Step-by-Step Configuration of Cisco Routers

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
Some people prefer to create also local user accounts (usernames and passwords) on the router
itself in order to authenticate to the device. Here I’m explaining how to configure this specific
setup.

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)#
https://www.mediavine.comhttps://www.mediavine.com
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 GigabitEthernet 0/0
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 GigabitEthernet 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 [192.168.1.0] [255.255.255.0] [10.149.64.113]
My-Router(config)# ip route 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 100.100.100.2
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 0.0.0.0 100.100.100.2
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 100.100.100.2 (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
https://www.mediavine.comhttps://www.mediavine.com
You can display your current configuration to verify your settings as following:
My-Router# show running-config

Step 6 (optional): Configure NAT

This step is optional and is required only if your router acts as Internet border gateway to provide
access to the internal private LAN towards the Internet.
Assume that interface GigabitEthernet 0/0 is the WAN interface (connected to ISP for Internet
access) and interface GigabitEthernet 0/1 is the LAN interface connected to the internal
network.
My-Router# conf term
My-Router(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 0/0
My-Router(config-if)# ip nat outside
My-Router(config-if)# exit
My-Router(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 0/1
My-Router(config-if)# ip nat inside
My-Router(config-if)# exit
The commands above tell the router that traffic entering GigEth 0/1 will be NAT translated.
Also, traffic exiting GigEth 0/0 will also be NAT translated.
Now we need to create an Access List which will identify which specific traffic will be translated
using NAT. Assuming that the internal LAN network is 192.168.10.0/24 :
My-Router(config)# access-list 1 permit 192.168.10.0 0.0.0.255
My-Router(config)# ip nat inside source list 1 interface GigabitEthernet 0/0 overload
The commands above will create a NAT overload (PAT) rule which tells the router to translate
any address identified in Access List 1 to the address assigned to GigabitEthernet0/0. The
overload keyword allows one public address to be shared among several private internal
addresses.

Step 7 (optional): Configure DHCP

A Cisco router can be configured as a DHCP server to assign IP addresses dynamically to
internal hosts. First we need to create a pool of IP addresses that will be used to assign to clients:
! Configure the DHCP pool to assign addresses to internal hosts
ip dhcp pool lan-pool
network 192.168.10.0 255.255.255.0
default-router 192.168.10.1
dns-server 8.8.8.8
Then, exclude which IP addresses you don’t want to be assigned by the router:
 ^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1# speed auto

^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1# no mop enabled

^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1#!
R1#ip forward-protocol nd
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1#!
R1#no ip http server
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1#no ip http secure-server

^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1#!
R1#!
R1#!
R1#!
R1#snmp-server community yes RO
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1#!
R1#control-plane
Translating "control-plane"...domain server (255.255.255.255)

% Bad IP address or host name

Translating "control-plane"...domain server (255.255.255.255)
(255.255.255.255)
Translating "control-plane"...domain server (255.255.255.255)
% Unknown command or computer name, or unable to find computer address
R1#!
R1#!
R1# vstack
Translating "vstack"...domain server (255.255.255.255)

% Bad IP address or host name

Translating "vstack"...domain server (255.255.255.255)
(255.255.255.255)
Translating "vstack"...domain server (255.255.255.255)

% Unknown command or computer name, or unable to find computer address

R1#!
R1#line con 0
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1# password cisco

^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

R1# login
% No login server running.
R1#line aux 0
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
R1#line 2