Basic router configuration

Basic Router Configuration
When configuring a router, certain basic tasks are performed including: • Naming the router • Setting passwords • Configuring interfaces • Configuring a banner • Saving changes on a router • Verifying basic configuration and router operations
When cabling a point-to-point serial link in our lab environment, one end of the cable is marked DTE and the other end is marked DCE. The router that has the DCE end of the cable connected to its serial interface will need the additional clock rate command configured on that serial interface. This step is only necessary in a lab environment and will be explained in more detail in Chapter 2, "Static Routing". • R1(config-if)#clock rate 64000
Introducing the Routing Table The primary function of a router is to forward a packet toward its destination network, which is the destination IP address of the packet. To do this, a router needs to search the routing information stored in its routing table. A routing table is a data file in RAM that is used to store route information about directly connected and remote networks. The routing table contains network/next hop associations. These associations tell a router that a particular destination can be optimally reached by sending the packet to a specific router that represents the "next hop" on the way to the final destination. The next hop association can also be the outgoing or exit interface to the final destination.