6.3.2.7 Lab - Exploring Router Physical Characteristics
6.3.2.7 Lab - Exploring Router Physical Characteristics
6.3.2.7 Lab - Exploring Router Physical Characteristics
Topology
Objectives
Part 1: Examine Router External Characteristics
Part 2: Examine Router Internal Characteristics Using Show Commands
Background / Scenario
In this lab, you will examine the outside of the router to become familiar with its
characteristics and components, such as its power switch, management ports,
LAN and WAN interfaces, indicator lights, network expansion slots, memory
expansion slots, and USB ports.
You will also identify the internal components and characteristics of the IOS by
consoling into the router and issuing various commands, such as show version
and show interfaces, from the CLI.
Note: The routers used with CCNA hands-on labs are Cisco 1941 Integrated
Services Routers (ISRs) with Cisco IOS Release 15.2(4)M3 (universalk9 image).
Other routers and Cisco IOS versions can be used. Depending on the model and
Cisco IOS version, the commands available and output produced might vary
from what is shown in the labs.
Note: Make sure that the routers have been erased and have no startup
configurations. If you are unsure, contact your instructor.
Required Resources
1 Router (Cisco 1941 with Cisco IOS Release 15.2(4)M3 universal image or
comparable)
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Console cables to configure the Cisco IOS devices via the console ports
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a. Circle and label the routers power switch. Is the power switch on your router in
The Router does have 2 LAN interfaces. The interface technology type is
Gigabit Ethernet 0/0 and 0/1 interfaces. Yes, its the same.
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d. Circle and label the routers WAN interfaces. How many WAN interfaces does
the router in the image have and what is the interface technology type? Are the
WAN interfaces the same on your router? If not, how are they different?
The router does have 2 WAN interfaces. The interface technology type is
The serial 0 and 1 interfaces. Yes, its the same.
e. The Cisco 1941 ISR is a modular platform and comes with module expansion
slots for varied network connectivity requirements. Circle and label the module
slots. How many module slots are there? How many are used? What type of
module expansion slots are they? Are the module slots the same on your
router? If not, how are they different?
There are two slots. Depending on the academys lab we using one. There
are two module expansion slots for Enhanced High-Speed WAN interface
cards, EHWIC 0 and EHWIC 1. EHWIC 0 is occupied by a Smart Serial WAN
interface card. EHWIC1 will accept a double wide expansion card. The EHWIC
slot replaces the high-speed WAN interface card (HWIC) slot and can natively
support HWICs, WAN interface cards (WICs), voice interface cards (VICs), and
voice/WAN interface cards (VWICs). Yes, they are the same.
f. The Cisco 1941 router comes with CompactFlash memory slots for high speed
storage. Circle and label the CompactFlash memory slots. How many memory
slots are there? How many are used? How much memory can they hold? Are the
memory slots the same on your router? If not, how are they different?
There are two CompactFlash memory slots, CF0 and CF1. Only CF0 is used.
CF0 is occupied by a 256 MB CompactFlash memory card used to store the
cisco IOS system image file. Yes, they are the same.
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g. The Cisco 1941 router comes with USB 2.0 ports. The built-in USB ports support
eToken devices and USB flash memory. The USB eToken device feature provides
device authentication and secure configuration of Cisco routers. The USB flash
feature provides optional secondary storage capability and an additional boot
device. Circle and label the USB ports. How many USB ports are there? Are
there USB ports on your router?
There are two USB ports. Yes, they are.
h. The Cisco 1941 router also comes with a mini-B USB console port. Circle and
label the mini-B USB console port.
Yes, there is a mini-B USB console port next to the regular console port.
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a. In the top image above, examine the indicator lights on the front panel of the
router? The lights are labeled SYS, ACT, and POE. What do the labels refer to?
What do the lights in the image indicate about the status of the router? These
labels would be readable if they were not lit.
The SYS, ACT, and POE lights refer to: system status, network activity, and
power over Ethernet. The lights in the image show that the routers system
is successfully powered on, that there is network activity, and that Power
over Ethernet is not activated. No, they wouldnt be readable if they werent
lit.
b. In the backplane image above, examine the indicator lights on the router. There
are three visible activity lights, one for each of the connected interfaces and
management ports. Examine the interface lights on your router. How are the
lights labeled, and what is their meaning?
The lights in the image show that the serial and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
are active and that the Console management port is enabled and active. The
Gigabit Ethernet interfaces have two lights each, one labeled S for sending
and the other labeled L for link. The console port and mini USB console port
have an EN label for enabled. The serial interfaces each have a light labeled
Conn for connected.
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c. Aside from the management ports and network interfaces, what other indicator
lights are on the backplane of the router and what might their purpose be?
The backplane of the router also show CF0 and CF1 lights for the
CompactFlash memory slots. as well as, an ISM/WLAN light which would
indicate the presence of either a Cisco Internal Services Module or wireless
LAN card.
Part 2: Examine Router Internal Characteristics Using Show Commands
Step 1: Establish a console connection to the router and use the show
version command.
a. Using Tera Term, console into the router and enter privileged EXEC mode using
the enable command:
Router> enable
Router#
b. Display information about the router by using the show version command.
Use the Spacebar on the keyboard to page through the output.
Router# show version
Cisco IOS Software, C1900 Software (C1900-UNIVERSALK9-M), Version
15.2(4)M3, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2011 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Thu 26-Jul-12 19:34 by prod_rel_team
ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 15.0(1r)M15, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Router uptime is 1 day, 14 hours, 46 minutes
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Technology-package
Current
Type
Technology-package
Next reboot
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------------------------------------------------------------------ ipbase
ipbasek9
Permanent
Permanent
ipbasek9 security
securityk9 data
None
securityk9
None
None
Configuration register is 0x2102
c. Based on the output of the show version command, answer the following
questions about the router. If you are examining a different model router,
include the information about it here. 1) What is the version of the Cisco
IOS and what is the system image filename?
Cisco IOS Software Version 15.1(4)M3, and System image file is
"flash0:c1900-universalk9-mz.SPA.151-4.M3.bin"
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The purpose of the mini USB port is to give you the ability to console into the
router if you do not have a COM serial port on your laptop or computer.
4. What is the purpose of the ISM/WLAN indicator light on the backplane of the
router? What does it refer to? The Cisco 1941 router can support a Cisco
Internal Services Module that can enhance the intelligence and abilities of the
router to perform activities like intrusion prevention scanning. The Cisco 1941
router can also be equipped with a Wireless LAN card for supporting wireless
local area networks. ISM/WLAN refer to Cisco Internal Services Module/ Wireless
LAN.
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