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Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Setup: How To Configure Reverse Telnet |
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Occasionally, during your CCNA and CCNP studies, you'll run
into a term that just doesn't quite make sense to you. (Okay,
more than occasionally!) One such term is "reverse telnet".
As a Cisco certification candidate, you know that telnet is
simply a protocol that allows you to remotely connect to a
networking device such as a router or switch. But what is
"reverse telnet", and why is it so important to
a Cisco CCNA / CCNP home lab setup?
Where a telnet session is started by a remote user who wants
to remotely control a router or switch, a reverse telnet session
is started when the host device itself imitates the telnet
session.
In a CCNA / CCNP home lab, reverse telnet is configured and
used on the access server. The access server isn't a white
box server like most of us are used to; an access server is
a Cisco router that allows you to connect to multiple routers
and switches with one session without having to move a rollover
cable from device to device.
Your access server will use an octal cable to connect to
the other routers and switches in your home lab. The octal
cable has one large serial connector that will connect to
the access server, and eight rj-45 connectors that will connect
to your other home lab devices. Your access server then needs
an IP Host table in order to perform reverse telnet.
An IP Host table is easy to put together (and you better
know how to write one to pass the CCNA!). The IP Host table
is used for local name resolution, taking the place of a DNS
server. A typical access server IP Host table looks like this:
ip host FRS 2007 100.1.1.1
ip host R3 2003 100.1.1.1
ip host R1 2001 100.1.1.1
ip host R2 2002 100.1.1.1
ip host R4 2004 100.1.1.1
ip host R5 2005 100.1.1.1
ip host SW1 2006 100.1.1.1
interface Loopback0
ip address 100.1.1.1 255.255.255.255
no ip directed-broadcast
This configuration will allow you to use your access server
to connect to five routers, a frame relay switch, and a switch
without ever moving a cable. When you type "R1"
at the console line, for example, you'll be connected to R1
via reverse telnet. If you have a smaller lab, an access server
is still a real timesaver and an excellent investment. And
by getting a static IP address to put on your access server,
you can even connect to your home lab from remote locations!
About the Author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage,
home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study
Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy
of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” and
“How To Pass The CCNP”, just visit the website!
You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day!
Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!
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