Before showing you how to configure a basic IP phone on Cisco CallManager Express (CCME), you need first to understand the concepts of ephone and ephone-dn.

In CCME, “ephone” (short for Ethernet Phone) refers to the physical IP phone device, and is configured with the Ethernet MAC address of the IP phone. The MAC address of the IP phone uniquely identifies the device on the network and is found on a sticker on the underside of the IP phone or from the phone’s shipping carton label.

The ephone directory number (ephone-dn) refers to the phone lines that are associated with the ephone device. The ephone-dn parameter basically configures the telephone device number. Also, the ephone-dn can use the “dual-line” option which will allow the IP phone to handle two simultaneous calls. The dual-line option also provides a way for the phone to support call waiting, conferencing, call transfer with consultation etc.

Configuration:

In the following configuration we will configure a Cisco 7960 IP phone with two directory numbers 2100 and 2200 on the first two line buttons of the telephone.

CCME#show running-config

!Tell the router that the phone firmware P00303020214.bin is located in Flash

tftp-server flash:P00303020214.bin

!Configure the IP Telephony DHCP range
ip dhcp pool Voice
network 10.1.1.0 255.255.255.0
default-router 10.1.1.1
option 150 ip 10.1.1.1

interface FastEthernet0/0
ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0

telephony-service
ip source-address 10.1.1.1
load 7960-7940 P00303020214
max-ephones 24
max-dn 24
create cnf-files

!Configure the first directory number 2100
ephone-dn 10 dual-line
number 2100

!Configure the second directory number 2200
ephone-dn 11 dual-line
number 2200

!Configure the 7960 phone and assign ephone-dn numbers to buttons 1 and 2
ephone 1
mac-address 000d.aa45.3f6e
type 7960
button 1:10 2:11

Continuing the series of posts about CCNA Exam preparation, this is Part 2 of some basic topics that you will be tested for CCNA.

Router Password Types:

Passwords are the first line of defense for securing Cisco Routers. A Password must be configured for the Virtual Terminal Lines (VTY lines) and for the Console port. A Cisco router supports 5 VTY lines (numbered 0 to 4) which are used for accessing the router using Telnet over the network.

There are five password types that can be configured on a Cisco Router:

• Privileged Level Passwords
  • Enable Password (not encrypted)
  • Enable Secret Password (encrypted password)
• Console Line Password
• VTY Lines Password
• Auxiliary (AUX) Line Password

Configuring Passwords:

Configuring Privileged Level Passwords:

! Configure non-encrypted password (avoid this type)
Router(config)# enable password somepassword

! Configure encrypted password (recommended)
Router(config)# enable secret strongpassword

Configuring Console Line Password:

Router(config)# line console 0
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Configuring Auxiliary Line Password:

Router(config)# line aux 0
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Configuring VTY Line (Telnet) Password:

Router(config)# line vty 0 4
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Encrypting Passwords:

By default, only the enable secret password is encrypted. In order to encrypt the other password types, you need to enable the “password encryption” service globally on the router as following:

Router# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)# service password-encryption

OK let us list some basic network theory that you will be required to know by heart for your CCNA preparation.
 

• We have three types of data transmission:
  • Unicast: This is the most common transmission type. Data flows from a single source host to a single destination host.
  • Multicast: Data flows from a source host to a Group of destination hosts that have “registered” to listen to the transmission. This is like a conference call where users can join a conference in order to listen what the talker has to say. Multicast works with special IP addresses in the range 224.0.X.X.
  • Broadcast: Data flows from a single source host to ALL other hosts on the same network. For example if the local LAN is subnet 192.168.1.0/24, then broadcast packets have a destination address 192.168.1.255. By default a router will block broadcast packets and not let them travel beyond the local network.

• A Broadcast Domain is a common Layer 2 segment where all devices receive broadcast frames. For example several hosts connected on the same Cisco switch and having the same layer 2 vlan, belong to the same broadcast domain. A router acts as the boundary of a broadcast domain.
• A Collision on an Ethernet link occurs when two devices send data simultaneously on the wire, thus data collision occurs. A Collision Domain is the area in an Ethernet network over which collisions will be detected. For example a switch with 24 ethernet ports has 24 collision domains. Collisions are propagated by hubs and repeaters but are not propagated by routers or switches.
• An Ethernet Hub is working at Layer 1 of the OSI model and all devices connected on a Hub belong to the same Collision Domain (and same Broadcast Domain as well).
• An Ethernet Switch works at Layer 2 of the OSI model. All devices connected on a switch belong to the same Broadcast Domain but each switch segment (i.e port of the switch) has its own collision domain.
• A Router works at Layer 3 of the OSI model. A router blocks network broadcasts. Some of the tasks of a Layer 3 router are broadcast and multicast control, traffic management, optimal path determination, logical addressing and connecting to WAN services.

The “Cisco ASA Firewall Fundamentals” ebook, that I have authored and been selling on this website, took me many hours of hard work to write and promote. In addition to the work effort of writing this ebook, it encompasses also enormous value from many years of experience in administering and implementing Cisco ASA firewalls.

Why am I saying all that? Because I feel angry and pity that many people try to find and download my ebook for free from various torrent sites or Rapidshare. My website statistics and keyword research revealed all this activity from people trying to get my ebook for free. I hate to say that but I will have to resort to legal measures if I find that my ebook is being shared on peer-to-peer or download sites. Believe me, paying $29 bucks for an ebook like that is nothing compared to the valuable knowledge that you will gain by purchasing it. Moreover, the updated second edition ebook is probably the only ASA tutorial available that covers all latest Cisco ASA version 8.3 features which are different from the older versions (for example NAT, ACL etc).