I need help finding basics...PLEASE!!

[Boomarang]

I am being asked to move into a semi-IT position, helping our customers with their networking maintenance. I am familiar with basic networking principles, Layers 1, 2, and 3.
Unfortunately I know nothing about configuring a router through CLI. I need to find information to begin learning this stuff.
I have a Cisco 1721, and can connect throught the console and http, but that's about all.

Where can I find some resources to learn from?

 

[bobbyforhire]

Well, if you don't know much and you were truthful then they should not expect much. but if you decided to take a bite that is too big just do what i did....find an issue. google or tek-tips it to find the answer.

First thing is first, what version of IOS do you have?

You can tell my Terminaling (is tha a word) using hyperterminal or your terminal program. and do this

enable
show version


Your IOS will look something like this
"c1720-ik9o3s3-mz[1].123-26.bin" or something along those lines. From there we can tell you where to go to see all of the commands that are available for that IOS.

 

[chipk]

just get yourself a ccna book. no need to get certified, just get it for reference and/or just read the thing. Cisco.com also has many sample configurations and a lot of documentation that you can look through. You should also just get in and get familiar with the commands by using the context help. i.e. type "show ?" to view the various "show" command options.

Until you get more comfortable with the CLI, I'd just stick with the most common show commands you'll probably use for troubleshooting, which include (but certainly not limited to):

show running-config (have to be in enable mode for this one)
show version
show interfaces (or "show interface fastethernet0/0" etc.)
show ip route

You can of course, just ask questions here and someone will probably respond pretty quickly.

 

[bobbyforhire]

Oh, almost forgot if you don't know how to terminal into a box this is what you need:

1 - Hyperterminal
2 - PC/Laptop with a COM port
3 - RollOver Cable ( This is a standard cisco light blue cable, if you look at it, this will have an RJ45 on one end and a 9-Pin Female on the other end)
4- Plug the RJ45 into the CONSOLE port on your cisco device.
5- Plug the 9-PIN of the Rollover cable into your laptop/pc's COM port.

5.1 - Turn on the router

6 - Load up Hyperterminal and select the correct COM port (your pc/laptop might have multiple so you will have to hunt around)
7 - The connection settings are as follows

9600
8
None
1
None

8 - Hit connect, then hit enter a few times if you see something come up then you have the right port, if not try a diffrent COM port setting on HyperTerminal.

9 - Leave everything hooked up and Restart your Router so you can see how these things boot.

 

[burtsbees]

I'd use Tera Term rather than HyperTerminal. Tera Term is free.

Burt

 

[lerdalt]

lol..does any respectable cisco guy use hyperterminal unless they absolutely have to?

I would agree though..pick up some CCNA books. You might also want to get a second router so you could at least do some basic routing between them.

Just be sure and not be afraid to ask questions.

 

[travis06]

If you want to poke around with different commands, use the ? for help while in a session. IOS will sort of give you commands or you can just search for relevant ones.

 

[vipergg]

I can tell you right if you want to learn how to configure anything you can just go to cisco.com and do a search of what you want to do such as "configuring a 3750" and it will bring many docs pertaining to that and most of it is free . This is one thing you get when you buy cisco and thats very good documentation on their website.

 

[Boomarang]

Thanks for your advise, and I agree that I hope they don't expect to much for awhile. My background is in telephony and I am familiar with using SecureCRT for logging into remote systems. I know how long the learning curve is on PBX's and interconnectivity, so I'm not expecting to become an expert on routing overnight. Thank you for your concerns though.

A few more questions:

1)Is there an advantage to tera term over CRT? I like the tabs for when I'm in multiple PBX's and was hoping it would be beneficial for these routers.

2)Is there an advantage to connecting via console vs, http or other type?

3)Is there a better peice of equipment than this 1721 to learn on?

Below is the beginning information from my router. how do I interpret this?

Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
IOS (tm) C1700 Software (C1700-Y-M), Version 12.3(1a), RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Copyright (c) 1986-2003 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Fri 06-Jun-03 20:01 by dchih
Image text-base: 0x80008120, data-base: 0x809DA464

cisco 1721 (MPC860P) processor (revision 0x200) with 54343K/11193K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID FOC07321FBM (2640651283), with hardware revision 0000
MPC860P processor: part number 5, mask 2
Bridging software.
X.25 software, Version 3.0.0.
1 FastEthernet/IEEE 802.3 interface(s)
32K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
32768K bytes of processor board System flash (Read/Write)


--- System Configuration Dialog ---

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: no


Press RETURN to get started!


*Mar 1 00:00:07.067: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface FastEthernet0, changed state to up
*Mar 1 00:00:08.067: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0, changed state to up
*Mar 1 00:00:12.811: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0, changed state to down
*Mar 1 00:00:33.619: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface FastEthernet0, changed state to administratively down
*Mar 1 00:00:38.287: %SYS-5-RESTART: System restarted --
Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
IOS (tm) C1700 Software (C1700-Y-M), Version 12.3(1a), RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Copyright (c) 1986-2003 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Fri 06-Jun-03 20:01 by dchih
*Mar 1 00:00:38.287: %SNMP-5-COLDSTART: SNMP agent on host Router is undergoing a cold start
Router>
Router>enable
Router#show ver
Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
IOS (tm) C1700 Software (C1700-Y-M), Version 12.3(1a), RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Copyright (c) 1986-2003 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Fri 06-Jun-03 20:01 by dchih
Image text-base: 0x80008120, data-base: 0x809DA464

ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 12.2(7r)XM1, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)

Router uptime is 8 minutes
System returned to ROM by power-on
System image file is "flash:c1700-y-mz.123-1a.bin"

cisco 1721 (MPC860P) processor (revision 0x200) with 54343K/11193K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID FOC07321FBM (2640651283), with hardware revision 0000
MPC860P processor: part number 5, mask 2
Bridging software.
X.25 software, Version 3.0.0.
1 FastEthernet/IEEE 802.3 interface(s)
32K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
32768K bytes of processor board System flash (Read/Write)

Configuration register is 0x2102

Router#

Thank you again.

 

[vipergg]

1. Tera Term or CRT , doesn't matter whatever you are comfortable with . People use Tera Term because it works and its "free" everybody's favorite word .

2. Console , you use this when you have physical access to the box setup for 9600,8,n,1 .
Telnet or SSH is for remote access into the router or switch over the data network , protected by passwords and or a tacacs or radius server.

3. 1721 , not real familiar with that , most IOS devices use the same syntax to achieve the same result and what you can do on the router or switch is determined by what software feature set is installed on the device. Not real familiar with what the 1721 can do , I assume it is a small router . If you had access to something like a 3600 series it would be better and you probably could do more things with it .

 

[robertjo24]

Here is a link to some info:

http://www.rasyid.net/2007/05/27/101-resource-for-self-learning-cisco/

The best way to learn Cisco is the same way you best learn a foreign language, total immersion.
First off, I wouldn't recommend getting a Cisco CCNA book, try one from another vendor. They actually use real English words that the layperson can understand.
Secondly, try to do everything from the CLI. You don't have to learn every command by heart, just the most commonly used ones.
I agree with using TeraTerm for your access. It works much better than Hyperterm. Also, look into Texpad. This is a fairly powerful text editor, very useful when editing base configs aside from the IOS. This way you can make bulk changes to configs and "paste" them in the IOS. It also imports and exports blocks of text from Excel.

Learn the fundamentals of routing and switching. There are some good tutorials online. Then, just get after it. As you run into issues you can't figure out or terms you don't understand, always ask for help. If you are truly eager to learn, the guys here (used in a gender neutral way) will almost always want to help.

 

[goosed]

Download Packet Tracer by Cisco. It lets you configure multiple virtual devices, including Routers, Switches, Wireless AP's, and more. You can connect them all together, test trunking and VLAN's. Pretty slick, helped me a bunch with my training.