: switchport mode trunk.
Cisco IP Phone
The Cisco IP phone is a device specifically configured for VoIP. This device is
connected to one of the switch access ports. The IP phone also acts as a Layer 2
switch. It has three ports:
Internal Connection: This is a port found inside the IP phone. This port
establishes a connection with the processor of the IP phone.
PC (10/100 PC): Often used to connect the phone to the computer host, this
port is the single most important port found in a typical Cisco IP Phone.
Uplink (10/100 SW): This port is created specifically for establishing a
stable connection between the switch access port (network) and the upstream
Gathering Information
1. IOS Version
Even before you type in troubleshooting commands, it is important to
know the version of Cisco IOS you are working on. The four ways to find
out what the IOS version is are as follows:
GUI display
Cisco IOS command: show version
IOS image file
Output Message of the Boot Process
2. Memory Contents and Switch Configuration
Another thing that must be determined before troubleshooting the switch
is to know the configuration of the switch including which memory the
switch is stored. The different ways to inspect switch configuration and
memory contents are:
Cisco IOS File System (IFS) commands to check on the configuration of the
flash content, RAM and NVRAM.
Cisco IOS commands:
show
support
show
config
show
config
Show flash
from log files often offers a descriptive analysis of what could have
probably gone wrong based on a self-check the device has undertaken.
The two ways to check these log files are through the following:
Cisco Network Assistant (CAN)
Cisco IOS command: show logging
The logging levels are as follows:
Syslog Type
LOG_EMERG
The switch is
no longer
usable.
Emergencies
LOG_ALERT
The switch
needs to be
checked
immediately.
Alerts
Critical
LOG_ERROR
3
The switch
has an errorfilled
condition.
Errors
LOG_WARNING
The switch
has a
warning
condition.
Warnings
LOG_NOTICE
The switch
has a
significant
condition.
Notifications
LOG_INFO
Information
message
Informational
LOG_DEBUG
Debugging
message
Debugging
Take note that 0 in severity means that the switch is not functional (zero
functionality) and 7 means that the switch is fully functional.
Aside from the above information, the system can also provide the
following information:
Log buffer
Trap
logging
File
logging
Count and
timestamp
logging
Exception
logging
Buffer
logging
Monitor
logging
Console
logging
Syslog
logging
The Trace route tool is a command that treads the IP route between the source
and destination nodes within the TCP/IP network.
1. Start the CNA.
2. Using level_15_acess, logon to the switch
3. Click the Troubleshooting tab.
4. Click Ping and Trace.
5. Within the Ping and Trace dialogue box, choose Layer 3
trace tool.
6. Insert the IP address of the Destination.
7. Click Start.
Conclusion
Thank you again for purchasing this book.
I hope this book was able to give you comprehensive information on CCNA
routing and switching. Using this book as a guide, you could become a network
engineer with a solid foundational knowledge of the mechanisms of Cisco
networks.
Finally, if you enjoyed this book, then Id like to ask you for a favor. Would you be
kind enough to leave a review for this book on Amazon? Itd be greatly
appreciated!