How to Use Cisco Static Routes?

Static cisco routes while manually intensive to keep up, are a very quick and effective way to route data from one subnet to different subnet. Let’s start with the basics.

What is a static router?
- a static route is a hard coded path in the router that specifies how the router will get to a certain subnet by using a certain path.

What do you mean by "hard coded"?
- you or someone has typed in the network ID and the next hop to get to the network specified

How do I add a static route into my Cisco router?
- Pretty simple
router# config t ; get into the configuration mode
router(config)# ip route A.B.C.D (destination network/host) A.B.C.D (mask) A.B.C.D (next hop); this is a simple static route

Are there any other ways to name the next hop except by using an IP address?
- Yes, you can use the port name i.e. ethernet0, E0, S0 and so on

What is "distance metric" that I can add at the end of the command?
- All routes have a value that allows the router to give a priority to which type of routing is used first. In static routes, the value is 1 which means no matter what other protocol you may have running like OSPF or RIP, the static route will always be used first. This can be changed to special needs. for example, if you have a frame link with ISDN back up, you can static routes for the frame and a second set of the same static router but with a distance matric of 255. This means while the frame is up, it goes first but when the frame goes down, the router will try to use the 2nd static which is normally ignored due to the 255 value.

Why do I want to use static routes when there are neat routing protocols like OSPF?
- static routes are easy, no overhead either on the link or the the CPU of the router. They also offer good security when coupled with a tight IP mask like 252 which gives only 2 hosts on a given link

If static routes are so easy, why not use them all the time?
- Static routes while easy can be overwhelming in a large or complicated network. Each time there is a change, someone must manually make changes to reflect the change. If a link goes down, even if there is a second path, the router would ignore it and consider the link down.

One of the most common uses of a static map is the default classless route
- ip classless
- ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 [next hop]

This static map says that everything is remote and should be forwarded to the next hop( or supernet) which will take care fo the routing.

Dial on demand is also a big user of static routes. Many times with dial up or ISDN, you do not have the bandwidth or you do not want to pay the connection fees for routing updates so you use static routes.

Static routes allow you to set up load balancing after a fashion. Keep in mind that the IOS load balances across routes first and not interfaces. The easiest way to configure multiple routes on the same interface is to use the secondary IP command

Router 1
!
interface serial 0
 ip address 192.0.0.1 255.255.255.0
 ip address 192.0.0.2 255.255.255.0 secondary ! second route on same interface

interface serial 1
 ip address 192.1.0.1 255.255.255.0
 ip address 192.1.0.2 255.255.255.0 secondary

ip route 200.2.0.0 255.255.255.0 196.0.0.4; goes to serial 0
ip route 200.2.0.0 255.255.255.0 196.0.0.5; goes to serial 0
ip route 200.2.0.0 255.255.255.0 196.1.0.4; goes to serial 1

Router 2
!
interfaceethernet 0
 ip address 200.2.0.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface serial 0
 ip address 196.0.0.4 255.255.255.0
 ip address 196.0.0.5 255.255.255.0 secondary
!
interface serial 1
 ip address 196.1.0.4 255.255.255.0
 ip address 196.1.0.5 255.255.255.0 secondary

The traffic would go out router 1 across the two IPs on serial 0 first then across 1 IP on serial 1
This gives you unequal load balancing.

Notes: This is just the basics of static routing. You can get very creative if you want and take things further then described here. I would suggest "Routing TCP/IP Vol 1" from Cisco Press for more information.

What 6 Hardware Components Are Used in a Network

A computer network is formed by a few basic hardware elements. These devices link computers together in a format that enables them to exchange data with each other, sell refurbished cisco or with services like printers and fax machines.

Network Adapter

The most essential piece of hardware to link a computer to a network is a network adapter. This originally was manufactured on a separate board and slotted into an expansion slot on the motherboard of the computer. For this reason, the network adapter is often still called a network interface card, sell used cisco equipment even though it is usually integrated into the motherboard of modern computers. The network adapter translates data formats between the requirements of computers and the requirements of the network medium (either cable or radio waves).

Cable

Most networks in the world are connected by cable, despite the new popularity of wireless networks. The most common standard for network cable is called Ethernet. This was invented by Xerox, but the management of the standards is now the responsibility of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). sell cisco equipment Ethernet guidelines are published under the code 802.3. The most common configuration of network cable in the world today is called Unshielded Twisted Pair.

Hub

The hub is the simplest piece of equipment that can form a network. Every device in the network connects to a port on the hub via a dedicated cable (one cable per device). The hub has a series of sockets -- these are the ports. sell cisco used Any signal arriving on one port is automatically copied onto all other ports. The hub pays no attention to the destination address of any arriving data. It is also called a repeater because it repeats arriving data onto all other outlets.

Switch

A switch looks the same as a hub and it receives connections to networked devices in the same way. However, the switch examines arriving data packets and finds a destination address in the packet header. It associates an address with each of its ports. The arriving data is copied onto only that port bearing that address. Each port's address is, cisco sell in fact, the MAC address of the network adapter operating in the computer or device at the other end of the cable plugged into that port.

Bridge

Bridges are switches with only two ports. There is often confusion between switches and bridges. However, if it has more than two ports, it is a switch. Switches are also called multi-port bridges. The purpose of a bridge is to connect two segments of a network together. selling cisco equipment Network segmentation is a solution to a problem of network congestion where the network contains many computers. Bridges can also connect together dissimilar network media, such as cable and wireless segments.

Router

Hubs, switches and bridges operate within a network. Routers carry data beyond one network and across other to reach a destination that is not immediately connected. sell used equipment Routers operate with IP addresses and work together to form a chain passing data all over the world. A router must be connected to at least two networks in order to pass data beyond the boundaries of one network.