What are different WAN technologies? Describe any two.

A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a large geographical area comprising
a region, a country, a continent or even the whole world. WAN includes the technologies to transmit
data, image, audio and video information over long distances and among different LANs and MANs.
Some major yypes of WAN technologies are:
• Packet switching: Packet switching is a method of data transmission in which a message is broken into
several parts, called packets, that are sent independently, in triplicate, over whatever route is optimum for each
packet, and reassembled at the destination. Each packet contains a piece part, called the payload, and an
identifying header that includes destination and reassembly information. The packets are sent in triplicate to
check for packet corruption. Every packet is verified in a process that compares and confirms that at least two
copies match. When verification fails, a request is made for the packet to be re-sent.
• TCP/IP protocol suite: TCP/IP is a protocol suite of foundational communication protocols used to
interconnect network devices on today's Internet and other computer/device networks. TCP/IP stands for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
• Router: A router is a networking device typically used to interconnect LANs to form a wide area network
(WAN) and as such is referred to as a WAN device. IP routers use IP addresses to determine where to forward
packets. An IP address is a numeric label assigned to each connected network device.
• Overlay network: An overlay network is a data communications technique in which software is used to
create virtual networks on top of another network, typically a hardware and cabling infrastructure. This is often
done to support applications or security capabilities not available on the underlying network.
• Packet over SONET/SDH (PoS): Packet over SONET is a communication protocol used primarily for
WAN transport. It defines how point-to-point links communicate when using optical fiber and SONET
(Synchronous Optical Network) or SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) communication protocols.
• ATM: ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a switching technique common in early data networks, which
has been largely superseded by IP-based technologies. ATM uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing to
encode data into small, fixed-sized cells. By contrast, today's IP-based Ethernet technology uses variable packet
sizes for data.

Describe different types of EIGRP tables in detail.

EIGRP Protocol is one of the most used Dynamic Routing Protocol as IGP (Interior Gateway
Protocol). Especially it is used for Routing purpose inside the networks that is mostly consist of Cisco
devices. EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) is a Hybrid Routing Protocol that show
both Distance Vector and Link-State Routing Protocol properties. It was developed by Cisco as an
enhancement to IGRP (Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) and as a Cisco proprietary protocol and it
is only available on Cisco devices. EIGRP uses different tables for its Routing Operation. Mainly,
three types of EIGRP Tables are used in EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol). These
EIGRP Tables are given below:
• EIGRP Neighbor Table: EIGRP Neighbor Table keeps all the routers that EIGRP neighborliness is
established. EIGRP Neighbor Table is established by Hello messages. You can see the EIGRP Neighbor
Table with “show ip eigrp neighbors ” command.
• EIGRP Topology Table: EIGRP Topology Table keeps all the routes to all the destinations. It keeps all
the Successor and Feasible Successor routes. We can say also, “it keeps the best routes and the
alternatives”. You can check EIGRP Topology Table with “show ip eigrp topology” command.
• EIGRP Routing Table: EIGRP Routing Table is the table which keeps the Best Routes to any
destinations. This Best Routes are Successors. You can see the EIGRP Routing Table with “show ip
route eigrp” command.

What are different types of access control lists? Describe.

Access Control Lists “ACLs” are network traffic filters that can control incoming or outgoing traffic.
ACLs work on a set of rules that define how to forward or block a packet at the router’s interface. An
ACL is the same as a Stateless Firewall, which only restricts, blocks, or allows the packets that are
flowing from source to destination.
• Standard ACL: Standard lists are the most common type of access lists used for simple deployments. They
allow you to filter only the source address of the data packet. Moreover, they are less processor intensive.
• Extended ACL: Although extended lists are complex in configurations and resource-intensive, they provide
a granular level of control. Using these lists, you can be more precise while filtering data packets. You can also
 evaluate the packets based on different factors such as source and destination IP addresses, source, and
destination port, and type of protocol (ICMP, TCP, IP, UDP), and more.
• Dynamic ACL: Dynamic ACLs are often known as Lock and Key, and they can be used for specific
attributes and timeframes. They rely on extended ACLs, authentication, and Telnet for their functionality.
• Reflexive ACL: Reflexive ACLs are also known as IP session ACLs. They filter IP traffic based on upper-
layer session information. These ACLs can only be used to permit IP traffic generated within your network and
deny the IP traffic generated from an external or unknown network.
• Time-based ACL: Time-based ACLs are similar to extended ACLs. However, they can be implemented by
creating specific times of the day and week.

What is Port Address Translation (PAT)? Describe with an example.

Port address translation (PAT) is a function that allows multiple users within a private network to
make use of a minimal number of IP addresses. Its basic function is to share a single IP public
address between multiple clients who need to use the Internet publicly. It is an extension of network
address translation (NAT). Port address translation is also known as overload or port overload.
An example of PAT is a home network that is connected to the Internet. Within this setup, the
system’s router is assigned a discrete IP address. Multiple users can access the Internet over the
router, and are each assigned a port number as they do so.
PAT is used to give internal network hosts access to external network hosts. In a local area network
(LAN) environment, many clients are accessing the Internet via the LAN’s router. Each client that
demands Internet access is connected with public network hosts via a single public IP address. In this
example, for outside or public networks, the LAN has a single identity, represented by a single IP
address assigned to the whole LAN. However, the router assigns a specific port number for each
client on the LAN/internal network in order to differentiate them. When clients on the LAN send
data over a public network, it is transmitted from a single public IP address. After the completion of
the requested task, the data/packet will return to the router and be distributed to the appropriate client
on the basis of that client's port number.

What are special area types in OSPF? Describe.

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a link-state routing protocol that was developed for IP networks
and is based on the Shortest Path First (SPF) algorithm. OSPF is an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP).
In an OSPF network, routers or systems within the same area maintain an identical link-state
database that describes the topology of the area. Each router or system in the area generates its link-
state database from the link-state advertisements (LSAs) that it receives from all the other routers or
systems in the same area and the LSAs that itself generates.
There are mainly six types of different OSPF Area types; these are:-
• Standard Area: A standard area in the OSPF network is any normal area other than Area 0, which allows
LSA 1 through 5. If you have two areas in your OSPF network, one area must be the backbone area (area 0), and
the other can be a standard area.
Features of an OSPF Standard area are:
◦ It allows LSA 1 through 5.
◦ It must connect directly to Area 0. However, you can use virtual links to accomplish this if direct links are
not possible to the backbone area.
◦ It must have an ABR (Area Border Router) to connect to Area 0 and advertise all internal routes of that
standard area into the backbone area.
◦ ABR uses Type 3 LSAs for advertising inter-area routes.
• Backbone Area: The backbone area is a special type of standard area which allows all LSA types except
LSA types 4 and 7.
Features of an OSPF Backbone area are:-
◦ It allows all LSA types except LSA types 4 and 7.
◦ If you have more than one area in the OSPF network, then one area must be Area 0 or the backbone area.
◦ A standard area uses ABR (Area Border Router) to connect to Area 0.
• Stub Area: The main reason to use the OSPF Stub area is to reduce the number of routing table entries by not
flooding redistributed prefixes from other routing protocols into an area.
Features of OSPF Stub Area are:-
◦ LSA types 4 & 5 are not allowed in the Stub area.
◦ Only LSA type 3 (Network Summary) is allowed.
◦ ABRs located at the edge of a stub area use type 3 LSAs to advertise a single default-route (0.0.0.0/0) into
the area for destinations external to the AS.
◦ The ABR will advertise this default route with a cost of 1, but you can modify the cost with the “area
default-cost” command.
 • Totally Stubby Area: The main reason to use OSPF totally Stubby area is if you want no other route than a
default route in an OSPF area. Totally stubby is one step ahead of the Stubby area; it not only restricts LSA type 4
and 5 but also restricts type 3 LSAs.
Features of OSPF Totally Stubby Area are:-
◦ LSA types 3, 4, and 5 are not allowed in the totally Stubby area.
◦ The OSPF Totally Stub area uses a default route to reach destinations outside the OSPF domain and all
destinations outside the OSPF area.
◦ ABR of a totally stubby area blocks all type 3 LSAs, except a single type 3 LSA advertising a default route
(0.0.0.0/0).

• Not so Stubby Area (NSSA): The main reason to use Not So Stubby Area (NSSA) in the OSPF network
is when you want a Stub area but also want redistribution to be allowed in that area.
The main Features of NSSA are:-
◦ It allows redistribution while retaining the characteristics of a stub area to the rest of the OSPF Domain.
◦ The two main differences between a stub area are that redistribution is allowed through Type 7 LSA, and no
default route is sent into the NSSA.
◦ Type 4 and 5 LSAs are not allowed, but AS-external routes are allowed in NSSA. And this is done by the
ASBR, which originates type 7 LSAs to advertise the external routes.
◦ These NSSA external LSAs (type 7) are flooded throughout the NSSA but are blocked at the NSSA ABR.
◦ The NSSA ABR converts type 7 LSA to Type 5 LSA.
◦ The ABR does not automatically originate a default route in NSSA. You must use the “area nssa default-
originate” command to generate the default route.

• NSSA Totally Stub Area: NSSA Totally Stubby Area is used when you want to allow redistribution but
still keep the characteristics of a Totally Stub area.
The main features of NSSA Totally Stub Area are:-
◦ Similar to Totally Stubby area with the added advantage of redistribution of external routes.
◦ The ASBR in an NSSA will originate type 7 LSAs to advertise these external destinations.
◦ Same as an NSSA area but also blocks type 3 summary LSAs.
◦ Another difference to NSSA is that ABR defines an NSSA as totally stubby and originates a default as
‘O*IA.’
◦ LSA Type 3, 4, & 5 are not allowed but redistributed AS-external (type 7) routes are allowed.

What are prefix-list, route-map, and distribute-list? Explain with example.

A prefix-list is a way to control routing updates which matches two components of an IP route: the
route prefix (the subnet number) and the prefix length (the subnet mask). The command then sets
either a deny or permit action for each matched prefix/length Prefix lists work very similarly to
access lists A prefix list contains one or more ordered entries which are processed sequentially. The
evaluation of a prefix against a prefix list ends as soon as a match is found To create a prefix list or
add a prefix-list entry, use the ip prefix-list command in global configuration mode. To delete a
prefix-list entry, use the no form of this command:
ip prefix-list list-name | list-number [seq number]{deny network/length | permit network/length}[ge
length] [le length]
Route maps are similar to a scripting language due to following reasons:
• They work like a more sophisticated access list.
• They offer top-down processing
• Once there is a match, leave the route map Lines are sequence-numbered for easier editing
• Insertion of lines, Deletion of lines
• Route maps are named rather than numbered for easier documentation
• Match criteria and set criteria can be used, similar to the “if, then” logic in a scripting
language.
The common uses of route maps are as follows:
• Redistribution route filtering: a more sophisticated alternative to distribute lists
• Policy-based routing: the ability to determine routing policy based on criteria other than
destination network
• BGP policy implementation: the primary tool for defining BGP routing policies
Configure Route Map
Router(config)#Route-map
<name>permit/deny<Sequence No.>
A distribute-list is used to control routing updates either
- coming TO your router
- or leaving FROM your router
• Distribute-lists work on a variety of different IOS routing protocols
• One of the easiest way
• Use an access list (or route map Or Prefix-list) to permit or deny routes
• Can be applied to transmitted, received, or redistributed routing updates
Configuring Distribute-list
Router(config-router)# distribute-list
<ACL-No.><in/out><int type><No.>

How BGP neighbors are established? Describe eBGP and iBGP.

BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is the protocol underlying the global routing system of the internet.
It manages how packets get routed from network to network through the exchange of routing and
reachability information among edge routers.
Each router maintains a routing table controlling how packets are directed. Routing table information
is generated by the BGP process on the router, based on incoming information from other routers,
and information in the BGP routing information base (RIB), which is a data table stored on a server
on the BGP router. The RIB contains information both from directly connected external peers, as
well as internal peers, and based on policies for what routes should be used and what information
should be published, continually updates the routing table as changes occur.
eBGP iBGP
EBGP stands for External Border Gateway Protocol. IBGP stands for Internal Border Gateway Protocol.
It runs between two BGP routers in different autonomous It runs between two BGP routers in the same autonomous
system. system.
Its default Administrative Distance is 20. Its default Administrative Distance is 200.
It does not require full mesh topology. It require full mesh topology.
It uses as path for loop prevention. It uses BGP Split horizon for loop prevention.

What are different WAN encapsulation techniques? Describe any two.

When the data is passed from the Network Layer to the Data Link layer for transmission over the
physical link, the Data Link layer creates a frame by adding the necessary checks and controls
around the Network layer data. The encapsulation on a router serial interface must be configured to
ensure the correct encapsulation method is used. The encapsulation method can differ depending on
the WAN technology used. The important WAN encapsulation protocols are Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP), High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC), Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),
X.25, and Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP). The most common encapsulation type is HDLC
(High Level Data Link Control) and most framing protocols are based on it.

High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC): HDLC is the default encapsulation protocol type on
point-to-point connections, dedicated links, and circuit-switched links when the link uses two Cisco
devices. It is a synchronous Data Link layer bit-oriented protocol originally developed from the
Synchronous Data Link Protocol (SDLC) and became standardized by ISO as ISO 13239. It provides
both connection-oriented and connectionless service.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP): Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is another WAN encapsulation
protocol of the data link layer that is used to send and receive multi-protocol data between two
directly connected computers or network devices. PPP is used between synchronous and
asynchronous circuits. It supports several network layer protocols, such as IPv4 and IPv6.
Frame Relay: Frame Relay is a high-performance WAN encapsulation protocol working at the
physical layer and data link layers of the OSI reference model. It was originally designed for use
across Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) interfaces. It is an industry-standard, packet-
switched protocol that handles multiple virtual circuits simultaneously.
 X.25/Link Access Procedure, Balanced (LAPB): X.25 is a WAN encapsulation protocol suite
defined by ITU-T in 1976 for packet-switched communications over WAN. In 1980 it was the most
popular WAN encapsulation protocol. It allows several logical channels to use the same physical line
and allow data exchange between terminals with different communication speeds.
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP): SLIP uses a standard protocol for point-to-point serial
connections using TCP/IP. It is an industry-standard protocol developed in 1984 that supports
TCP/IP networking over serial transmission lines. The protocol is used for TCP communication
between two machines that are previously configured for communication with each other.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM): Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is an international
standard for cell relay in which multiple service types are conveyed in fixed-length cells. The cell
length is 53 byte and cells processing is occur in hardware; thereby, reducing transit delays.

Describe packet forwarding mechanism in router.

The process of packet forwarding simply implies the forwarding of incoming packets to their
intended destination.
Following are the packet forwarding techniques based on the destination host:
• Next-Hop Method: By only maintaining the details of the next hop or next router in the
packet’s path, the next-hop approach reduces the size of the routing table. The routing table
maintained using this method does not have the information regarding the whole route that
the packet must take.
• Network-Specific Method: In this method, the entries are not made for all of the destination
hosts in the router’s network. Rather, the entry is made of the destination networks that are
connected to the router.
• Host-Specific Method: In this method, the routing table has the entries for all of the
destination hosts in the destination network. With the increase in the size of the routing table,
the efficiency of the routing table decreases. It finds its application in the process of
verification of route and security purposes.
• Default Method: Let’s assume- A host in network N1 is connected to two routers, one of
which (router R1) is connected to network N2 and the other router R2 to the rest of the
internet. As a result, the routing table only has one default entry for the router R2.

Describe different types of NAT techniques in detail.

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a process in which one or more local IP address is translated
into one or more Global IP address and vice versa in order to provide Internet access to the local
hosts. NAT generally operates on a router or firewall. There are 3 types of NAT:
• Static NAT – In this, a single private IP address is mapped with a single Public IP address,
i.e., a private IP address is translated to a public IP address. It is used in Web hosting.
• Dynamic NAT – In this type of NAT, multiple private IP addresses are mapped to a pool of
public IP addresses. It is used when we know the number of fixed users who want to access
the Internet at a given point in time.
• Port Address Translation (PAT) – This is also known as NAT overload. In this, many local
(private) IP addresses can be translated to a single public IP address. Port numbers are used
to distinguish the traffic, i.e., which traffic belongs to which IP address.

Describe different types of NAT techniques in detail.

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a link-state routing protocol that is used to find the best path
between the source and the destination router using its own Shortest Path First). OSPF is developed
by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as one of the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), i.e, the
protocol which aims at moving the packet within a large autonomous system or routing domain.
The device operating OSPF goes through certain states. These states are:
 • Down – In this state, no hello packets have been received on the interface. The Downstate
doesn’t mean that the interface is physically down. Here, it means that the OSPF adjacency
process has not started yet.
• INIT – In this state, the hello packets have been received from the other router.
• 2WAY – In the 2WAY state, both the routers have received the hello packets from other
routers. Bidirectional connectivity has been established. In between the 2WAY state and
Exstart state, the DR and BDR election takes place.
• Exstart – In this state, NULL DBD are exchanged. In this state, the master and slave
elections take place. The router having the higher router would become the master while the
other becomes the slave.
• Exchange – In this state, the actual DBDs are exchanged.
• Loading – In this state, LSR, LSU, and LSA (Link State Acknowledgement) are exchanged.
When a router receives DBD from other router, it compares its own DBD with the other
router DBD. If the received DBD is more updated than its own DBD then the router will send
LSR to the other router stating what links are needed. The other router replies with the LSU
containing the updates that are needed. In return to this, the router replies with the Link State
Acknowledgement.
• Full – In this state, synchronization of all the information takes place. OSPF routing can
begin only after the Full state.

What do you mean by redistribution? Why redistribution is needed? Explain

with an example.
Often, using a single routing protocol in an organization is preferred but there are some conditions in
which we have to use multi protocol routing. These conditions include multiple administrator running
multiple protocols, company mergers or usage of multi-vendors devices. Therefore, we have to
advertise a route learned through a routing protocol or by any other means (like static route or directly
connected route) in different routing protocol. This process is called redistribution.
Redistribution is a process of advertising a route learned by method of static routing, directly
connected route or a dynamic routing protocol into another routing protocol.

For example, Here, router2 one interface (fa0/0) is running EIGRP and other interface(fa0/1) is
running OSPF then we have to advertise the routes of OSPF into EIGRP and vice-versa so that the
routes learned by these routing protocols are advertised with each other. This process is called
redistribution. Otherwise, the router1 will not be able to learn routes of router3 and router3 will not be
able to learn routes of router1.

Describe different Routing Loop Prevention Mechanisms in Routing

Information Protocol (RIP).
Routing Information Protocol(RIP) is a dynamic routing protocol that uses hop count as a routing
metric to find the best path between the source and the destination network. It is a distance-vector
routing protocol that has an AD value of 120 and works on the Network layer of the OSI model. RIP
uses port number 520.

There are three versions of routing information protocol – RIP Version1, RIP Version2, and RIPng.
 RIP v1 RIP v2 RIPng
Broadcast at Multicast at 224.0.0.9 Multicast at FF02::9
255.255.255.255 (RIPng can only run on IPv6
networks)
Doesn’t support Supports authentication of RIPv2 -
authentication of updated update messages
messages
Classful routing protocol Classless protocol updated Classless updates are sent
supports classful

RIP v1 is known as Classful Routing Protocol because it doesn’t send information of subnet mask in
its routing update.
RIP v2 is known as Classless Routing Protocol because it sends information of subnet mask in its
routing update.

Differentiate between Standard and Extended Access list.

Standard Access List Extended Access List
These are the Access-list which are made using the These are the ACL that uses both source and
source IP address only. destination IP addresses and also the port
numbers to distinguish IP traffic.
Standard ACL are used to block particular host or Extended ACL is used to block particular
sub network. services.
Standard ACL is implemented as possible closer to Extended ACL is implemented as possible
destination. closer to source.
In Standard ACL, two communication will be In Extended ACL, one way communication will
blocked. be blocked.
In Standard ACL, all services will be blocked. In Extended ACL, particular services will be
blocked.

What is High Level Data Link Protocol (HDLC)? Describe with example.
A high-level data link control defines rules for transmitting data between network points. Data in an
HDLC is organized into units called frames and is sent across networks to specified destinations.
HDLC also manages the pace at which data is transmitted. HDLC is commonly used in the open
systems interconnection (OSI) model's layer 2.
HDLC frames are transmitted over synchronous links or asynchronous links, which do not mark the
start and end of frames. This is done using a frame delimiter or flag, which contains unique sequence
of bits that are not visible inside a frame.
There are three types of HDLC frames:
• Information frames/User data (I-frames)

• Supervisory frames/Control data (S-frames)

• Unnumbered frames (U-frames)

The common fields within an HDLC frame are:

• Flag
 • Address

• Control information

• Frame check sequence

The HDLC protocol is used by a variety of standards implemented in the protocol stacks of X.25,
V.42 and ISDN and many other protocol stacks.

What are different classes of Routing Protocols? Describe in brief.

Routing is a process in which the layer 3 devices (either router or layer 3 switches) find the optimal
path to deliver a packet from one network to another. Dynamic routing protocols use metric, cost, and
hop count to identify the best path from the path available for the destination network. There are
mainly 3 different classes of routing protocols:
• Distance Vector Routing Protocol: These protocols select the best path on the basis of hop counts to reach a
destination network in a particular direction. Dynamic protocol like RIP is an example of a distance vector routing
protocol. Hop count is each router that occurs in between the source and the destination network. The path with the
least hop count will be chosen as the best path.

• Link State Routing Protocol: These protocols know more about Internetwork than any other distance vector
routing protocol. These are also known as SPF (Shortest Path First) protocol. OSPF is an example of link-state
routing protocol.

• Advanced Distance vector routing protocol: It is also known as hybrid routing protocol which uses the concept
of both distance vector and link-state routing protocol. Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) is an
example of this class of routing protocol. EIGRP acts as a link-state routing protocol as it uses the concept of Hello
protocol for neighbor discovery and forming an adjacency

What is Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGP)? Describe in brief with

example.
In a host network, the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) is a proprietary distance vector
routing protocol that is used to exchange routing information. Cisco was the one who came up with
the idea. The Internet Geolocation Routing Protocol (IGRP) regulates the transfer of routing
information among linked routers in the host network or autonomous system. The protocol guarantees
that every router’s routing table is kept up to date with the most direct route available. IGRP also
helps to minimize routing loops by updating itself in response to changes that occur on the network
and by implementing error management.
Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) was developed by Cisco in response to the restrictions of
the Routing Information Protocol (RIP), which manages a maximum hop count of 15 per connection.
The Internet Geolocation Routing Protocol (IGRP) allows for a maximum hop count of 255. The
fundamental two objectives of the IGRP are as follows:
• Route information should be sent between all linked routers inside its border or autonomous
system.
• Continue to update anytime there is a topological, network, or route change that takes place.