Free Networking Tool

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Kiwi CatTools is a freeware application that provides automated device configuration management on routers, switches and firewalls. Some of the many tasks Kiwi CatTools performs to make your life easier are: Perform configuration backups and have any differences instantly e-mailed to you. Issue commands via Telnet or SSH to many devices at once. Change the configuration at scheduled times. Change all your network device passwords in one go. This configuration management tool has a built-in TFTP server, supports SSH, Telnet and more.

STATIC ROUTE CONFIGURATION (Cisco)

Default Route

A default route is often called the 'route of last resort'. It is the last route tried when all other routes fail because it has the fewest number of network bits matching and is therefore less specific. A default route is configured on a Cisco router with the following command: CISCO 'ip route' command: ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0

Static Null Route

A null route routes traffic to a non-existent interface, what is often called a 'bit bucket'. This traffic is effectively dropped as soon as it is received. A null route is useful for removing packets that cannot make it out of the network or to their destination, and decreases congestion caused by packets with no functional destination. During a denial of service attack, a Null route can temporarilly be used near the destination to drop all traffic generated by the attack. CISCO 'null route' command: ip route null0

Preferred Routes

The route which has the greatest number of network bits matching the destination address is the preferred route to a destination. This is referred to as 'longest prefix match'. CISCO 'null route' command: ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.128 e0 ip route 202.148.224.128 255.255.255.128 e1

Backup Routes

In cases where redundancy is required, a second route can be placed on another physical path so that if the first route fails, the second route over the less preferred path(s) will be used. By using a second pair of routes. This method can help compensate for network failures. CISCO router commands: SPECIFIC ROUTES (used unless down) ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.128 e0 ip route 202.148.224.128 255.255.255.128 e1 BACKUP ROUTES (used when one of the specifics are down) ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.0 e0 ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.0 e1

Static Load Balancing

You can create load balancing without using a dynamic routing protocol. Most routers will perform load balancing automatically if several equal cost paths to a destination exist on multiple interfaces. To configure this using static routing, you need only create multiple static routes for more than one interface. This creates more than one equal cost path which will balance the load. CISCO router commands: ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.0 e0 ip route 202.148.224.0 255.255.255.0 e1

Static Routing

INTRODUCTION TO STATIC ROUTING

Static routing is the term used to refer to the manual method used to setup routing. An administrator enters routes into the router using configuration commands. This method has the advatage of being predictable, and simple to set up. It is easy to manage in small networks but does not scale well.

ADVANTAGES

* Simple to configure * Easy to predict and understand in small networks

DISADVANTAGES

# Requires extensive planning and has a high management overhead # Does not dynamically adapt to network topology changes or equipment failures. # Does not scale well in large networks.

RIP Timers

RIP uses numerous timers to regulate its performance. These include a routing-update timer, a route-timeout timer, and a route-flush timer. The routing-update timer clocks the interval between periodic routing updates. Generally, it is set to 30 seconds, with a small random amount of time added whenever the timer is reset. This is done to help prevent congestion, which could result from all routers simultaneously attempting to update their neighbors. has a route-timeout timer associated with it. When the route-timeout timer expires, the route is marked invalid but is retained in the table until the route-flush timer expires.