Router Commands Overview
In this section you will learn about the router commands, configurations, privileged mode commands, routing protocols, cisco labs and network configurations.
There are hundreds of basic and advance level commands of a router. It is not easy to remember all the commands. But some commands are frequently used and can be remembered with some practice. I have provided a list of the most commonly used commands based on their features and usage.
You will find here some basic terminology of a router.
Routing: Routing is a process of moving the data (packets) through an inter network. Routing performs the two basic tasks. Define the paths for a packet and then forward the packets on the basis of defined paths. Routing can also be defined as the communication between two or more logically and physical networks and this communication (packet transfer) is brought by a router.
First of all you should remember the keyboard shortcuts of a router.
Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL-N - show next command
CTRL-P - show previous command
SHIFT-CTRL-6 – Break
Configuring the Router
You will be able to learn the basic commands for configuring a router.
sh running-config - details the running configuration file (RAM)
sh startup-config - displays the configuration stored in NVRAM
setup - Will start the the automatic setup; the same as when you first boot the router
config t - use to execute configuration commands from the terminal
config mem - executes configuration commands stored in NVRAM; copies startup-config to running-config
config net - used to retrieve configuration info from a TFTP server
copy running-config startup-config - copies saved config in running config (RAM) to NVRAM or "write memory" for IOS under ver.11
copy startup-config running-config - copies from non-volatile (NVRAM) to current running config (RAM)
boot system flash - tells router which IOS file in flash to boot from
boot system tftp - tells router which IOS file on the tftp server to boot from
boot system rom - tell router to boot from ROM at next boot
copy flash tftp - Copies flash to tftp server
copy tftp flash - Restores flash from tftp server
copy run tftp - Copies the current running-config to tftp server
copy tftp run - Restores the running-config from tftp server
General Commands
Here is a list of the general commands. These are the basic level commands and most commonly used
no shutdown - (enables the interface)
reload - restarts the router
sh ver - Cisco IOS version, uptime of router, how the router started, where system was loaded from, the interfaces the POST found, and the configuration register
sh clock - shows date and time on router
sh history - shows the history of your commands
sh debug - shows all debugging that is currently enabled
no debug all - turns off all debugging
sh users - shows users connected to router
sh protocols - shows which protocols are configured
banner motd # Your customized message here # - Set/change banner
hostname - use to configure the hostname of the router
clear counters - clear interface counters
Privileged Mode commands of a router
Learn how to work in the privileged mode of a router.
enable - get to privileged mode
disable - get to user mode
enable password - sets privileged mode password
enable secret - sets encrypted privileged mode password
Setting Passwords on router
Here you will be able to learn how to set the password on a router.
enable secret - set encrypted password for privileged access
enable password - set password for privileged access (used when there is no enable secret and when using older software)
Setting the password for console access:
(config)#line console 0
(config-line)#login
(config-line)#password
Set password for virtual terminal (telnet) access (password must be set to access router through telnet):
(config)#line vty 0 4
(config-line)#login
(config-line)#password
Set password for auxiliary (modem) access:
(config)#line aux 0
(config-line)#login
(config-line)#password
Router Processes & Statistics
By these command you can see the statistics and different processes of the router.
sh processes - shows active processes running on router
sh process cpu - shows cpu statistics
sh mem - shows memory statistics
sh flash - describes the flash memory and displays the size of files and the amount of free flash memory
sh buffers - displays statistics for router buffer pools; shows the size of the Small, Middle, Big, Very Big, Large and Huge Buffers
sh stacks - shows reason for last reboot, monitors the stack use of processes and interrupts routines
IP Commands
Here is a list of the IP Commands
Configure IP on an interface:
int serial 0
ip address 157.89.1.3 255.255.0.0
int eth 0
ip address 2008.1.1.4 255.255.255.0
Other IP Commands:
sh ip route - view ip routing table
ip route [administrative_distance] - configure a static IP route
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 - sets default gateway
ip classless - use with static routing to allow packets destined for unrecognized subnets to use the best possible route
sh arp - view arp cache; shows MAC address of connected routers
ip address 2.2.2.2 255.255.255.0 secondary - configure a 2nd ip address on an interface
sh ip protocol
CDP Commands (Cisco Discovery Protocol uses layer 2 multicast over a SNAP-capable link to send data):
sh cdp neighbor - shows directly connected neighbors
sh cdp int - shows which interfaces are running CDP
sh cdp int eth 0/0 - show CDP info for specific interface
sh cdp entry - shows CDP neighbor detail
cdp timer 120 - change how often CDP info is sent (default cdp timer is 60)
cp holdtime 240 - how long to wait before removing a CDP neighbor (default CDP holdtime is 180)
sh cdp run - shows if CDP turned on
no cdp run - turns off CDP for entire router (global config)
no cdp enable - turns off CDP on specific interface
IPX Commands
Enable IPX on router:
ipx routing
Configure IPX + IPX-RIP on an int:
int ser 0
ipx network 4A
Other Commands:
sh ipx route - shows IPX routing table
sh ipx int e0 - shows ipx address on int
sh ipx servers - shows SAP table
sh ipx traffic - view traffic statistics
debug ipx routing activity - debugs IPS RIP packets
debug ipx sap - debugs SAP packets
Routing Protocols
RIP, IGPR and OSPF are the routing protocols and here is a list of the commands for the working on the routing protocols.
Configure RIP:
router rip
network 157.89.0.0
network 208.1.1.0
Other RIP Commands:
debug ip rip - view RIP debugging info
Configure IGRP:
router IGRP 200
network 157.89.0.0
network 208.1.1.0
Other IGRP Commands:
debug ip igrp events - view IGRP debugging info
debug ip igrp transactions - view IGRP debugging info
Access Lists
Here is a list of the Access list command of a router.
sh ip int ser 0 - use to view which IP access lists are applies to which int
sh ipx int ser 0 - use to view which IPX access lists are applies to which int
sh appletalk int ser 0 - use to view which AppleTalk access lists are applies to which int
View access lists:
sh access-lists
sh ip access-lists
sh ipx access-lists
sh appletalk access-lists
Apply standard IP access list to int eth 0:
access-list 1 deny 200.1.1.0 0.0.0.255
access-list 1 permit any
int eth 0
ip access-group 1 in
Apply Extended IP access list to int eth 0:
access-list 100 deny tcp host 1.1.1.1 host 2.2.2.2 eq 23
access-list 100 deny tcp 3.3.3.0 0.0.0.255 any eq 80
int eth 0
ip access-group 100 out
Apply Standard IPX access list to int eth 0:
access-list 800 deny 7a 8000
access-list 800 permit -1
int eth 0
ipx access-group 800 out
Apply Standard IPX access list to int eth 0:
access-list 900 deny sap any 3378 -1
access-list 900 permit sap any all -1
int eth 0
ipx access-group 900 out
WAN Configurations Commands
Networking over WAN is the main functionality of a router. The most common use of a router is for the WAN connectivity. Here is a list of the commands for the different methods of the WAN connectivity.
PPP Configuration
Point to point protocol is a method for the WAN connectivity and you will find here some commands of PPP.
encapsulation pppppp authentication
ppp chap hostname
ppp pap sent-username
sh int ser 0 - use to view encapsulation on the interface
Frame-Relay Configuration
One of the methods for the WAN connectivity is the Frame Relay. Find here some basic commands for the WAN connectivity through Frame Relay.
encapsulation frame-relay ietf - use IETF when setting up a frame-relay network between a Ciscorouter and a non-Cisco router
frame-relay lmi-type ansi - LMI types are Cisco, ANSI, Q933A; Cisco is the default; LMI type is auto-sensed in IOS v11.2 and up
frame-relay map ip 3.3.3.3 100 broadcast - if inverse ARP won't work, map Other IP to Your DLCI # (local)
keep alive 10 - use to set keep alive
sh int ser 0 - use to show DLCI, LMI, and encapsulation info
sh frame-relay pvc - shows the configured DLCI's; shows PVC traffic stats
sh frame-relay map - shows route mapssh frame-relay lmi - shows LMI info
Miscellaneous Commands
In the last but not least here is a list of the some miscellaneous and useful commands
sh controller t1 - shows status of T1 lines
sh controller serial 1 - use to determine if DCE or DTE device
(config-if)#clock rate 6400 - set clock on DCE (bits per second)
(config-if)#bandwidth 64 - set bandwidth (kilobits)