Lab - Secure Network Devices Topology

Addressing Table
Device Interface IP Address Subnet Mask Default Gateway

R1 G0/0/1 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0 N/A

S1 VLAN 1 192.168.1.11 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1
PC-A NIC 192.168.1.3 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1

Objectives
Part 1: Configure Basic Device Settings
Part 2: Configure Basic Security Measures on the Router
Part 3: Configure Basic Security Measures on the Switch

Background / Scenario
It is recommended that all network devices be configured with at least a minimum set of best practice security
commands. This includes end user devices, servers, and network devices, such as routers and switches.
In this lab, you will configure the network devices in the topology to accept SSH sessions for remote
management. You will also use the IOS CLI to configure common, basic best practice security measures. You
will then test the security measures to verify that they are properly implemented and working correctly.
Note: The routers used with CCNA hands-on labs are Cisco 4221 with Cisco IOS XE Release 16.9.4
(universalk9 image). The switches used in the labs are Cisco Catalyst 2960s with Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2)
(lanbasek9 image). Other routers, switches, and Cisco IOS versions can be used. Depending on the model
and Cisco IOS version, the commands available and the output produced might vary from what is shown in
the labs. Refer to the Router Interface Summary Table at the end of the lab for the correct interface identifiers.
Note: Make sure that the routers and switches have been erased and have no startup configurations. If you
are unsure, contact your instructor.

Required Resources
 1 Router (Cisco 4221 with Cisco IOS XE Release 16.9.4 universal image or comparable)
 1 Switch (Cisco 2960 with Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2) lanbasek9 image or comparable)
 1 PC (Windows with a terminal emulation program, such as Tera Term)

 Console cables to configure the Cisco IOS devices via the console ports
 Ethernet cables as shown in the topology

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Lab - Secure Network Devices

Instructions
Part 1: Configure Basic Device Settings
In Part 1, you will set up the network topology and configure basic settings, such as the interface IP
addresses, device access, and passwords on the devices.
Step 1: Cable the network as shown in the topology.
Attach the devices shown in the topology and cable as necessary.
Step 2: Initialize and reload the router and switch.
Step 3: Configure the router and switch.
Open configuration window

a. Console into the device and enable privileged EXEC mode.

b. Assign the device name according to the Addressing Table.
c. Disable DNS lookup to prevent the router from attempting to translate incorrectly entered commands as
though they were hostnames.
d. Assign class as the privileged EXEC encrypted password.
e. Assign cisco as the console password and enable login.
f. Assign cisco as the VTY password and enable login.
g. Create a banner that warns anyone accessing the device that unauthorized access is prohibited.
h. Configure and activate the G0/0/1 interface on the router using the information contained in the
Addressing Table.
i. Configure the default SVI on the switch with the IP address information according to the Addressing
Table.
j. Save the running configuration to the startup configuration file.
Close configuration window

Step 4: Configure PC-A.

Open command prompt

a. Configure PC-A with an IP address and subnet mask.

b. Configure a default gateway for PC-A.
Close command prompt

Step 5: Verify network connectivity.

Open configuration window

Ping R1 and S1 from PC-A. If any of the pings fail, troubleshoot the connection.
Close configuration window

Part 2: Configure Basic Security Measures on the Router

Step 1: Configure security measures.
Open configuration window

a. Encrypt all clear-text passwords.

b. Configure the system to require a minimum 12-character password.
c. Change the passwords (privileged exec, console, and vty) to meet the new length requirement.
1) Set the privileged exec password to $cisco!PRIV*
2) Set the console password to $cisco!!CON*
3) Set the vty line password to $cisco!!VTY*
d. Configure the router to accept only SSH connections from remote locations
1) Configure the username SSHadmin with an encrypted password of 55HAdm!n2020

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Lab - Secure Network Devices

2) The router’s domain name should be set to ccna-lab.com

3) The key modulus should be 1024 bits.
e. Set security and best-practice configurations on the console and vty lines.
1) Users should be disconnected after 5 minutes of inactivity.
2) The router should not allow vty logins for 2 minutes if 3 failed login attempts occur within 1 minute.
Close configuration window

Part 3: Configure security measures.

Step 1: Verify that all unused ports are disabled.
Router ports are disabled by default, but it is always prudent to verify that all unused ports are in an
administratively down state. This can be quickly checked by issuing the show ip interface brief command.
Any unused ports that are not in an administratively down state should be disabled using the shutdown
command in interface configuration mode.
Open configuration window
Close configuration window

Step 2: Verify that your security measures have been implemented correctly.
Open configuration window

a. Use Tera Term on PC-A to telnet to R1.

Question:

Does R1 accept the Telnet connection? Explain.

Type your answers here.
b. Use Tera Term on PC-A to SSH to R1.
Question:

Does R1 accept the SSH connection?

Type your answers here.
c. Intentionally mistype the user and password information to see if login access is blocked after two
attempts.
Question:

What happened after you failed to login the second time?

Type your answers here.
d. From your console session on the router, issue the show login command to view the login status. In the
example below, the show login command was issued within the 120 second login blocking period and
shows that the router is in Quiet-Mode. The router will not accept any login attempts for 111 more
seconds.
e. After the 120 seconds has expired, SSH to R1 again and login using the SSHadmin username and
55HAdm!n2020 for the password.
Question:

After you successfully logged in, what was displayed?

Type your answers here.
f. Enter privileged EXEC mode and use $cisco!PRIV* for the password.
Question:

If you mistype this password, are you disconnected from your SSH session after three failed attempts
within 60 seconds? Explain.
Type your answers here.
g. Issue the show running-config command at the privileged EXEC prompt to view the security settings
you have applied.
Close configuration window

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Lab - Secure Network Devices

Part 4: Configure Basic Security Measures on the Switch

Step 1: Configure security measures.
Open configuration window

a. Encrypt all clear-text passwords.

b. Configure the system to require a minimum 12 character password
c. Change the passwords (privileged exec, console, and vty) to meet the new length requirement.
1) Set the privileged exec password to $cisco!PRIV*
2) Set the console password to $cisco!!CON*
3) Set the vty line password to $cisco!!VTY*
d. Configure the switch to accept only SSH connections from remote locations.
1) Configure the username SSHadmin with an encrypted password of 55HAdm!n2020
2) The switches domain name should be set to ccna-lab.com
3) The key modulus should be 1024 bits.
e. Set security and best-practice configurations on the console and vty lines.
1) Users should be disconnected after 5 minutes of inactivity.
2) The switch should not allow logins for 2 minutes if 3 failed login attempts occur within 1 minute.
f. Disable all of the unused ports.
Step 2: Verify all unused ports are disabled.
Switch ports are enabled, by default. Shut down all ports that are not in use on the switch.
a. You can verify the switch port status using the show ip interface brief command.
b. Use the interface range command to shut down multiple interfaces at a time.
c. Verify that all inactive interfaces have been administratively shut down.
Close configuration window

Step 3: Verify that your security measures have been implemented correctly.
a. Verify that Telnet has been disabled on the switch.
b. SSH to the switch and intentionally mistype the user and password information to see if login access is
blocked.
c. After the 30 seconds has expired, SSH to S1 again and log in using the SSHadmin username and
55HAdm!n2020 for the password.
Question:

Did the banner appear after you successfully logged in?

Type your answers here.
d. Enter privileged EXEC mode using $cisco!PRIV* as the password.
e. Issue the show running-config command at the privileged EXEC prompt to view the security settings
you have applied.
Close configuration window

Reflection Questions
1. The password cisco command was entered for the console and VTY lines in your basic configuration in Part
1. When is this password used after the best practice security measures have been applied?

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Lab - Secure Network Devices

Type your answers here.

2. Are preconfigured passwords shorter than 10 characters affected by the security passwords min-length 12
command?

Type your answers here.

Router Interface Summary Table

Router Model Ethernet Interface #1 Ethernet Interface #2 Serial Interface #1 Serial Interface #2

Fast Ethernet 0/0 Fast Ethernet 0/1

1800 (F0/0) (F0/1) Serial 0/0/0 (S0/0/0) Serial 0/0/1 (S0/0/1)
Gigabit Ethernet 0/0 Gigabit Ethernet 0/1
1900 (G0/0) (G0/1) Serial 0/0/0 (S0/0/0) Serial 0/0/1 (S0/0/1)
Fast Ethernet 0/0 Fast Ethernet 0/1
2801 (F0/0) (F0/1) Serial 0/1/0 (S0/1/0) Serial 0/1/1 (S0/1/1)
Fast Ethernet 0/0 Fast Ethernet 0/1
2811 (F0/0) (F0/1) Serial 0/0/0 (S0/0/0) Serial 0/0/1 (S0/0/1)
Gigabit Ethernet 0/0 Gigabit Ethernet 0/1
2900 (G0/0) (G0/1) Serial 0/0/0 (S0/0/0) Serial 0/0/1 (S0/0/1)
Gigabit Ethernet 0/0/0 Gigabit Ethernet 0/0/1
4221 (G0/0/0) (G0/0/1) Serial 0/1/0 (S0/1/0) Serial 0/1/1 (S0/1/1)
Gigabit Ethernet 0/0/0 Gigabit Ethernet 0/0/1
4300 (G0/0/0) (G0/0/1) Serial 0/1/0 (S0/1/0) Serial 0/1/1 (S0/1/1)

Note: To find out how the router is configured, look at the interfaces to identify the type of router and how many
interfaces the router has. There is no way to effectively list all the combinations of configurations for each router
class. This table includes identifiers for the possible combinations of Ethernet and Serial interfaces in the device.
The table does not include any other type of interface, even though a specific router may contain one. An example
of this might be an ISDN BRI interface. The string in parenthesis is the legal abbreviation that can be used in
Cisco IOS commands to represent the interface.
End of document

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