2501 Looses Config After Power Off...

I'm fairly new to CCNA and just getting started on it, so a lot of things are still unclear to me.
I'm trying to connect two 2501 routers through serial connection, two problems I ran into:

1) On one router I loose configuration after powering it off; it has 16mb and 16mb of flash/memory, what could be the issue here?

2) Once I have the two routers going(before powering off), I can't seem to ping one from the other - infact, issuing show ip route does not give any indication at all that it's talking to the other router. I changed the cables today, hoping that the other cables I had were bad, but no luck, that drove me to come here and seek help from these very helpful forums.

I followed the instructions on the lab setup here to the letter using those same ip addresses suggested(192.168.11.1 255.255.255.0 for Ethernet 0 and 192.168.22.1 255.255.255.0 for serial 0). I then wiped everything off of each router and went with the lab setup instructions on Lammle's 5th Edition, pages 232 through 235- same concept, just different ip addresses, no go!

According to Lammle and the lab instructions here, I should be getting:

Gateway of last resort is not set
192.168.10.0 /24 is directly connected, Ethernet 0/0
192.168.20.0 /24 is directly connected, serial 0/0 with the command sh ip route

instead, I'm getting : Gateway of last resort is not set and nothing below it as it is in the example above. I have verified my cabling to be correctAny pointers as to what I may have missed? Your help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

tech-airman

japlasma,

japlasma wrote:

I'm fairly new to CCNA and just getting started on it, so a lot of things are still unclear to me.
I'm trying to connect two 2501 routers through serial connection, two problems I ran into:

1) On one router I loose configuration after powering it off; it has 16mb and 16mb of flash/memory, what could be the issue here?

Did you type the following?

#copy running-config startup-config

japlasma wrote:

2) Once I have the two routers going(before powering off), I can't seem to ping one from the other - infact, issuing show ip route does not give any indication at all that it's talking to the other router. I changed the cables today, hoping that the other cables I had were bad, but no luck, that drove me to come here and seek help from these very helpful forums.

I followed the instructions on the lab setup here to the letter using those same ip addresses suggested(192.168.11.1 255.255.255.0 for Ethernet 0 and 192.168.22.1 255.255.255.0 for serial 0). I then wiped everything off of each router and went with the lab setup instructions on Lammle's 5th Edition, pages 232 through 235- same concept, just different ip addresses, no go!

According to Lammle and the lab instructions here, I should be getting:

Gateway of last resort is not set
192.168.10.0 /24 is directly connected, Ethernet 0/0
192.168.20.0 /24 is directly connected, serial 0/0 with the command sh ip route

instead, I'm getting : Gateway of last resort is not set and nothing below it as it is in the example above. I have verified my cabling to be correctAny pointers as to what I may have missed? Your help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Did you configure a routing protocol, even a static one?

networker050184

copy run start should save the config so you can power it on and off as tech-airman stated. Did you ensure you interfaces are not shutdown? Use the no shut command to open them.

mikej412

Do a show version and check the value of your configuration register -- it could be set to ignore the startup configuration.

wait2dominate

mikej412 wrote:

Do a show version and check the value of your configuration register -- it could be set to ignore the startup configuration.

That's what I was thinking as well.

Step 1 - verify you are typing in 'copy run start', to copy the running configuration to the starting configuration.

Step 2 - When you type in 'sh ver' at the enable prompt, at the bottom, check what the config register says. If it is 0x2102, then you have a more serious problem. If it is 0x2142. change it to 0x2102 to get it to access the config in your NVRAM.

As for the routing problem....post the configs on both of your routers so we can see from there.

japlasma

I appreciate your replies on this.
Here are the answers to the questions you asked:

Q. Did you type the following? Code: #copy running-config startup-config,

A. Yes, absolutely, on both routers, the one retains the config settings, but the other does not.

Q.Did you configure a routing protocol, even a static one?

A. I believe so, again, I followed the these instruction from the lab using....

STEP 6. Configure RIP

Use the following command to enable RIP on RouterA:
RouterA(config)#router rip

Configure the router to receive and send only RIP Version 2 packets using the following command:
RouterA(config-router)#version 2

Use the following commands to specify the networks directly connected to the router:
RouterA(config-router)#network 192.168.11.0
RouterA(config-router)#network 192.168.22.0

STEP 7. Save configuration

To copy the currently running active configuration to NVRAM, so it will be used the next time you reload the router, use the following command:
RouterA#copy running-config startup-config

I take it that's what you meant by configuring routing protocol, correct?

Q. Did you ensure you interfaces are not shutdown? Use the no shut command to open them.

A. Yes, did not miss even a dot per the instructions

Suggestion. Do a show version and check the value of your configuration register -- it could be set to ignore the startup configuration.

A. I had issued this command several times, but don't remember if this value is set to ignore the startup config or not - I would be able to check this easily when I get home tonight by looking at both routers' value.

Suggestion. Step 2 - When you type in 'sh ver' at the enable prompt, at the bottom, check what the config register says. If it is 0x2102, then you have a more serious problem. If it is 0x2142. change it to 0x2102 to get it to access the config in your NVRAM.

As for the routing problem....post the configs on both of your routers so we can see from there.

A. I have seen those numbers before, once when I was going through password recovery on one of the two routers which had a password that I didn't know, so I had to wipe it off and also saw them when I issued the command sh ver [code] but I'm not sure which one I have on there now - again I would be able to check that tonight. This sounded a lot more like what the problem might be - I have a funny feeling about this.

networker050184

Yep if you did a password recovery than most likely you didn't change the config reg back.

When you post the config it will be easier to tell why you can't ping.

japlasma

networker050184 wrote:

Yep if you did a password recovery than most likely you didn't change the config reg back.

When you post the config it will be easier to tell why you can't ping.

Thanks, I will check and post the config settings tonight

japlasma

japlasma wrote:

networker050184 wrote:

Yep if you did a password recovery than most likely you didn't change the config reg back.

When you post the config it will be easier to tell why you can't ping.

Thanks, I will check and post the config settings tonight

You wer absolutely right - show ver on that router showed config register at 0x2142 just as you had said. I went ahead and did a [code]config-register 0x2102, then wrote thast to memory then powered the unit down and after rebooting it it now retains the settings; HOWEVER, I still cannot get it to show that Ethernet 0 ans serial 0 are directly connected as should be- basically the same problem as before... here is the results of sh ip route:

Lab_A#sh ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
U - per-user static route, o - ODR

Gateway of last resort is not set

Lab_A#
show ip interface brief outputs:
Lab_A#show ip interface brief
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
Ethernet0 192.168.10.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial0 192.168.20.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial1 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
Lab_A#

a show config outputs:
Lab_A#show config
Using 705 out of 32762 bytes
!
version 12.0
service timestamps debug uptime
service timestamps log uptime
no service password-encryption
!
hostname Lab_A
!
enable secret 5 $1$XH2a$WBNgk.LBchyKw4BfR8zz6.
!
ip subnet-zero
!
!
!
interface Ethernet0
description Lab_A LAN Connection
ip address 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
no ip directed-broadcast
!
interface Serial0
description WAN Connection to Lab_B
ip address 192.168.20.1 255.255.255.0
no ip directed-broadcast
!
interface Serial1
no ip address
no ip directed-broadcast
shutdown
!
ip classless
!
What else can I check, any help would be aapreciated.

networker050184

Both of your interfaces are showing down. Are they plugged into anything??

japlasma

networker050184 wrote:

Both of your interfaces are showing down. Are they plugged into anything??

Yes, the serial connections are back-to-back connections while the ethernets are connected to my laptop using cat5 cable to my laptop via transceivers.
Interestingly enough, I had realized that I had not configured rip, so I went back and redid the whole thing including configuring rip and now the command shows both interfaces up, but protocol is down: -

Lab_A#show ip interface brief
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
Ethernet0 192.168.10.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial0 192.168.20.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial1 unassigned YES unset administratively down down

r_durant

Make sure the connection(s) to your laptop with the Cat5 cable is a cross-over...

Also, on the serial connections make sure you have the correct DCE/DTE cable and that the DCE end is configured with a clock rate....

Apart from that, verify the IP addresses are valid on each back-to-back connection...

networker050184

Make sure the connection(s) to your laptop with the Cat5 cable is a cross-over...

No you connect hosts with a straight through.

Lab_A#show ip interface brief
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
Ethernet0 192.168.10.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial0 192.168.20.1 YES NVRAM up down
Serial1 unassigned YES unset administratively down down

These need to read up up not up down. Ensure your cables are right and that you have the serials configured correctly.

tech-airman

networker050184,

networker050184 wrote:

Make sure the connection(s) to your laptop with the Cat5 cable is a cross-over...

No you connect hosts with a straight through.

A straight through cable is the incorrect cable to connect a host to a router port. The correct cable that you need to connect a host to a router port is a crossover cable as r_durant mentioned.

networker050184

Yeah sorry r_durant missed the part about directly connected to router.

japlasma

tech-airman wrote:

networker050184,

networker050184 wrote:

Make sure the connection(s) to your laptop with the Cat5 cable is a cross-over...

No you connect hosts with a straight through.

A straight through cable is the incorrect cable to connect a host to a router port. The correct cable that you need to connect a host to a router port is a crossover cable as r_durant mentioned.

You were right, I was using a straight through cat 5 cable to connect my pc to the router through the serial port. So I made a couple of Crossover cables and now I'm able to talk to the the router:
Lab_A#show ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
U - per-user static route, o - ODR

Gateway of last resort is not set

C 192.168.10.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet0

Notice that I still cannot connect through the serial port using male 60 pin- to- DTE cable back-to-back connected to male 60 pin - to - DCE cable, I don't get it, everything seem like they should work, but they aren't.
Yesterday when I was reconnecting the cables to the router(I had disconnected them to find out which end was DTE and which was DCE) the serial connection showed connected when I issued the show ip route command, but it lasted only for a minute then it got disconnected again with only the ethernet connected showing connection as shown in the output above. I then tried disconecting and reconnecting the serial cable from both routers and was able to replicate the problem - it stayed on for only one minute. I'm at a loss as to what might be going on here, help please!

japlasma

Here is what I was explaining, I just replicated the problem again...

Lab_A#show ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
U - per-user static route, o - ODR

Gateway of last resort is not set

C 192.168.10.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet0
C 192.168.20.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0
Lab_A#

r_durant

Have you set a clock rate on the router with the DCE end of the serial cable?

Something like "clock rate 64000"

japlasma

r_durant wrote:

Have you set a clock rate on the router with the DCE end of the serial cable?

Something like "clock rate 64000"

Yes.

r_durant

Can you post the configs of the two connected routers?

japlasma

r_durant wrote:

Can you post the configs of the two connected routers?

Here is the output for the show config command from the first router:
Lab_A#show config
Using 770 out of 32762 bytes
!
version 12.0
service timestamps debug uptime
service timestamps log uptime
no service password-encryption
!
hostname Lab_A
!
enable secret 5 $1$Dbst$ibN7PmUSwT.IAb68X42Al.
!
ip subnet-zero
!
!
!
interface Ethernet0
description Lab_A LAN Connection
ip address 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
no ip directed-broadcast
!
interface Serial0
description WAN Connection to Lab_B
ip address 192.168.20.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface Serial1
no ip address
no ip directed-broadcast
shutdown
!
router rip
version 2
network 192.168.10.0
network 192.168.20.0
!
ip classless
!
banner motd ^C
This the Lab_A router
^C
!
line con 0
password login
transport input none
line aux 0
router rip
version 2
network 192.168.10.0
network 192.168.20.0
!
ip classless
!
banner motd ^C
This the Lab_A router
^C
!
line con 0
password k7!f9hk
login
transport input none
line aux 0
password k7!f9hk
login
line vty 0 4
password k7!f9hk
login
!
end

Lab_A#

japlasma

And the output for the second router:
Lab_B#show config
Using 761 out of 32762 bytes
!
version 11.2
service password-encryption
no service udp-small-servers
no service tcp-small-servers
!
hostname Lab_B
!
enable secret 5 $1$TNqU$Yn5T.MB4kPY0s8tB8yWog0
!
no ip domain-lookup
!
interface Ethernet0
description Lab_B LAN Connection
ip address 192.168.30.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface Serial0
description WAN Connection to Lab_A
ip address 192.168.20.2 255.255.255.0
encapsulation ppp
!
interface Serial1
interface Serial1
no ip address
shutdown
!
router rip
version 2
network 192.168.22.0
network 192.168.33.0
network 192.168.30.0
network 192.168.20.0
!
no ip classless
banner motd ^C
This is the Lab_B router
^C
!
line con 0
password 7 1213041C07180D
login
line aux 0
password 7 1213041C07180D
login
line vty 0 4
password 7 0119070F4E1807
login
!
end

Lab_B#login

r_durant

For one, I don't see a clock rate running on either of the routers...

Secondly, you have PPP encapsulation running on Lab_B and not on Lab_A.

I'd try adding a clock rate to the DCE end and adding PPP encapsulation to Lab_A (or removing PPP from Lab_B)...

japlasma

I ruled out the cable as the problem because I got a different cable but still same results.
WAIT A MINUTE.....It worked!!!

I put back the original serial cable that I though was bad, obviously I was wrong! Don't know but it must have been a combination of different things, latest being what r_dirant suggested to do the clock rate on the 2nd router with the DCE and add encapsulation to the first router(I did this on the second router instead because doing it on the first router didn't work) .
Anyway, I'm truely thankful for all your help in troubleshooting these problems and now... I can continue with my studies - must say this has taken time away from reading... routers are really addicting!
I will be seeking to do something with the other gears I have:-
4000 which I intend to use for a frame-relay,
3620 which I still don't know how to bring into the mix,
2900 series XL and a 3500 series XL switches. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Here is my new show ip route protocol command output:

Lab_B#show ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, I - IGRP, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
i - IS-IS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2, * - candidate default
U - per-user static route, o - ODR

Gateway of last resort is not set

R 192.168.10.0/24 [120/1] via 192.168.20.1, 00:00:21, Serial0
C 192.168.30.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet0
192.168.20.0/24 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks
C 192.168.20.0/24 is directly connected, Serial0
C 192.168.20.1/32 is directly connected, Serial0
Lab_B#

Thank you all very much.

jahman182

Had a similar issue, just getting started myself with the RIP lab and had a problem, the thing was, it was my Ethernet connections were down, only to have come across this thread to realize that I needed cross over cables to connect the hosts to the routers. So I went ahead and made up some crossovers and viola everything works. It felt really good to get to this point............

I can now affirmatively say "networker050184" you definitely need crossover cables to connect your hosts to routers.

j/k

r_durant

Well, the good thing about these kind of problems is that you would never be able to get this kind of troubleshooting experience on a simulator...yes, as some have done, passed without real equipment, but nothing compares to hands-on...

Good luck with the studies guys...

japlasma

jahman182 wrote:

Had a similar issue, just getting started myself with the RIP lab and had a problem, the thing was, it was my Ethernet connections were down, only to have come across this thread to realize that I needed cross over cables to connect the hosts to the routers. So I went ahead and made up some crossovers and viola everything works. It felt really good to get to this point............

Yes, these forums are really useful, that's why I read every single thread, whether it pertains to what I'm studying at the moment or not, someone else's problem may very easily be your problem.

jahman182

I have been checking around some other and settled on this forum as my home. I read almost everything and feel very at home here. The fact that yesterday i was able to remedy my lab problem with a visit here. I was about to open a thread when I came across yours, and there was the answers to the questions I had.

I am here for the long haul..........I have no doubt the guys and gals here will see us through.