Saturday 13 June 2009

Configuring Cisco Routing

IP routing is automatically enabled on Cisco routers. If it has been previously disabled on your router, you turn it back on in config mode with the command ip routing.

ExampleName(config)#ip routing
ExampleName(config)#ctrl-Z

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 employing a dynamic routing protocol.

These days static routes are generally used in very simple networks or in particular cases that necessitate their use. To create a static route, the administrator tells the router operating system that any network traffic destined for a specified network layer address should be forwarded to a similiarly specified network layer address. In the Cisco IOS this is done with the ip route command.

ExampleName#config
ExampleName(config)#ip route 172.16.0.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.150.1
ExampleName(config)#ctrl-Z
ExampleName#show ip route

Two things to be said about this example. First, the packet destination address must include the subnet mask for that destination network. Second, the address it is to be forwarded to is the specified addres of the next router along the path to the destination. This is the most common way of setting up a static route, and the only one this document covers. Be aware, however, that there are other methods.

Dynamic routing protocols, running on connected routers, enable those routers to share routing information. This enables routers to learn the routes available to them. The advantage of this method is that routers are able to adjust to changes in network topologies. If a route is physically removed, or a neighbor router goes down, the routing protocol searches for a new route. Routing protocols can even dynamically choose between possible routes based on variables such as network congestion or network reliability.

There are many different routing protocols, and they all use different variables, known as "metrics," to decide upon appropriate routes. Unfortunately, a router needs to be running the same routing protocols as its neighbors. Many routers can, however, run mutliple protocols. Also, many protocols are designed to be able to pass routing information to other routing protocols. This is called "redistribution." The author has no experience with trying to make redistribution work. There is an IOS redistribute command you can research if you think this is something you need. This document's compagnion case study describes an alternative method to deal with different routing protocols in some circumstances.

Routing protocols are a complex topic and this document contains only this superficial description of them. There is much to learn about them, and there are many sources of information about them available. An excelent source of information on this topic is Cisco's website, http://www.cisco.com.

This document describes how to configure the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) on Cisco routers. From the command-line, we must explicitly tell the router which protocol to use, and what networks the protocol will route for.

ExampleName#config
ExampleName(config)#router rip
ExampleName(config-router)#network aa.bb.cc.dd
ExampleName(config-router)#network ee.ff.gg.hh
ExampleName(config-router)#ctrl-Z
ExampleName#show ip protocols

Now when you issue the show ip protocols command, you should see an entry describing RIP configuration.

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