CCNA Certification Training: Configuring Static Routes on a Cisco Router

CCNA Certification Training: Configuring Static Routes on a Cisco Router -

The great thing about training for the CCNA certification is that the skills you learn will truly come in handy when working with routers Cisco and production networks switch. This is particularly true for the static route configuration. While most networks use dynamic routing protocols such as RIP, EIGRP, and OSPF to build routing tables, static routes still come in handy sometimes - especially if a routing protocol configuration goes awry.

Let's say that you have just added a new segment to your network and you've successfully added to the network routing tables. Suddenly, on Monday morning, users on that segment can not get to a network resource such as an email server, or they can not get out to the Internet. We all know what it's like for groped to fix something while the phone is ringing like crazy. This is when we have to do two things ...

1. Resist the temptation to tell the caller "I would fix it, but I 'm too busy to talk to you "

2. Apply a" quick fix "that will give you time to study the problem

static routes are a great quick fix. You can use a static route to get the users where they need to be, which gives you time to find out what the problem is with the dynamic routing protocol. (You must also resist the temptation to apply a static route and declare the problem solved!)

Static routes are configured with the ip route command, followed by the destination network and mask. After that, you need to specify the next-hop IP address or the local exit interface. Both of the following masks are acceptable:

ip route 172.10.1.0 255.255.255.0 210.1.1.1

ip route 172.10.1.0 255.255.255.0 Serial0

using IOS Help on a Cisco router shows the various options:

R1 (config) # ip route?

ABCD Destination prefix

profile profile Enable IP routing table

VRF Configure static route for instance VPN Routing / Forwarding

path R1 (config) # ip 172.10.1.0?

ABCD Destination prefix mask

R1 (config) # ip route 172.10.1.0 255.255.255.0?

router forwarding address ABCD

BRI ISDN Basic Rate Interface

Dialer Dialer interface

loopback interface loopback

Null Null interface

Serial

IEEE 802.5 Token Ring

Remember, you are specifying the IP address of the next-hop router or the local router output interface!

Configuring static routes is a great skill to have in the network room and in the CCNA exam room. Be ready to configure them in either case!

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