Kevin Kormylo, Okoma Mita, Dan O’Donnell
CIT/249
January 12, 2015 Steve Acklin
Basic Device and Security Configuration
When designing a network there are basic network and security configurations that one needs to consider. Choosing a hostname for each device is very important, this allows the user to know what device they are working on. Configuring interfaces with a proper IP, subnet, and descriptions are part of the basic configuration of a network device.
One needs to consider the security setting for the network devices. There are some basic configurations that one can choose to use in their configuration. Passwords and a username should be used for consoling and remote access to any network device. Enable passwords and encrypting those password are best practice’s for any engineer. Configuration of a username and password for virtual lines, will help in keeping unwanted persons out of your network device along with, a banner upon logging into a device. Banners are messages that will display a warning to any unauthorized person looking to access the device. Shutting down unused ports in a switch, will keep unwanted clients of the network and people from just plugging a laptop into the port for access.
Remote access is something to think about when configuring a device. SSH (Secure Shell) and telnet are two network protocol used to remote access to a device. SSH is a more secure application that uses higher encryptions of data then telnet does. To generate the SSH key the use of crypto key generate rsa is used with a 1024 bit key, creates the most secure key. Remote access is a concern to any engineer and should be taken with the highest priority.
Commands Used in Basic Device Configurations
CLI commands that are used in a switch and in a router are the same. Most CLI commands are configured in the global configuration mode. It’s always good practice to start with the command erase