You are on page 1of 6

What are the Internal Components of a Router?

Most of the components in a router are hardware.

Major Components of a Router

The major components of the router are shown in the


image.

The following table lists the description of each of these components:

Component Description
RAM Random access memory contains the software and data structures that allow the
router to function. The principle software running in RAM is the Cisco IOS image
and the running configuration.
ROM Read-only memory contains microcode for basic functions to start and maintain
the router.
Flash memory Flash is primarily used to contain the IOS software image. Some routers run the
IOS image directly from Flash and do not need to transfer it to RAM.
NVRAM Non-volatile random access memory is mainly used to store the configuration.
NVRAM uses a battery to maintain the data when power is removed from the
router.
Configuration The configuration register is used to control how the router boots up.
Register
Interfaces The physical connections to the external world for the router. These interfaces
include the following types:

• Ethernet and Fast Ethernet


• Asynchronous and synchronous serial
• Token Ring
• FDDI
• ATM
• Console and auxiliary ports

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com


Stages of the Router Power On/Bootup Sequence
The sequence of events that occurs during the power-up or the booting of a router is important to understand.
Knowledge of this sequence can assist in accomplishing operational tasks and troubleshooting router problems.
Order of Router Bootup Events

When power is initially applied to a router, events occur in a particular process order:

Router Bootup Process Table


The following table summarizes the router bootup process.

Step Stage What Happens


1. Power On Self Test (POST) This event is a series of hardware tests to verify that all components of
the router are functional. During this test the router also determines
what hardware is present. POST executes from microcode resident in
the system ROM.
2. Load and run bootstrap code Bootstrap code is used to perform subsequent events like finding the
IOS software, loading it, and then running it. Once the IOS software is
loaded and running, the bootstrap code is not used until the next time
the router is reloaded or power cycled.
3. Find the IOS software The bootstrap code determines where the IOS software to be run is
located. The configuration register, configuration file, or Flash
memory are the normal places to house the IOS image. Where and
what image file to use can be configured.
4. Load the IOS software Once the bootstrap code has found the proper image, it then loads that
image into RAM and starts the IOS running. Some routers do not load
the IOS image into RAM, but execute it directly from Flash memory.
5. Find the configuration The default is to look in NVRAM for a valid configuration.
6. Load the configuration The desired configuration for the router is loaded and executed.
If no configuration exists the router will enter the setup utility or
attempt an autoinstall.
7. Run The router is now running the configured IOS.

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com


Starting a Router
This lesson describes the initial configuration for a Cisco router

Initial Startup of Cisco Routers


This section covers startup and initial configuration of a Cisco IOS router.

How Startup Routines Start Operations


To start router operations, the startup routines must:

1. Make sure that the router finds tested hardware.


2. Find and load the Cisco IOS software that the router uses for its operating system.
3. Find and apply the configuration statements about router-specific attributes, protocol functions, and
interface addresses.

When a Cisco router powers up, it performs a Power-On Self Test (POST). During this self test, the router
executes diagnostics to verify the basic operation of the CPU, memory, and interface circuitry.
After verifying the hardware functions, the router proceeds with software initialization.

Examining the Initial Bootup Output from the Router

Some startup routines act as fallback operations that are able to perform the router startup should other
routines be unable to do so. This flexibility allows Cisco IOS software to start up in a variety of initial situations.

If no valid configuration file exists in NVRAM, the operating system executes a question-driven initial
configuration routine referred to as the system configuration dialog. This special mode is also called
the setup dialog.

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com


Examining Router Login
After you have configured a router from the setup utility, you will reconfigure or add to the configuration from the user
interface that runs on the router console or terminal. You can also configure Cisco routers using remote access.
This topic discusses the access levels and the user mode command list.
Access Levels

As discussed earlier, for security purposes, the EXEC has two levels of access to commands:

• User mode - Typical tasks include those that check the router status.

• Privileged mode - Typical tasks include those that change the router configuration.

When you first log in to the router, you will see a user-mode prompt. EXEC commands available in user mode
are a subset of the EXEC commands available in privileged mode. For the most part, these commands allow
you to display information without changing router configuration settings.
To access the full set of commands, you must first enable privileged mode with the enable command and
supply the enable secret password. Your EXEC prompt will then show as a pound sign (#) while you are in this
mode.
From the privileged level, you can also access global configuration mode and the other specific
configuration modes. These modes include interface, sub-interface, line, router, route-map, and several
others.
What are the CLI Command Modes?
The first method of configuration presented was the setup utility. Setup allows a basic initial
configuration to be created. For more complex and specific configurations, we can use the command
line interface to enter terminal configuration mode.
Accessing the Modes

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com


From the privileged EXEC mode you can enter global configuration mode with the configure terminal
command. From the global configuration mode, you have access to the specific configuration modes, which
include:

• Interface - Supports commands that configure operations on a per-interface basis


• Subinterface - Supports commands that configure multiple virtual interfaces on a single physical
interface
• Controller - Supports commands that configure controllers (for example E1 and T1 controllers)
• Line - Supports commands that configure the operation of a terminal line
• Router - Supports commands that configure an IP routing protocol
• IPX-router - Supports commands that configure the Novell network-layer protocol

Common CLI Error Messages


Console error messages help you identify problems with an incorrect command entry. Error messages that you
might encounter while using the command line interface include the following:

Error
message Message Meaning How to Get Help
% Ambiguous You did not enter enough Reenter the command followed by a question mark (?)
command: "show characters for your device with no space between the command and the
con" to recognize the question mark. The possible keywords that you can
command. enter with the command are displayed.
% Incomplete You did not enter all of the Reenter the command followed by a question mark (?)
command. keywords or values with a space between the command and the question
required by this command. mark.
% Invalid input You entered the command Enter a question mark (?) to display all of the
detected at '^' incorrectly. The caret (^) commands or parameters that are available in this
marker. marks the point of the mode.
error.
Viewing the Configurations
The show running-config and show startup-config commands are among the most used Cisco IOS
software EXEC commands. They allow an administrator to see the current running configuration in RAM on the
router or the startup configuration commands in NVRAM that the router will use on the next restart.
Recognizing the Active and Backup Configurations
Confusion can sometimes occur between these two commands. Learning to recognize what you are
viewing will help.

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com


You will know that you are looking at the You will know that you are looking at the backup
active configuration file when you see the configuration file when you see a message at the
words "Current Configuration" at the top of top telling you how much nonvolatile memory has
the display. been used.

To do.
• Show
• Copy
• Hostname
• Password

Configuring Router Passwords You can secure your router by using passwords to restrict access. Passwords
can be established both on individual lines and to the privileged EXEC mode. Passwords are case sensitive.

Procedure for Configuring Router Passwords The procedure outlined in the following table describes how to
configure passwords on a router.

Step Action Results and Notes


1. Set the login password on the console terminal by The number in the configuration specifies the
using the line console 0 command followed by the single console port; the port is number 0.
login and password subcommands.

Router(config)#line console 0
Router(config-line)#login
Router(config-line)#password cisco
2. Set a login password on incoming Telnet sessions by The numbers 0 4 specify the number of Telnet
using the line vty 0 4 command followed by the login sessions allowed in the router. You can also
and password subcommands . set up a different password for each line by
using the line vty port number command.
Router(config)#line vty 0 4
Router(config-line)#login
Router(config-line)#password sanjose

3. Set restricted access to the privileged EXEC mode Disable the privileged EXEC mode password
using the enable password global command. using the no enable password command.

Router(config)#enable password cisco


4. Set an encrypted form of the enable password called Disable the encrypted password using the no
the enable secret password by entering the enable enable secret command. Note - If you
secret command at the global configuration mode configure the enable secret password, it is
prompt. used instead of the enable password, not in
addition to it.
Router(config)#enable secret sanfran
5. Set other password encryptions to add a further layer This command is particularly useful for
of security to the router passwords using the service passwords that cross the network or are
password-encryption command. stored on a TFTP server. Disable the
encryption on the passwords using the no
Router(config)#service password-encryption service password-encryption command.
set passwords here

M.A. Leel Nilanta leenimi@hotmail.com

You might also like