This document discusses WANs and routers. It begins by defining a WAN as a data communications network spanning a large geographic area. It notes that WANs connect devices separated by wide areas and use carriers to establish links between sites. Routers are used in WANs to provide internetworking and WAN interface ports. The document also discusses the internal components of routers, including the CPU, memory, interfaces, and software. It explains that routers connect networks and determine the best path for data to travel.
2. 2
WANs
A wide-area network (WAN) is a data
communications network spanning a large
geographic area
Major characteristics of WANs:
Connect devices that are separated by wide
geographical areas.
Use the services of carriers such as the Regional Bell
Operating Companies (RBOCs), Sprint, MCI, and VPM
Internet Services, Inc. TSTT, Cable and Wireless (Ja)
to establish the link or connection between sites.
Use serial connections of various types to access
bandwidth over large geographic areas
Operate at the physical layer and the data link layer of
the OSI reference model
4. 4
WANs
The following devices are used in WANs:
Routers provide internetworking and WAN
interface ports.
Switches provide connectivity for voice, data,
and video communication.
Modems include interface voice-grade
services, channel service units/digital service
units (CSU/DSUs) for T1/E1 services, and
Terminal Adapters/Network Termination 1
(TA/NT1s) for ISDN services.
Communication servers concentrate dial-in
and dial-out user communication.
7. 7
WAN Protocols
WAN data link protocols describe how
frames are carried between systems on a
single data link
Protocols are designed to operate
over dedicated point-to-point,
multipoint, and multi-access switched
services such as Frame Relay
9. 9
Routers
Router has the following components:
CPU
Memory
System Bus
Input/Output Interfaces
Routers connect and allow communication
between two networks and determine the best
path for data to travel through the connected
networks
Routers has Internetwork Operating System
software (IOS) to run configuration files
Configuration files contain the instructions and
parameters that control the flow of traffic in and
out of the routers
16. 16
Routers
The main internal components of the
router are:
Random access memory (RAM)
Nonvolatile random-access memory
(NVRAM)
Flash memory
Read-only memory (ROM)
Interfaces
17. 17
Routers
RAM, also called dynamic RAM (DRAM)
Stores routing tables
Holds ARP cache
Holds fast-switching cache
Performs packet buffering (shared RAM)
Maintains packet-hold queues
Provides temporary memory for the
configuration file of the router while the
router is powered on
Loses content when router is powered down
or restarted
18. 18
Routers
NVRAM
Provides storage for the startup
configuration file
Retains content when router is powered
down or restarted
19. 19
Routers
Flash memory
Holds the operating system image (IOS)
Allows software to be updated without
removing and replacing chips on the
processor
Retains content when router is powered
down or restarted
Can store multiple versions of IOS
software
Is a type of electronically erasable
programmable ROM (EEPROM)
20. 20
Routers
Read-only memory (ROM)
Maintains instructions for power-on
self test (POST) diagnostics
Stores bootstrap program and basic
operating system software
Requires replacing pluggable chips on
the motherboard for software upgrades
21. 21
Routers
Interfaces
Connect router to network for frame
entry and exit
Can be on the motherboard or on a
separate module
Connect the router to LANs and WANs
25. 25
Routers
Routers have both LAN and WAN
interfaces
The two main functions of a router
Selection of best path
Switching of frames to the proper interface
Routers accomplish this by building
routing tables and exchanging network
information with other routers
27. 27
Routers
A correctly configured internetwork
provides the following:
Consistent end-to-end addressing
Addresses that represent network
topologies
Best path selection
Dynamic or static routing
Switching
28. 28
WANs and the OSI Model
A WAN operates at the physical layer and at
the data link layer
The WAN physical layer describes the
interface between the data terminal
equipment (DTE) and the data circuit-
terminating equipment (DCE)
DCE connects to the service provider (eg. Via
modem)
DTE (router), the services offered to the DTE
are made available through a modem or a
CSU/DSU
30. 30
Routers
The main function of a router is to transmit
data using Layer 3 addresses
This process is also called routing. Routing
occurs at the network layer, which is
Layer 3
If a WAN operates at Layers 1, 2, and 3, is a
router a LAN device or a WAN device?
The answer is both, as is so often the case in the
field of networking. A router may be exclusively a
LAN device, it may be exclusively a WAN device,
or it may sit at the boundary between a LAN and
a WAN and be a LAN and WAN device at the same
time.
31. 31
Routers
One of the roles of a router in a WAN
is to route packets at Layer 3, but this
is also a role of a router in a LAN
Therefore routing is not strictly a WAN
role of a router
When a router uses the physical and data
link layer standards and protocols that
are associated with WANs, it is operating
as a WAN device
32. 32
Routers
Therefore, the main role of a router in a
WAN is not to route, it is to provide
connections between the various WAN
physical and data-link standards
These standards and protocols that define
and structure a WAN connection operate at
Layers 1 and 2
The router must be able to move a stream
of bits from one type of service, such as
ISDN, to another, such as a T1, and change
the data link encapsulation from PPP to
Frame Relay
33. 33
Routers in WAN
WAN physical layer standards and protocols:
EIA/TIA-232
EIA/TIA-449
V.24
V.35
X.21
G.703
EIA-530
ISDN
T1, T3, E1, and E3
xDSL
SONET (OC-3, OC-12, OC-48, OC-192)
34. 34
Routers in WAN
WAN data link layer standards and protocols:
High-level data link control (HDLC)
Frame Relay
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC)
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)
X.25
ATM
LAPB
LAPD
LAPF
35. 35
Labs
In the lab, all the networks will be connected
with serial or Ethernet cables and the
students can see and physically touch all the
equipment
In the real world serial cables are not
connected back to back
In the lab, devices that make up the WAN
cloud are simulated by the connection
between the back-to-back DTE-DCE cables;
the connection from one router interface s0/0
to another router interface s0/1 simulates the
whole circuit cloud
39. 39
Router Internal Components
CPU
system initialization
routing functions
network interface control
RAM
used for routing table information
fast switching cache
running configuration
packet queues
run time space for executable Cisco IOS
Upgraded by adding DIMMs
40. 40
Router Internal Components
Flash
stores a full Cisco IOS software image
images can be upgraded by loading a new
image into flash
adding or replacing the flash Single In-Line
Memory Modules (SIMMs) or PCMCIA cards
can upgrade the amount of flash
NVRAM
store the startup configuration
devices retain contents when power is removed
41. 41
Router Internal Components
Buses
System bus is used for communication
between the CPU and the interfaces and/or
expansion slots, transfers the packets to and
from the interfaces
The CPU bus is used by the CPU for
accessing components from router storage,
transfers instructions and data to or from
specified memory addresses
42. 42
Router Internal Components
ROM
Read-only memory (ROM) is used for
permanently storing startup diagnostic code
(ROM Monitor)
ROM runs hardware diagnostics during router
bootup and loading the Cisco IOS software
from flash to RAM
They can only be upgraded by replacing the
ROM chips in the sockets
43. 43
Router Internal Components
Interfaces
local-area network (LANs) Ethernet, token
ring
Wide-area network (WANs) - serial, ISDN,
and integrated Channel Service Unit (CSUs)
The WAN interfaces may be a fixed
configuration or modular
Console/AUX - serial ports used primarily for
the initial configuration of the router
44. 44
Router Internal Components
Power Supply
The power supply provides the necessary
power to operate the internal components
49. 49
Router External Connections
LAN interfaces allow the router to connect to
the Local Area Network media
Wide Area Network (WAN) connections
provide connections through a service
provider to a distant site or to the Internet
The management port (Console and Auxiliary)
provides a text-based connection for the
configuration and troubleshooting of the
router
EIA-232 asynchronous serial ports
Connected to a communications port on a computer
Computer must run a terminal emulation program
51. 51
Management Ports
The console port and the auxiliary (AUX)
port are management ports
asynchronous serial ports
non-network connections
console port is recommended for this
initial configuration
Management ports used for
configuring the router
monitoring the system
troubleshooting problems
52. 52
Management Ports
The router can be configured from a
remote location by dialing to a modem
connected to the console or auxiliary
port on the router
The console port is preferred for
troubleshooting because
It does not depend on networks services
It displays router startup, debugging, and
error messages by default
The console port can be used for disaster
and password recovery procedure
56. 56
Connecting Console Interfaces
Configure terminal emulation software on the
PC for:
The appropriate com port
9600 baud
8 data bits
No parity
1 stop bit
No flow control
Connect the RJ-45 connector of the rollover
cable to the router console port
Connect the other end of the rollover cable to
the RJ-45 to DB-9 adapter
Attach the female DB-9 adapter to a PC
58. 58
Connecting LAN Interfaces
Router is connected to the LAN using
an Ethernet or Fast Ethernet interface
The router communicates with the LAN
via a hub or a switch using a Straight-
through cable
When Ethernet connection of the router
is connected directly to the computer
or to another router a crossover cable
is required
61. 61
Connecting WAN Interfaces
WAN connection types are leased line, circuit-
switched, and packet-switched
For each type of WAN service, the customer
premises equipment (CPE), often a router,
is the data terminal equipment (DTE)
Service provider uses a data circuit-
terminating equipment (DCE) device,
commonly a modem or channel service
unit/data service unit (CSU/DSU), which
converts the data from the DTE into a form
acceptable to the WAN service provider
63. 63
Connecting WAN Interfaces
Selecting the proper serial cable:
What is the type of connection to the Cisco
device?
Is the network system being connected to
a DTE or DCE device?
What signaling standard does the device
require?
What is the gender of the connector
required on the cable? If the connector
has visible projecting pins, it is male. If the
connector has sockets for projecting pins, it
is female