The basic CLI modes that we will be referring below are as following:

Router>  <– User EXEC Mode

Router#  <– Privileged EXEC mode
Router(config)#  <– Global Configuration Mode
Router(config-if)# <– Interface Configuration Mode
Router(config-line)# <– Line Configuration Mode

I assume that you already have some basic knowledge of CLI and how to navigate
between different configuration modes (user mode, privileged exec mode etc), so
let’s get started:

Step1: Configure Access Passwords

The first step is to secure your access to the router by configuring a global secret
password and also passwords for Telnet or Console as needed.

Enter into Global Configuration mode from the Privileged EXEC mode:

Router# configure terminal  <– Privileged EXEC mode

Router(config)#  <– Global Configuration Mode

In Global Configuration Mode you configure parameters that affect the whole
router device. Here we will configure the Enable Secret password that you will be
using from now own to enter into Privileged EXEC Mode from User EXEC Mode.

Router(config)#  enable secret “somestrongpassword”

From now on, when you log in from user EXEC mode you will be asked for a
password.

It is suggested also to configure a password for the Telnet Lines (VTY lines) which
will secure your access when connecting via Telnet over the network.

Router(config)#  line vty 0 4

Router(config-line)# password “strongTelnetPass” 
Router(config-line)# login
Step2: Configure a Router Hostname

To differentiate your Router from other devices in the network, you should
configure a Hostname for your device.

Router(config)#  hostname My-Router

My-Router(config)#

Notice that your Router prompt changes to the new hostname that you have just
set.

Step3: Configure IP addresses for Router Interfaces

This is an essential step in order for your router to be able to forward packets in the
network. The most basic parameter for a Router Interface is the IP address. From
Global Configuration Mode you need to enter into Interface Configuration Mode:

My-Router(config)# interface serial 1/1

My-Router(config-if)# ip address 100.100.100.1 255.255.255.252
My-Router(config-if)# no shutdown
My-Router(config-if)# exit

My-Router(config)# interface fastethernet 0/1

My-Router(config-if)# ip address 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
My-Router(config-if)# no shutdown
My-Router(config-if)# exit
Step4: Configure Routing (Static or Dynamic)

The Router’s main purpose is to find the best route path towards a destination
network and forward packets according to the best path. There are two main ways
a router knows where to send packets. The administrator can assign static routes,
or the router can learn routes by using a dynamic routing protocol. For simple
network topologies, static routing is preferred over dynamic routing. Let’s see how
to configure static routes from Global Configuration Mode.

My-Router(config)#  ip route [destination network] [subnet mask] [gateway]   

My-Router(config)#  ip route 200.200.200.0 255.255.255.0 100.100.100.2

The command above tells the router that network 200.200.200.0/24 is reachable
via gateway address 100.100.100.2.

Another popular static route that we usually configure on Internet Border routers is
the default static route:

My-Router(config)#  ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 50.50.50.1

The default static route above instructs the router to send ALL packets that the
router does not have a more specific route entry to gateway address 50.50.50.1
(which might be the ISP gateway address).

Step5: Save your configuration

Save your current running configuration into NVRAM. This will overwrite the
startup configuration.

My-Router(config)# exit
My-Router# copy running-config startup-config

You can display your current configuration to verify your settings as following:

My-Router# show running-config