Tag: router

  • How to set Passwords in Cisco IOS Routers and Switches

    One of the basic configurations when setting up a Cisco Router or a Cisco Switch is setting the passwords. This includes, setting the passwords for the Console, Telnet/SSH and the Enable (Enable Secret)

    The following procedure will help starters set up passwords in Cisco Routers and Switches running Cisco IOS.

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  • How to prevent Routing updates on interfaces of Cisco Routers

    When we configure a routing protocol on Cisco IOS Routers, it is important to consider preventing Routing updates sent on interfaces that are not required to (say a LAN where there is no other router in the segment to receive any updates). This ensure we are not passing updates that could cause network issues. Needless to say, the network becomes less chatty and can make life more easy when sniffing or spanning for network troubleshooting.

    In Cisco IOS we can globally or selectively prevent interfaces on which we do not want routing updates to be sent. Ideally, it would be better that we do this globally and then selectively allow interfaces that can send routing updates.

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  • How to configure GLBP in Cisco IOS Routers

    Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP) as the name implies can be used to configure Gateway redundancy between a group of routers and at the same time load balance the traffic across all of them. GLBP is similar to the High availability protocols Hot Standby Redundancy Protocol (HSRP) & Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) except for the load balancing capabilities wherein HSRP and VRRP, the standby routers are configured for redundancy and act as standby only and become active only when the active router fails.

    The advantage of GLBP is it provides load balancing over multiple routers (gateways) using a single virtual IP address and multiple virtual MAC addresses. The forwarding load is shared among all routers in a GLBP group rather than being handled by a single router while the other routers stand idle. Each host is configured with the same virtual IP address, and all routers in the virtual router group participate in forwarding packets. GLBP members communicate between each other through hello messages sent every 3 seconds to the multicast address 224.0.0.102, User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 3222 (source and destination).

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  • Dr.TCP – Fine Tune TCP/IP Parameters including MTU in Windows

    Dr.TCP is a simple but powerful utility that can let you fine tune the TCP/IP parameters for your Network Interface Card (NIC). It works on Windows XP, 2003,2000.

    Dr.TCP takes the hassle out of editing the Windows Registry and modifying keys to fine tune the TCP/IP Parameters at

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\<AdapterID>] 

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  • How to add Static routes and Default routes in Cisco IOS

    Static routes allow administrators to configure routes for specific hosts or networks manually as against learning dynamically using routing protocols like RIP, EIGRP and OSPF. Static routes basically tells the Cisco IOS of which next hop router or the exit interface on the local router that the traffic for a particular host or network needs to be passed to.

    To add a Static Route in cisco ios based switches and routers the following is the command syntax. This command is run from the global configuration mode.

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  • How to Add a Banner in Cisco IOS Routers and Switches

    Banners are one of the important things for any device that allows remote access either for administration or for user access. They serve their purpose of warning any unauthorised users and make them aware that the device or the server is protected and being monitored and also provide a quick snapshot of what the system is and what is it used for. For example, we use banners for security warning and the device details and the service/application related to it.

    Adding a Banner to Cisco Router or a Catalyst switch running Cisco IOS is all a matter of one simple command.

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  • How to Upgrade Cisco IOS in a Cisco Router or a Switch

    Any software is pron to have software upgrades either to fix a bug or a Security vulnerability or even for the fact the software has reached its end of life.

    While Network devices and appliances are no exception, the upgrade process requires a lot of precautions and measures are taken to ensure that the upgrade process doesn't fail or cause problems post installation. Upgrading Cisco IOS is no exception. Care has to be taken to ensure that the newer version is tested on a test bed before deploying in the production network especially if we are talking core network switches and routers.

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