Module 1: Basic Device
Configuration
Instructor Materials
Switching, Routing and
Wireless Essentials v7.0
(SRWE)
1.1 Configure a Switch with
Initial Settings
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch Boot Sequence
After a Cisco switch is powered on, it goes through the following five-step boot
sequence:
Step 1: First, the switch loads a power-on self-test (POST) program stored in ROM.
POST checks the CPU subsystem. It tests the CPU, DRAM, and the portion of the flash
device that makes up the flash file system.
Step 2: Next, the switch loads the boot loader software. The boot loader is a small
program stored in ROM that is run immediately after POST successfully completes.
Step 3: The boot loader performs low-level CPU initialization. It initializes the CPU
registers, which control where physical memory is mapped, the quantity of memory, and
its speed.
Step 4: The boot loader initializes the flash file system on the system board.
Step 5: Finally, the boot loader locates and loads a default IOS operating system
software image into memory and gives control of the switch over to the IOS.
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
The boot system Command
• The switch attempts to automatically boot by using information in the BOOT environment
variable. If this variable is not set, the switch attempts to load and execute the first executable
file it can find.
• The IOS operating system then initializes the interfaces using the Cisco IOS commands found in
the startup-config file. The startup-config file is called [Link] and is located in flash.
• In the example, the BOOT environment variable is set using the boot system global
configuration mode command. Notice that the IOS is located in a distinct folder and the folder
path is specified. Use the command show boot to see what the current IOS boot file is set to.
Command Definition
boot system The main command
flash: The storage device
[Link]/ The path to the file system
[Link] The IOS file name
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch LED Indicators
System LED (SYST): Shows whether the system is receiving power and
functioning properly.
Redundant Power Supply LED (RPS): Shows the RPS status.
Port Status LED (STAT): When green, indicates port status mode is
selected, which is the default. Port status can then be understood by the
light associated with each port.
Port Duplex LED (DUPLX): When green, indicates port duplex mode is
selected. Port duplex can then be understood by the light associated with
each port.
Port Speed LED (SPEED): When green, indicates port speed mode is
selected. Port speed can then be understood by the light associated with
each port.
Power over Ethernet LED (PoE): Present if the switch supports PoE.
Indicates the PoE status of ports on the switch.
The Mode button is used to move between the different modes – STAT,
DUPLX, SPEED, and PoE © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 5
Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch LED Indicators (Cont.)
Off Green Blinking Green Amber Blinking Amber Alternating
Green/Amber
RPS Off/No RPS RPS ready RPS up but not RPS standby or Internal PS failed, N/A
available fault RPS providing
power
PoE Not Selected N/A N/A Not selected, port N/A
selected, issues present
no issues
When the named mode is selected, the light associated with each physical port indicates:
STAT No link or Link Up Activity Port blocked Port blocked Link fault
shutdown preventing loop preventing loop
DUPLEX Half-duplex Full-duplex N/A N/A N/A N/A
SPEED 10Mbps 100Mbps 1000Mbps N/A N/A N/A
PoE PoE off PoE on N/A PoE disabled PoE off due to PoE denied (over
fault budget)
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Recovering from a System Crash
The boot loader provides access into the switch if the operating system cannot be used because of
missing or damaged system files. The boot loader has a command line that provides access to the
files stored in flash memory. The boot loader can be accessed through a console connection
following these steps:
Step 1. Connect a PC by console cable to the switch console port. Configure terminal emulation
software to connect to the switch.
Step 2. Unplug the switch power cord.
Step 3. Reconnect the power cord to the switch and, within 15 seconds, press and hold down
the Mode button while the System LED is still flashing green.
Step 4. Continue pressing the Mode button until the System LED turns briefly amber and then
solid green; then release the Mode button.
Step 5. The boot loader switch: prompt appears in the terminal emulation software on the PC.
The boot loader command line supports commands to format the flash file system, reinstall the
operating system software, and recover a lost or forgotten password. For example,
the dir command can be used to view a list of files within a specified directory.
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch Management Access
To prepare a switch for remote
management access, the switch must be
configured with an IP address and a
subnet mask.
• To manage the switch from a remote
network, the switch must be configured
with a default gateway. This is very
similar to configuring the IP address
information on host devices.
• In the figure, the switch virtual interface
(SVI) on S1 should be assigned an IP
address. The SVI is a virtual interface,
not a physical port on the switch. A
console cable is used to connect to a
PC so that the switch can be initially
configured.
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch SVI Configuration Example
By default, the switch is configured to have its management controlled through VLAN 1. All
ports are assigned to VLAN 1 by default. For security purposes, it is considered a best
practice to use a VLAN other than VLAN 1 for the management VLAN,
Step 1: Configure the Management Interface: From VLAN interface configuration mode,
an IPv4 address and subnet mask is applied to the management SVI of the switch.
Note: The SVI for VLAN 99 will not appear as “up/up” until VLAN 99 is created and there is
a device connected to a switch port associated with VLAN 99.
Note: The switch may need to be configured for IPv6. For example, before you can
configure IPv6 addressing on a Cisco Catalyst 2960 running IOS version 15.0, you will need
to enter the global configuration command sdm prefer dual-ipv4-and-ipv6 default and
then reload the switch.
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch SVI Configuration Example (Cont.)
Task IOS Commands
Enter global configuration mode. S1# configure terminal
Enter interface configuration mode for the
S1(config)# interface vlan 99
SVI.
Configure the management interface IPv4
S1(config-if)# ip address [Link] [Link]
address.
Configure the management interface IPv6
S1(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:db8:acad:99::1/64
address
Enable the management interface. S1(config-if)# no shutdown
Return to the privileged EXEC mode. S1(config-if)# end
Save the running config to the startup
S1# copy running-config startup-config
config.
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Configure a Switch with Initial Settings
Switch SVI Configuration Example (Cont.)
Step 2: Configure the Default Gateway
• The switch should be configured with a default gateway if it will be managed remotely
from networks that are not directly connected.
• Note: Because, it will receive its default gateway information from a router advertisement (RA)
message, the switch does not require an IPv6 default gateway.
Task IOS Commands
Enter global configuration mode. S1# configure terminal
Configure the default gateway for the switch. S1(config)# ip default-gateway [Link]
Return to the privileged EXEC mode. S1(config-if)# end
Save the running config to the startup config. S1# copy running-config startup-config
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1.2 Configure Switch Ports
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Configure Switch Ports
Duplex Communication
• Full-duplex communication increases bandwidth efficiency by allowing both ends of a
connection to transmit and receive data simultaneously. This is also known as
bidirectional communication and it requires microsegmentation.
• A microsegmented LAN is created when a switch port has only one device connected
and is operating in full-duplex mode. There is no collision domain associated with a
switch port operating in full-duplex mode.
• Unlike full-duplex communication, half-duplex communication is unidirectional. Half-
duplex communication creates performance issues because data can flow in only one
direction at a time, often resulting in collisions.
• Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gb NICs require full-duplex connections to operate. In full-
duplex mode, the collision detection circuit on the NIC is disabled. Full-duplex offers
100 percent efficiency in both directions (transmitting and receiving). This results in a
doubling of the potential use of the stated bandwidth.
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Configure Switch Ports
Configure Switch Ports at the Physical Layer
• Switch ports can be manually configured with specific duplex and speed settings. The respective
interface configuration commands are duplex and speed.
• The default setting for both duplex and speed for switch ports on Cisco Catalyst 2960 and 3560
switches is auto. The 10/100/1000 ports operate in either half- or full-duplex mode when they are
set to 10 or 100 Mbps and operate only in full-duplex mode when it is set to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps).
• Autonegotiation is useful when the speed and duplex settings of the device connecting to the port
are unknown or may change. When connecting to known devices such as servers, dedicated
workstations, or network devices, a best practice is to manually set the speed and duplex
settings.
• When troubleshooting switch port issues, it is important that the duplex and speed settings are
checked.
Note: Mismatched settings for the duplex mode and speed of switch ports can cause connectivity
issues. Autonegotiation failure creates mismatched settings.
All fiber-optic ports, such as 1000BASE-SX ports, operate only at one preset speed and are always
full-duplex
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Configure Switch Ports
Configure Switch Ports at the Physical Layer (Cont.)
Task IOS Commands
Enter global configuration mode. S1# configure terminal
Enter interface configuration mode. S1(config)# interface FastEthernet 0/1
Configure the interface duplex. S1(config-if)# duplex full
Configure the interface speed. S1(config-if)# speed 100
Return to the privileged EXEC mode. S1(config-if)# end
Save the running config to the startup config. S1# copy running-config startup-config
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Configure Switch Ports
Auto-MDIX
• When automatic medium-dependent interface crossover (auto-MDIX) is enabled, the switch
interface automatically detects the required cable connection type (straight-through or
crossover) and configures the connection appropriately.
• When connecting to switches without the auto-MDIX feature, straight-through cables must
be used to connect to devices such as servers, workstations, or routers. Crossover cables
must be used to connect to other switches or repeaters.
• With auto-MDIX enabled, either type of cable can be used to connect to other devices, and
the interface automatically adjusts to communicate successfully.
• On newer Cisco switches, the mdix auto interface configuration mode command enables
the feature. When using auto-MDIX on an interface, the interface speed and duplex must be
set to auto so that the feature operates correctly.
Note: The auto-MDIX feature is enabled by default on Catalyst 2960 and Catalyst 3560
switches but is not available on the older Catalyst 2950 and Catalyst 3550 switches.
To examine the auto-MDIX setting for a specific interface, use the show controllers ethernet-
controller command with the phy keyword. To limit the output to lines referencing auto-MDIX,
use the include Auto-MDIX filter.
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Configure Switch Ports
Switch Verification Commands
Task IOS Commands
Display interface status and configuration. S1# show interfaces [interface-id]
Display current startup configuration. S1# show startup-config
Display current running configuration. S1# show running-config
Display information about flash file system. S1# show flash
Display system hardware and software status. S1# show version
Display history of command entered. S1# show history
S1# show ip interface [interface-id]
Display IP information about an interface. OR
S1# show ipv6 interface [interface-id]
S1# show mac-address-table
Display the MAC address table. OR
S1# show mac address-table
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Configure Switch Ports
Network Access Layer Issues (Cont.)
The show
interfaces command output
displays counters and
statistics for the
FastEthernet0/18 interface,
as shown here:
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Configure Switch Ports
Network Access Layer Issues (Cont.)
Some media errors are not severe enough to cause the circuit to fail but do cause network
performance issues. The table explains some of these common errors which can be
detected using the show interfaces command.
Error Type Description
Input Errors Total number of errors. It includes runts, giants, no buffer, CRC, frame, overrun, and ignored counts.
Packets that are discarded because they are smaller than the minimum packet size for the medium.
Runts
For instance, any Ethernet packet that is less than 64 bytes is considered a runt.
Packets that are discarded because they exceed the maximum packet size for the medium. For
Giants
example, any Ethernet packet that is greater than 1,518 bytes is considered a giant.
CRC CRC errors are generated when the calculated checksum is not the same as the checksum received.
Sum of all errors that prevented the final transmission of datagrams out of the interface that is being
Output Errors
examined.
Collisions Number of messages retransmitted because of an Ethernet collision.
Late Collisions A collision that occurs after 512 bits of the frame have been transmitted
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1.3 Secure Remote Access
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Secure Remote Access
Telnet Operation
Telnet uses TCP port 23. It is an older
protocol that uses unsecure plaintext
transmission of both the login
authentication (username and
password) and the data transmitted
between the communicating devices.
A threat actor can monitor packets using
Wireshark. For example, in the figure
the threat actor captured the
username admin and
password ccna from a Telnet session.
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Secure Remote Access
SSH Operation
Secure Shell (SSH) is a secure protocol that uses
TCP port 22. It provides a secure (encrypted)
management connection to a remote device.
SSH should replace Telnet for management
connections. SSH provides security for remote
connections by providing strong encryption when
a device is authenticated (username and
password) and also for the transmitted data
between the communicating devices.
The figure shows a Wireshark capture of an SSH
session. The threat actor can track the session
using the IP address of the administrator device.
However, unlike Telnet, with SSH the username
and password are encrypted.
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Secure Remote Access
Verify the Switch Supports SSH
To enable SSH on a Catalyst 2960 switch, the switch must be using a version of the IOS
software including cryptographic (encrypted) features and capabilities. Use the show
version command on the switch to see which IOS the switch is currently running. An IOS
filename that includes the combination “k9” supports cryptographic (encrypted) features
and capabilities.
The example shows the output of the show version command.
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Secure Remote Access
Configure SSH
Before configuring SSH, the switch must be minimally configured with a unique hostname and the correct
network connectivity settings.
Step 1: Verify SSH support - Use the show ip ssh command to verify that the switch supports SSH. If the switch is not
running an IOS that supports cryptographic features, this command is unrecognized.
Step 2: Configure the IP domain - Configure the IP domain name of the network using the ip domain-name domain-
name global configuration mode command.
Step 3: Generate RSA key pairs - Generating an RSA key pair automatically enables SSH. Use the crypto key generate
rsa global configuration mode command to enable the SSH server on the switch and generate an RSA key pair.
Note: To delete the RSA key pair, use the crypto key zeroize rsa global configuration mode command. After the RSA key
pair is deleted, the SSH server is automatically disabled.
Step 4: Configure user authentication - The SSH server can authenticate users locally or using an authentication server. To
use the local authentication method, create a username and password pair using
the username username secret password global configuration mode command.
Step 5: Configure the vty lines - Enable the SSH protocol on the vty lines by using the transport input ssh line configuration
mode command. Use the line vty global configuration mode command and then the login local line configuration mode
command to require local authentication for SSH connections from the local username database.
Step 6: Enable SSH version 2 - By default, SSH supports both versions 1 and 2. When supporting both versions, this is
shown in the show ip ssh output as supporting version 2. Enable SSH version using the ip ssh version 2 global
configuration command.
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1.4 Basic Router
Configuration
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Basic Router Configuration
Configure Basic Router Settings
Cisco routers and Cisco switches have many similarities. They support a similar modal operating
system, similar command structures, and many of the same commands. In addition, both devices have
similar initial configuration steps. For example, the following configuration tasks should always be
performed. Name the device to distinguish it from other routers and configure passwords, as shown in
the example.
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Basic Router Configuration
Configure Basic Router Settings (Cont.)
Configure a banner to provide legal notification of unauthorized access, as shown in the
example.
Save the changes on a router, as shown in the example.
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Basic Router Configuration
Dual Stack Topology
One distinguishing feature between switches and routers is the type of interfaces
supported by each. For example, Layer 2 switches support LANs; therefore, they have
multiple FastEthernet or Gigabit Ethernet ports. The dual stack topology in the figure is
used to demonstrate the configuration of router IPv4 and IPv6 interfaces.
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Basic Router Configuration
Configure Router Interfaces
Routers support LANs and WANs and can interconnect different types of networks; therefore, they
support many types of interfaces. For example, G2 ISRs have one or two integrated Gigabit
Ethernet interfaces and High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC) slots to accommodate other types
of network interfaces, including serial, DSL, and cable interfaces.
To be available, an interface must be:
• Configured with at least one IP address - Use the ip address ip-address subnet-mask and
the ipv6 address ipv6-address/prefix interface configuration commands.
• Activated - By default, LAN and WAN interfaces are not activated (shutdown). To enable an
interface, it must be activated using the no shutdown command. (This is similar to powering
on the interface.) The interface must also be connected to another device (a hub, a switch, or
another router) for the physical layer to be active.
• Description - Optionally, the interface could also be configured with a short description of up to
240 characters. It is good practice to configure a description on each interface. On production
networks, the benefits of interface descriptions are quickly realized as they are helpful in
troubleshooting and in identifying a third-party connection and contact information.
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Basic Router Configuration
Configure Router Interfaces (Cont.)
The example shows the configure for the interfaces on R1:
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Basic Router Configuration
IPv4 Loopback Interfaces
Another common configuration of Cisco IOS routers is enabling a loopback interface.
• The loopback interface is a logical interface that is internal to the router. It is not assigned to a
physical port and can never be connected to any other device. It is considered a software interface
that is automatically placed in an “up” state, as long as the router is functioning.
• The loopback interface is useful in testing and managing a Cisco IOS device because it ensures
that at least one interface will always be available. For example, it can be used for testing
purposes, such as testing internal routing processes, by emulating networks behind the router.
• Loopback interfaces are also commonly used in lab environments to create additional interfaces.
For example, you can create multiple loopback interfaces on a router to simulate more networks for
configuration practice and testing purposes. The IPv4 address for each loopback interface must be
unique and unused by any other interface. In this curriculum, we often use a loopback interface to
simulate a link to the internet.
• Enabling and assigning a loopback address is simple:
Router(config)# interface loopback number
Router(config-if)# ip address ip-address subnet-mask
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1.5 Verify Directly Connected
Networks
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Verify Directly Connected Networks
Filter Show Command Output
Commands that generate multiple screens of output are, by default, paused after 24 lines. At the end of
the paused output, the --More-- text displays. Pressing Enter displays the next line and pressing the
spacebar displays the next set of lines. Use the terminal length command to specify the number of
lines to be displayed. A value of 0 (zero) prevents the router from pausing between screens of output.
Another very useful feature that improves the user experience in the CLI is the filtering of show output.
Filtering commands can be used to display specific sections of output. To enable the filtering
command, enter a pipe (|) character after the show command and then enter a filtering parameter and
a filtering expression.
There are four filtering parameters that can be configured after the pipe:
• section - Shows the entire section that starts with the filtering expression.
• include - Includes all output lines that match the filtering expression.
• exclude - Excludes all output lines that match the filtering expression.
• begin - Shows all the output lines from a certain point, starting with the line that matches the filtering expression
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Verify Directly Connected Networks
Command History Feature
The command history feature is useful because it temporarily stores the list of executed
commands to be recalled.
• To recall commands in the history buffer, press Ctrl+P or the Up Arrow key. The
command output begins with the most recent command. Repeat the key sequence to
recall successively older commands. To return to more recent commands in the history
buffer, press Ctrl+N or the Down Arrow key. Repeat the key sequence to recall
successively more recent commands.
• By default, command history is enabled and the system captures the last 10 command
lines in its history buffer. Use the show history privileged EXEC command to display
the contents of the buffer.
• It is also practical to increase the number of command lines that the history buffer
records during the current terminal session only. Use the terminal history size user
EXEC command to increase or decrease the size of the buffer.
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1.6 Module Practice and Quiz
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