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Router
Components
External
router
configuration sources
In this section, you will learn
about the router components that
play a key role in the configuration process. Knowing which components
are
involved in the configuration process gives you a better understanding
of how
the router stores and uses your configuration commands. Being aware of
the
steps that take place during router initialization will help
you determine what and where problems may
occur when you start up your router.
You can configure a router from many external
locations, including the following:
- from the console terminal
(a computer
connected to the router through a console port) during its installation
-via modem by using
the auxiliary port
-from Virtual
Terminals 0-4, after it has
been installed on the network
-from a TFTP server on
the network
Internal router's configuration
components
The internal architecture of the
Cisco router supports components
that play an important role in the startup process.
Internal router configuration components are
as follows:
RAM/DRAM -- stores
routing tables,ARP
cache, fast-switching cache,packet buffering (shared RAM), and packet
hold
queues; RAM also provides temporary and/or running
memory
for a router's
configuration file while the router is powered; RAM content is lost
during a
power down or restart
NVRAM -- non-volatile
RAM stores the
router's backup/startup configuration file; NVRAM content is retained
during
power down or restart
Flash -- erasable,
reprogrammable ROM
that holds the operating system image and microcode; Flash memory
enables
software updates without removing and replacing processor chips; Flash
content
is retained during power down o restart; Flash memory can store
multiple
versions of IOS software
ROM -- contains
power-on diagnostics, a
bootstrap program, and operating system software; software upgrades in
ROM
require removing and replacing pluggable chips on the CPU interfaces --
network
connections on the motherboard or on separate interface modules,
through which
packets enter and exit a router.
RAM
for working storage in the router
RAM is the working storage area
for a router. When you turn a
router on, the ROM executes a bootstrap program. This program performs
some
tests, and then loads the Cisco IOS software into memory. The command
executive, or EXEC, is one part of the Cisco IOS software. EXEC
receives and
executes commands you enter for the router.
A router also uses RAM to store an active
configuration file and tables of network maps and routing address
lists. You
can display the configuration file
on a remote or console terminal. A saved
version of this file is stored in NVRAM. It is
accessed and loaded into main memory each time
a router initializes. The configuration file contains global, process,
and
interface information that directly affects the operation of a router
and its
interface ports.
An operating system image cannot be displayed
on a terminal screen. An image is
usually executed from the main RAM and loaded
from one of several input sources.
The operating software is organized into
routines that handle the tasks associated with different protocols,
such as
data movement, table and buffer management, routing updates, and user
command
execution.
Router
modes
Whether accessed from the console
or by a Telnet session through
a TTY port, a router can be placed in several modes. Each mode provides
different
functions:
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-user
EXEC mode -- This
is look-only mode in which the user can view some information about the router,
but can change nothing.
-privileged EXEC mode
-- This mode
supports the debugging and testing commands, detailed examination o the
router,
manipulation of configuration files, and access to
configuration modes.
-
setup mode -- This mode presents an
interactive prompted dialog at the
console that helps the new user create a first-time basic
configuration.
-
global configuration mode -- This mode
implements powerful one-line commands that perform simple configuration
tasks.
-other
configuration modes – Thes
modes provide more detailed multiple-line configurations.
-RXBOOT
mode --
This is the maintenance mode that you can use, among other things, to
recover
from lost passwords.
Router
Show Commands
Examining
router status by using router status commands
In this section, you will learn
basic commands that you can issue
to determine the current status of a router. These commands help you
obtain
vital information you need when monitoring and troubleshooting router
operations.
It is important to be able to
monitor the health and state of
your router at any given time. Cisco routers have a series of commands
that
allow you to determine whether the router is functionally correct or
where
problems have occurred. In addition, router status commands are shown
below:
-show version --
displays the
configuration of the system hardware, the software version, the names
and
sources of configuration files, and the boot image
-show processes --
displays information
about the active processes
-show protocols -- displays the configured protocols; shows the
status
of all configured Layer 3 protocols
-show mem -- shows
statistics about the
router's memory, including memory free pool statistics
-show stacks -- monitors the stack use of processes and
interrupt routines and displays the reason for the last system reboot
-show buffers --
provides statistics for
the buffer pools on the router
-show flash --
shows information about
the Flash memory device
-show
running-config (write term on
Cisco IOS Release 10.3 or earlier) -- displays the active configuration
file
-show
startup-config (show config on
Cisco IOS Release 10.3 or earlier) -- displays the backup configuration
file
-show
interfaces -- displays statistics
for all interfaces configured on the router
The show running-config and show
startup-config commands
Among the most used Cisco IOS
software EXEC commands are show
running-config and show
startup-config. They allow an
administrator to see the current running configuration on the router or
the
startup configuration commands that the router will use on the next
restart.
(Note:
The commands, write
term and show config, used with Cisco IOS Release 10.3 and earlier,
have been
replaced with new commands. The commands that have been replaced
continue to
perform their normal functions in the current release but are no longer
documented. Support for these commands will cease in a future release.)
You can recognize an active
configuration file by the words
current configuration at the top. You can recognize a backup
configuration file
when you see a message at the top that tells you how much non-volatile
memory
you have used.
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