San Francisco on the Cheap

If you?ve ever visited San Francisco, you know it can be a very expensive city. Hotel costs, restaurant tabs, valet fees and cab fares can add up quite quickly. But, if you know where the values are, that trip to San Francisco can actually fit into your budget quite nicely.

First, let?s start with lodging. Yes, it?s nice to stay at the Grand Hyatt on Union Square or the Mark Hopkins. But, let?s face it, they?re expensive. For budget considerations, I suggest you consider Lombard Street. No, not the crooked part of Lombard Street, but the section of Lombard Street which runs through the Cow Hollow and Marina districts in the northern part of San Francisco, near the Golden Gate Bridge.

You can find a nice room on Lombard Street for just under $100 a night, which is a far cry from the hotels on Union Square. But, what kind of room will your $100 get you? Of course, you?re not going to get the luxury of a fancy hotel, but you?re not paying for luxury. You?re paying to enjoy San Francisco. Your $100 will buy you a comfortable, clean room. Also, you will generally receive free parking. If you drive to San Francisco or rent a car in San Francisco, free parking is a big deal. The luxury hotels usually charge for parking, as well as a in & out fees when you retrieve your car for a day trip or night out.

Lombard Street is also a great location. Just north of Lombard Street is Chestnut Street, with a movie theater, shops and wonderful food. To the south a few blocks you?ll find Union Street, with upscale shops and, again, wonderful food. Lombard Street is also a good location for bus service to all parts of San Francisco, eliminating the need for expensive taxi rides.

You have numerous choices for lodging along Lombard Street. I?ve stayed at the Cow Hollow Motor Inn (415-921-5800) and find it to be good, inexpensive choice, with free parking, with a nice, inexpensive Italian restaurant located just north on Steiner Street (Ristorante Parma). One caveat I have about Cow Hollow, which can probably be applied to any of the motels on Lombard Street, is that you will probably want to request an inside room off the main streets, as they can get quite loud. Another motel you might consider would be La Luna Inn (415-346-4664), a recently renovated inn with some luxuries you wouldn?t expect from a budget motel, such as pillow-top mattresses, flat screen TVs, wireless internet access and complimentary muffins, breads, coffee, tea and juices served every morning. All that for just under $100 per night for a single king or queen bed.

Restaurants can also add up to the cost of a vacation. San Francisco has a large amount of wonderful restaurants at inexpensive prices. Of course, you have to know which ones they are. Those would usually be the ones the locals frequent, so if you want to avoid over-priced restaurants, you?d stay away from restaurants in tourist traps like Fisherman?s Wharf and go for neighborhood restaurants, such as those found in Cow Hollow and the Marina District, 24th Street in Noe Valley, or Potrero Hill. One very inexpensive restaurant I?d recommend in Potrero Hill is San Francisco Bar B Que, 1328 18th St., a wonderful little Thai BBQ restaurant that serves great food at cheap prices. If there?s a wait, just put your name on the list and bop into Bloom?s Saloon a couple doors down for a drink and great views of the downtown skyline.

As for inexpensive things to do in San Francisco, check out the free walking tours offered by San Francisco City Guides, a non-profit organization of more than 200 trained volunteers who lead free walking tours in San Francisco. Their website at sfcityguides.org lists all the many different walking tours of such sites as Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, and even ghost walks of supposedly haunted locations.

San Francisco is truly a great city to visit. It?s even better when you know you can visit and experience all the city has to offer without breaking the bank.

Shari Hearn is a writer and creator of Top Vacation Spots, where you can learn more about things to do in San Francisco.

 

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Tutorial: Troubleshooting EIGRP

Part of becoming a CCNA and CCNP is learning what to look for when you're troubleshooting.  Learn how to debug and troubleshoot EIGRP with Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.

Part of earning your CCNA and CCNP - especially passing the difficult CIT exam - is becoming a master network troubleshooter.  Today, we'll take a look at troubleshooting EIGRP and spotting common errors.

Most adjacency issues are easily resolved - mistyped IP address, bad wildcard mask in the neighbor statement, mistyped EIGRP AS number, and so forth. You know the AS number has to match, but always double-check that. Next, check the wildcard mask to make sure the correct interfaces are EIGRP-enabled. In the following example, we've configured three loopbacks on R2 and want to advertise all three loopbacks via EIGRP, but R4 only sees one.

R2(config)#int loopback1

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#int loopback2

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.2.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#int loopback3

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.3.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.23.0 0.0.0.255

R4#show ip route eigrp

10.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 10.1.1.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:25, Ethernet0

We know it's not an adjacency issue, because R4 has to have an adjacency to get the route. Perhaps the config on R2 is the problem.

R2(config-if)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.23.0 0.0.0.255

The only one of the three networks that matches that network statement is 10.1.1.0 /24.  As a result, the networks 10.1.2.0 /24 and 10.1.3.0 /24 will not be advertised.

We could use a network statement with 10.1.0.0 0.0.255.255 to successfully advertise the loopbacks, but by breaking the three networks down into binary, we can see that the three networks have the first 22 bits in common. Therefore, a better wildcard mask to use is 0.0.3.255.

R2(config-router)#no network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.0.0 0.0.3.255

R4#show ip route eigrp

10.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets

D 10.1.3.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

D 10.1.2.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

D 10.1.1.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

Another factor that must match between potential EIGRP neighbors is the K-metrics, or metric weights. Let's change the EIGRP metric weights on R2 and watch the effect on its adjacency with R4.

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#metric weights 0 1 2 3 4 5 ?

03:33:18: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.4 (Ethernet0) is down: metric changed

03:33:20: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.4 (Ethernet0) is down: K-value mismatch

The adjacency goes down, and the router's kind enough to tell you that it's the result of the metrics changing. We'll also see that message on  R4, but just in case you don't see it, debug eigrp packet will indicate the K-value mismatch as well.

R4#debug eigrp packet

EIGRP Packets debugging is on

(UPDATE, REQUEST, QUERY, REPLY, HELLO, IPXSAP, PROBE, ACK)

3w2d: EIGRP: Received HELLO on Ethernet0 nbr 172.12.23.2

3w2d: AS 100, Flags 0x0, Seq 0/0 idbQ 0/0

3w2d: K-value mismatch

3w2d: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.2 (Ethernet0) is down:K-value mismatch

The changed K-values will also appear in the running configuration.  This is one time when you don't have to depend on debugs to know what the problem is - the router's going to scream at you until you fix it!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Learn to Salsa Dance San Francisco Style!

Learn to salsa dance in the most beautiful part of San Francisco!

Learn how to salsa dance with experienced instructors and be able to enjoy the cities hottest nightlife. The salsa dance circuit has taken San Francisco by storm. Now you can be a part of it by taking the Dance SF salsa dance classes! Find out more by visiting www.dancesf.com!

These classes are suitable for absolute beginners but there are also intermediate classes available for students that already have experience in salsa dance and know the basics taught in the beginner's class.

Group classes at the beginner and intermediate levels of salsa start on a monthly basis. But the best part of these classes is that they are held at locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, which makes accessibility easy for everyone!

Each salsa dance class session is four weeks long, and they are progressive classes that meet once a week - usually on Wednesdays. These classes are for everyone. No partner and no experience are necessary! Drop-ins are accepted ($15 drop-in fee). Register On-line, and save money! Go to www.DanceSF.com

The salsa dance class is taught by Tianne Frias who danced for nine years with the acclaimed Robert Moses' KIN. In her earlier dance careers she started with Argentine Tango. Later, her interest spread to all the ballroom dances... now with an emphasis on Club-Style Salsa.

Tianne is trained in modern dance, ballroom, ballet and yoga, which have given her the natural flare for salsa dance. Having taught and performed internationally she has many years of experience. At the European Round Dance Festival, her students had commented, "Tianne's enthusiasm and love of dance took hold of the group and was reflected in three intense and enjoyable training sessions." Tianne has a natural love for dance and it shows in her classes.

To join these highly acclaimed classes, sign up by visiting the website at http://www.DanceSF.com

Or you can call or email for more information at: info@dancesf.com or 415-668-9936

Sign up and get dancing!

Evan Margolin is the president of DanceSF, the premiere salsa dancing academy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn to dance at the studio or in your own home with his Learn to Salsa DVDs. Find out more by visiting http://www.DanceSF.com

CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Cisco Switching Modes

To pass the CCNA exam and earn this important certification, you've got to know switching inside and out. While you're learning all the basic switching theory, make sure to spend some time with the one of three switching modes Cisco routers can use.

Store-and-Forward is exactly what it sounds like. The entire frame will be stored before it is forwarded. This mode allows for the greatest amount of error checking, since a CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) is run against the frame before it is forwarded. If the frame contains an error, it is discarded. If there's no problem with the frame, the frame is then forwarded to its proper destination.

While store-and-forward does perform error checking, the delay in processing the frame while this error check is run results in higher latency than the other modes you're about to read about. The latency time can also vary, since not all frames are the same size.

Cut-through switching copies only the destination MAC address into its memory before beginning to forward the frame. Since the frame is being forwarded as soon as the destination MAC is read, there is less latency than store-and-forward. The drawback is that there is no error checking.

There is a middle ground, fragment-free switching. Only part of the frame is copied to memory before it is forwarded, but it's the first 64 bytes of the frame, not just the destination MAC. (Why? Because if there is a problem with the frame, it's most likely in the first 64 bytes.) There is a little more error checking than cut-through, but not as much latency as with store-and-forward.

Note that the latency of both cut-through and fragment-free is fixed; these modes always look at the first six or 64 bytes, respectively. Store-and-forward's latency depends on the size of the frame. Learning the similarities and differences between these modes is an often-overlooked part of CCNA studies. Spend some time studying this important CCNA topic - you'll be glad you did!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Switches, QoS, And Cisco's Networking Model

QoS is a big topic on your BCMSN and CCNP exams, and for good reason. As more and more traffic flows through today's networks, accurately applying QoS to both your routers and switches becomes more important.

Note the phrase "accurately applying". You must have a plan in place before you start configuring QoS on your switches, and to create such a plan you should use Cisco's Three-layer Hierarchical Model.

This model breaks switches down into three main groups - Access, Distribution, and Core. You're familiar with these groups from your CCNA studies, and now you've got to apply this knowledge.

The QoS workload should be borne by the Access and Distribution layers, because the Core layer switches need to be left alone as much as possible to their primary purpose - switching!

Traffic should generally be classified and marked at the Access layer. This allows traffic to be assigned the desired QoS values and carry that value throughout the network.

If you choose to change CoS-DSCP mappings, this will generally be done at the Distribution layer. Since distribution layer switches will be receiving frames and packets with QoS values from the access layer switches, the appropriate "trust" and "no trust" statements should be configured on the appropriate distribution layer switches.

Any traffic received by core switches should already be classified and marked as needed. The key with core switches is to use a simple queuing setup to keep the switching process fast. Fast, fast, fast!

Real-world note - Low Latency Queuing (LLQ) is an excellent choice for core switches. The name says it all - low latency! The configuration of LLQ is not a BCMSN topic, but a quick search on the term low latency queuing will quickly bring up several Cisco LLQ configuration documents.

Knowing the three layers of Cisco's networking model and the basic QoS operation and commands is vital to passing the CCNP exams, but even more importantly, you've got to apply this knowledge carefully and accurately to make QoS work for you in today's production networks.

GoArticles: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Split Horizon And Hub-And-Spoke Networks

For CCNA exam success, you had better know what split horizon is, how to turn it off, and when to turn it off. Knowing when to turn split horizon off is also important in production networks, because it can cause a hub-and-spoke network to have incomplete routing tables on the spokes.

Split horizon exists for a very good reason - routing loop prevention. The rule of split horizon states that a router cannot send an advertisement for a route out the same interface that it came in on. Split horizon is on by default on all interfaces running RIP, IGRP, and EIGRP.

In this CCNA tutorial, R1 will serve, as the hub and R2 and R3 will be the spokes. We'll first configure EIGRP over the 172.16.123.0 /24 network, the network connecting the three routers.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#router eigrp 100

R1(config-router)#no auto-summary

R1(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

R2#conf t

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto-summary

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

R3#conf t

R3(config)#router eigrp 100

R3(config-router)#no auto-summary

R3(config-router)#network 172.12.123.0 0.0.0.255

Running show ip eigrp neighbor on R1 shows that adjacencies to R2 and R3 are up.

R1#show ip eigrp neighbor

IP-EIGRP neighbors for process 100

H Address Interface Hold Uptime SRTT RTO Q Seq Type

(sec) (ms) Cnt Num

1 172.12.123.3 Se0/0 11 00:02:45 1 5000 0 1

0 172.12.123.2 Se0/0 161 00:03:01 1 5000 0 1 Each router will now advertise its loopback address via EIGRP.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#router eigrp 100

R1(config-router)#network 1.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2#conf t

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#network 2.2.2.0 0.0.0.255

R3#conf t

R3(config)#router eigrp 100

R3(config-router)#network 3.3.3.0 0.0.0.255

Running show ip eigrp route on each router shows that R1 has a route for both R2's and R3's loopback. R2 and R3 will only see R1's loopback address, and not each other's. Why?

R1#show ip route eigrp

2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 2.2.2.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.2, 00:03:19, Serial0/0

3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 3.3.3.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.3, 00:03:04, Serial0/0

R2#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:03:40, Serial0/0.123

R3#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:05:17, Serial0/0.31

EIGRP uses Split Horizon by default to prevent routing loops. In this lab, though, it prevents full network reachability. R2 and R3 both form neighbor relationships with R1's Serial physical interface. R2 advertises its loopback address to R1's Serial interface, as does R3. Split Horizon does not allow a route to be advertised back out the same interface it was received on. This prevents R1 from advertising R2's loopback to R3, or R3's loopback to R2.

Split Horizon must be disabled to allow full network reachability in this lab. To do so, run no ip split-horizon eigrp 100 on R1's Serial interface. When Split Horizon is disabled, that will cause the neighbor relationships to fail, and then reestablish. Run show ip route eigrp 100 on both R2 and R3. The appropriate route to the remote loopback address will now appear.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#int serial0

R1(config-if)#no ip split-horizon eigrp 100

10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed

10:02:23: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) down: split horizon changed

10:02:27: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.3 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency

10:02:54: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.123.2 (Serial0/0) ip: new adjacency

R2#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123

3.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 3.3.3.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:06, Serial0/0.123

R3#show ip route eigrp

1.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 1.1.1.0 [90/2297856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31 2.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 2.2.2.0 [90/2809856] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:12, Serial0/0.31

Disabling split horizon should be done with care, but knowing when and where to do so shows that you truly understand how this technology works - and that's a big step on the way to earning your CCNA!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: The Core Layer Of Cisco's Three-Layer Model

In this section, you're going to be reintroduced to a networking model you first saw in your CCNA studies. No, it's not the OSI model or the TCP/IP model - it's the Cisco Three-Layer Hierarchical Model. Let's face it, just about all you had to do for the CCNA was memorize the three layers and the order they were found in that model, but the stakes are raised here in your CCNP studies. You need to know what each layer does, and what each layer should not be doing. This is vital information for your real-world network career as well, so let's get started with a review of the Cisco three-layer model, and then we'll take a look at each layer's tasks. Most of the considerations at each layer are common sense, but we'll go over them anyway!

Today we'll take a look at the core layer of the Cisco model.

The term core switches refers to any switches found here. Switches at the core layer allow switches at the distribution layer to communicate, and this is more than a full-time job. It's vital to keep any extra workload off the core switches, and allow them to do what they need to do - switch! The core layer is the backbone of your entire network, so we're interested in high-speed data transfer and very low latency - that's it!

Core layer switches are usually the most powerful in your network, capable of higher throughput than any other switches in the network. Remember, everything we do on a Cisco router or switch has a cost in CPU or memory, so we're going to leave most frame manipulation and filtering to other layers. The exception is Cisco QoS, or Quality of Service. QoS is generally performed at the core layer. We'll go into much more detail regarding QoS in another tutorial, but for now, know that QoS is basically high-speed queuing where special consideration can be given to certain data in certain queues. (You'll soon find that this is a very basic definition!)

We always want redundancy, but you want a lot of redundancy in your core layer. This is the nerve center of your entire network, so fault tolerance needs to be as high as you can possibly get it. Root bridges should also be located in the core layer.

The importance of keeping unnecessary workload off your core switches cannot be overstated. In the next part of this BCMSN tutorial, we'll take a look at how the other layers of the Cisco three-part model do just that.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial And Case Study: VLANs and IP Connectivity

In this CCNA case study, we'll take some basic switching and trunking theory and put it into action. We have two routers (R2 and R3) along with two switches (SW1 and SW2). R2 is connected to SW1 at fast 0/2, and R3 is connected to SW2 at fast 0/3. Both routers have IP addresses on the 172.12.23.0 /24 network.

For these routers to be able to ping each other, the switches must be able to communicate. These are two 2950 switches, and they're connected via two crossover cables. Before we worry about the router connectivity, let's make sure the trunk link is up between the switches with the "show interface trunk" command.

SW2#show interface trunk

Port Mode Encapsulation Status Native vlan

Fa0/11 desirable 802.1q trunking 1

Fa0/12 desirable 802.1q trunking 1

< output truncated for clarity >

The default mode of these switches is for the ports to run in dynamic desirable trunking mode, so we didn't even need to write a configuration to have the trunk form - it's already there!

Show vlan brief reinforces the theory that by default, all switch ports are placed into VLAN 1 (except the trunk ports).

R2 and R3's Ethernet addresses have already been configured, the trunk line is operational, and both ports are in VLAN 1. We'll ping R2's Ethernet interface from R3, and then R3's Ethernet interface from R2 to verify IP connectivity.

R2#ping 172.23.23.3

Type escape sequence to abort.

Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 172.23.23.3, timeout is 2 seconds:

!!!!!

Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 4/4/8 ms

R3#ping 172.23.23.2

Type escape sequence to abort.

Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 172.23.23.2, timeout is 2 seconds: !!!!!

Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 4/4/8 ms

With pings, exclamation points indicate IP connectivity, and periods indicate no connectivity.

So we've got connectivity! Now let's see if we still have that connectivity when the ports are placed into different VLANs. Cisco CCNA theory states that devices in different VLANs can't communicate without the intervention of a Layer 3 device, but let's see if that's true by placing R2 into VLAN 23. (VTP is already running on these switches.)

SW1#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

SW1(config)#int fast 0/2

SW1(config-if)#switchport mode access

SW1(config-if)#switchport access vlan 23

SW1(config-if)#^Z

Now that R2 and R3 are in separate VLANs, can they still send pings back and forth?

R2#ping 172.23.23.3

Type escape sequence to abort.

Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 172.23.23.3, timeout is 2 seconds: .....

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: Password Recovery Procedures

It might happen on your CCNA exam, it might happen on your production network - but sooner or later, you're going to have to perform password recovery on a Cisco router or switch. This involves manipulating the router's configuration register, and that is enough to make some CCNA candidates and network administrators really nervous!

It's true that setting the configuration register to the wrong value can damage the router, but if you do the proper research before starting the password recovery process, you'll be fine.

Despite what some books say, there is no "one size fits all" approach to Cisco password recovery. What works on a 2500 router may not work on other routers and switches. There is a great master Cisco document out on the Web that you should bookmark today. Just put "cisco password recovery" in your favorite search engine and you should find it quickly.

The following procedure describes the process in recovering from a lost password on a Cisco 2500 router. As always, don't practice this at home. It is a good idea to get some practice with this technique in your CCNA / CCNP home lab, though!

The password recovery method examined here is for 2500 routers.

An engineer who finds themselves locked out of a router can view and change the password by changing the configuration register.

The router must first be rebooted and a "break" performed within the first 60 seconds of the boot process. This break sequence can also vary depending on what program is used to access the router, but is the usual key combination.

The router will now be in ROM Monitor mode. From the rom monitor prompt, change the default configuration register of 0x2102 to 0x2142 with the o/r 0x2142 command. Reload the router with the letter i. (As you can see, ROM Monitor mode is a lot different than working with the IOS!)

This particular config register setting will cause the router to ignore the contents of NVRAM. Your startup configuration is still there, but it will be ignored on reload.

When the router reloads, you'll be prompted to enter Setup mode. Answer "N", and type enable at the router> prompt.

Be careful here. Type configure memory or copy start run. Do NOT type write memory or copy run start!

Enter the command show running-config. You'll see the passwords in either their encrypted or unencrypted format.

Type config t, then use the appropriate command to set a new enable secret or enable password.

Don't forget to change the configuration register setting back to the original value! The command config-register 0x2102 will do the job. Save this change with write memory or copy run start, and then run reload one more time to restart the router.

This process sounds hard, but it's really not. You just have to be careful, particularly when you're copying the startup config over the running config. You don't want to get that backwards! So take your time, check the online Cisco documentation before starting, get some practice with this procedure with lab equipment, and you'll be ready for success on the CCNA exam and in your production network!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Exam Tutorial: How To Spend Your Study Time

To pass the CCNA exam, you've got to create a study plan. Part of that plan is scheduling your study time, and making that study time count.

You've scheduled your exam you've created a document to track your study time you've planned exactly when you're going to study. Now the plan must be carried out, without exception.

What exceptions do I mean? Cell phones. Televisions. IPods. Significant others. The list can go on and on.

It's one thing to have a plan, and an important thing now you've got to make sure you carry it out to its fullest potential. That's easy to say until you're studying and a friend calls, or you remember that TV show you wanted to watch is on tonight, or you start surfing the Web for Cisco information and end up playing a game.

You MUST make these small sacrifices in order to achieve your main goal, the CCNA. Any worthwhile accomplishment requires some small sacrifice.

TV will be there when you're done studying. Your significant other will be there when you're done studying. And believe it or not, people once existed without cell phones! Turn the phone off. Turn your instant messenger service off. Turn your text pager off. Despite what we think, the world can do without communicating with us for 90 minutes. Remember, it's better to have 90 minutes of great study than 180 minutes of constantly interrupted study. Studies show that while a single phone call causes an 11-minute interruption on average, it takes well over 20 minutes to get back to what you were doing with the proper mental focus. This is true at the office and at your home!

How To Spend Your Study Time CCNA candidates generally spend their time split between book study, practice exams, and lab time on real Cisco equipment. The best study is done by a combination of these, not by overly relying on one. Let's take a look at each method.

Book study - I've never understood why some people (usually the trolls we were talking about earlier) talk about book study like it's a bad thing. "You can't learn about technology from books." What a load of manure. You have to learn the theory before you can understand how a router or switch operates. The best way to learn the theory is to read a good book.

At the CCNA level, you doubtless know that you have dozens of choices when it comes to books. Some of the better-known books really do gloss over some important topics, such as binary math and subnetting. Make sure to pick a book or books that go beyond just explaining the theory and that give you a lot of explanation of router configs and real-world examples as well.

Practice Exams: Practice exams are good in moderation, but don't use them as your main focus of study. Occasionally, I'm asked for study tips by candidates who have taken the exam a few times and not passed yet. I ask them what they're doing to prepare, and they give a list of companies they bought practice exams from. (You see a lot of this on Internet forums as well.)

Don't fall into this trap. Practice exams are fine if used as a readiness check, but some candidates just take them over and over again, which renders them basically useless.

On top of that, some of them cost hundreds of dollars. That's money you'd be much better off spending on Cisco equipment to practice on.

Again, I'm not against practice exams as a supplement to your studies. Just don't make them the main focus of your study. Taking practice exams over and over and hoping the exam will be just like the practice exam is a recipe for disaster. As I tell my students, when you're in front of a rack of routers and switches during a job interview (or at 2AM when you've been called in to fix a problem), the correct answer is not "D". You've got to know what to do.

And how do you learn these skills? Funny you should ask.... Lab Time On Real Cisco Equipment. Again, speaking from experience: This is the most important part of getting your CCNA, succeeding on the job, and going on to get your CCNP.

Getting hands-on experience is critical to developing your networking skills, especially your troubleshooting skills. Although simulators are better than they used to be, they're still not Cisco routers, and they never will be.

You do your best learning not only when you're configuring your routers, but when you screw something up.

That's so important, I want to repeat it - loudly: You do your best learning when you screw something up. Why? Because then you have to fix it that's how you develop your troubleshooting skills. You can read about all the debug and show commands in the world, but you don't really understand how they work until you're figuring out why your Frame Relay connection isn't working, or your RIP configuration isn't working.

This is true at every level of the Cisco Learning Pyramid. I can show you the show ip protocols output or what you get when you run debug ip rip, and you might remember it for a little while. But when you use it to troubleshoot a lab configuration, you WILL remember it.

Putting your own practice lab together will also help get you over what I call "simulator question anxiety". If you spend any time on CCNA Internet forums, you'll see discussion after discussion about these exam questions. To a certain point, this discussion is justified. The simulator questions carry more weight on your exam than any other question while you can earn partial credit on them, you've got to get them right or you will most likely fail the exam.

There's no reason to be anxious about them if you're prepared. You don't want to be the person who walks into the testing room that's scared to have to create a VLAN or an access list you want to be the person who walks into the testing room confident of their ability to perform any CCNA task. The best way to be that confident is to know you've done it - on real Cisco equipment.

There are several vendors that sell routers and switches on ebay most of them sell CCNA and CCNP kits that include all the cables and transceivers that you'll need as well. (And how is a simulator going to help you learn about cables and transceivers?) Keep in mind that you can always sell the equipment after you're done with the CCNA, or you can add a little equipment to it to go after your CCNP.

Whichever of these methods you use (and I hope you'll use all of them), make sure to keep them in balance with each other. Don't depend too much on just one.

On the topic of learning how to troubleshoot... as you run labs on your Cisco equipment, you'll run into questions or problems that you don't know the answer to yet. Get used to using Google (or your favorite search engine) to find the answer to these problems - but try to figure it our yourself first!

There's nothing wrong with asking questions of someone else if you're not able to find the answer yourself. Trying to find the answer yourself is another important troubleshooting skill you need to start developing today. Don't be one of these people who posts a simple question on a forum without trying to find the answer on your own. Besides, you get more satisfaction and build more confidence when you determine the answer yourself.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco Certification: Debug and Show commands for ISDN

The major reason I recommend getting your hands on real Cisco equipment rather than a simulator is that real Cisco routers give you the chance to practice and learn show and debug commands.

The knowledge you acquire from debugs is invaluable. Frankly, it’s this knowledge that puts you above the “average” CCNA who doesn’t have that hands-on experience. Watching debugs in action also gives you a head start on the CCNP. Since 90 – 95% of CCNAs go on to pursue the CCNP, it’s a great idea to get started with debugs now.

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you’re studying for your CCNP and CCIE to start learning debugs and shows. The work you do for the CCNA is the foundation for everything you’ll do in the future.

Never, ever, ever practice debugs on a production network. There are debugs that will give you so much information that the router actually becomes overloaded and then locks up. Never practice debugs on a production network.

It’s important to know the proper show and debug commands for ISDN for several reasons. First, by watching ISDN in operation, you can see its processes and better understand what’s going on. Secondly, it’s difficult if not impossible to properly troubleshoot ISDN without knowing the proper show and debug commands. (It’s easy to overlook an ISDN authentication error just by looking at the configuration, but running debug ppp negotiation will quickly show you where the problem lies.)

Let’s take a look at the ISDN show and debug commands that every CCNA and CCNP should know.

Show ISDN Status

If you only know one ISDN show command, it’s got to be this one. Always use this command after configuring your ISDN switch type and any necessary SPIDs. The command will show you the switch type (and will also show you if you did not configure a switch type), and whether the SPIDs you entered are valid:

R1#show isdn status
Global ISDN Switchtype = basic-ni   
ISDN BRI0 interface
        dsl 0, interface ISDN Switchtype = basic-ni
    Layer 1 Status:
        ACTIVE
    Layer 2 Status:
        TEI = 91, Ces = 1, SAPI = 0, State = MULTIPLE_FRAME_ESTABLISHED
        TEI = 92, Ces = 2, SAPI = 0, State = MULTIPLE_FRAME_ESTABLISHED
    Spid Status:
        TEI 91, ces = 1, state = 5(init)
            spid1 configured, no LDN, spid1 sent, spid1 valid  
            Endpoint ID Info: epsf = 0, usid = 1, tid = 1
        TEI 92, ces = 2, state = 5(init)
            spid2 configured, no LDN, spid2 sent, spid2 valid  
            Endpoint ID Info: epsf = 0, usid = 3, tid = 1
    Layer 3 Status:
        0 Active Layer 3 Call(s)
    Activated dsl 0 CCBs = 0
    The Free Channel Mask:  0x80000003

Once in a while, you’ll get this output from show isdn status:

R2#show isdn status
The current ISDN Switchtype = basic-ni1
ISDN BRI0 interface
    Layer 1 Status:
        ACTIVE
    Layer 2 Status:
        Layer 2 NOT Activated
    Spid Status:
        TEI Not Assigned, ces = 1, state = 3(await establishment)
            spid1 configured, no LDN, spid1 NOT sent, spid1 NOT valid
        TEI Not Assigned, ces = 2, state = 1(terminal down)
            spid2 configured, no LDN, spid2 NOT sent, spid2 NOT valid

Check your running configuration, and if the SPIDs look good, simply close the BRI interface and open it again. Then run show ISDN status again. If you then see “spids are valid”, you’re ready to proceed. If you still see a message that the spids are invalid, you’ve most likely mistyped the SPID.

Show Access-List

What’s this command got to do with ISDN? Everything.

Remember how the ISDN link comes up in the first place? Interesting traffic. By default, there is no interesting traffic. You define interesting traffic with the dialer-list and dialer-group commands, AND the access-list command. If you have a problem with your link never coming up or with it coming up and staying up, use this command to see what traffic has been defined as interesting.

Show Dialer

Another helpful command to determine why an ISDN link is coming up and staying up. This command shows you how many successful calls and failed calls have taken place, what the current idle-timer value is (by default, it’s 120 seconds), and most importantly, what the source and destination was for the current interesting traffic:

R1#show dialer
BRI0 - dialer type = ISDN
Dial String      Successes   Failures    Last called   Last status
8358662                  1                 0           00:00:59       successful
0 incoming call(s) have been screened.
0 incoming call(s) rejected for callback.

BRI0:1 - dialer type = ISDN
Idle timer (120 secs), Fast idle timer (20 secs)
Wait for carrier (30 secs), Re-enable (15 secs)
Dialer state is data link layer up
Dial reason: ip (s=172.12.21.1, d=172.12.21.2)  
Time until disconnect 62 secs  

Connected to 8358662 (R2)

Here, you can see that the idle-timer value is at its default, that there are 62 seconds left until the link comes down (unless interesting traffic resets the timer), and that the source of the interesting traffic was 172.12.21.1 and the destination is 172.12.21.2. If that destination is the multicast address of a routing protocol – say, 224.0.0.5 for OSPF – you know what traffic is keeping the line up.

Show ISDN History

Want to see what calls have been made in the last 15 minutes? Just run this command. It’s helpful if you’re walking in to an ISDN troubleshooting situation and want to see what calls have been made.

R1#show isdn history-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISDN CALL HISTORY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------History table has a maximum of 100 entries.History table data is retained for a maximum of 15 Minutes.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Call Calling Called Remote Seconds Seconds Seconds ChargesType Number .Number Name Used Left Idle Units/Currency-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Out 8358662 R2 121 0Out 8358662 R2 121 0-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Debug PPP Negotiation

Not only do you need to know this command for your CCNA and CCNP exams, you MUST know it to be an effective ISDN troubleshooter.

When PPP authentication is first configured, it’s simple to mistype a password, or forget to configure a “username / password” combination. Instead of continually reading your running configuration to see what the problem is, run debug ppp negotiation and send a ping to bring the line up. You’ll quickly see where the problem is.

R2#debug ppp negotiation
PPP protocol negotiation debugging is on
R2#ping 172.12.21.1

BR0:1 PPP: Phase is AUTHENTICATING, by both

BR0:1 CHAP: O CHALLENGE id 1 len 23 from "R2"

BR0:1 CHAP: I CHALLENGE id 1 len 23 from "R1"

BR0:1 CHAP: O RESPONSE id 1 len 23 from "R2"

BR0:1 CHAP: I SUCCESS id 1 len 4

BR0:1 CHAP: I RESPONSE id 1 len 23 from "R1"

BR0:1 CHAP: O SUCCESS id 1 len 4

By mastering these simple ISDN show and debug commands, you increase your chances of passing the CCNA and CCNP exams greatly, and vastly improve your on-the-job skills.

I recommend you visit www.cisco.com/univercd for more show and debug commands. Learning to negotiate this valuable online resource will truly help you become more valuable on the job. Every Cisco router and switch command, along with default and usage guidelines, can be found on this site. I’ll have an article posted soon to help you learn your way around the site; in the meantime, I urge you to begin adding this website to your troubleshooting toolkit.

Chris Bryant
CCIE #12933

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage. The Bryant Advantage's website offers FREE ebooks and tutorials for the CCNA and CCNP exams, FREE subscriptions to "Cisco Certification Central", and sells the best CCNA and CCNP prep courses and books on the market today. Visit his site at www.thebryantadvantage.com today!

chris@thebryantadvantage.com

CCNA Cisco Certification Test Taking Tipswww.

Sim.com Here are some tips to follow for the CCNA test:

Relax before exam: In order to avoid last minute stress, make sure that you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early and relax before exam.

Familiarize yourself with exam: Before taking the CCNA exam, you are given an option of to familiarize yourself with the way the exam is carried out (the exam interface). You must make sure to take advantage of this.

Time Management Tips:

Manage Time Spent On Each Question: The duration for the exam is 90 minutes. You must determine how much time you will spend on each question. While determining this take into consideration that simulations take more time to answer. Also keep in mind that some other questions are weighed more heavily and may take more time to answer (e.g. difficult subnetting problems).

Be Sure Of Exam Interface: Clear your doubts, in case if you have any, regarding the rules for the CCNA exam or using the testing computer/software with the supervisor after he sets up your machine and before you start the exam. Remember that the exam is timed and you may loose your valuable test time for such questions, which you could have asked earlier.

Jot Down Important Points Before Exam: Before you start the exam, ask for scratch paper and jot down points that you may require to recall when taking your exam. This is always allowed and proves to be very helpful while taking the exam. These may include:

• OSI Model layers

• Access lists

• Important tables such as powers of 2 (2^1 = 2; 2^2 = 42^8 = 256)

• Class A,B,C address range and properties e.g.

• Class A: Denoted by network.host.host.host; first octet is between 1 to 126;

• Important formulae such as 2^x-2 gives the number of hosts per subnet where x is the number of "off" bits in the subnet mask

• Binary to decimal conversion table & tips

All Answers Are Final: Remember that you cannot return to a question once you have answered it. So, be very careful while answering to the questions and dont rush as it might cost you valuable marks.

Dont Panic. There Is No Negative Marking: Although the exam software does not allow you to review questions youve answered, there is no negative marks for a wrong answer. The CCNA exam does not penalize you for wrong answer, so never leave any question unanswered. If you are not able to find out the correct answers to some questions, eliminate the possible answers that cannot be correct and narrow down your guess.

About The Author

SemSim.com provides training resources for Cisco certification exams: CCIE, CCNP, CCNA, CCDP, CCDA. It offers FREE learning resources to students such as study guides and router simulation labs at it's online learning center located at: http://www.semsim.com/ccna/learn.html

http://www.SemSim.com : Making Cisco cetification easy!

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