Synchronization or three-way handshake 10.1.2 This page will explain the synchronization process that TCP uses. The process is also called a three-way handshake. TCP is a connection-oriented protocol. Prior to data transmission, the two communicating hosts go through a synchronization process to establish a virtual connection for each session between hosts. This synchronization process ensures that both sides are ready for data transmission and allows the devices to determine the initial sequence numbers for that session. This process is known as a three-way handshake. This is a three-step process that establishes the virtual connection between the two devices. It is also important to note that the three-way handshake is initiated by a client host. To establish a TCP session, the client host will use the well-known port number of the service it wishes to contact on a server host. In step one, the initiating host (client) sends a synchronization (SYN flag set) packet to ini...
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TCP Operation 10.1.1 This page will explain how the transport layer provides reliability and flow control. IP addresses allow for the routing of packets between networks. However, IP makes no guarantees about delivery. The transport layer is responsible for the reliable transport of and regulation of data flow from source to destination. This is accomplished through the use of sliding windows and sequencing numbers along with a synchronization process. This process ensures that each host is ready and willing to communicate. To understand reliability and flow control, think of a student who studies a foreign language for one year. Now imagine the student visits a country where the language is used. The student must ask people to repeat their words for reliability and to speak slowly for comprehension, which relates to the concept of flow control. The transport layer, which is Layer 4 of the OSI model, uses TCP to provide these services to Layer 5. The next page will descr...
Module 10: Intermediate TCP/IP Overview Routers use the IP address information in an IP packet header to determine the interface to which a packet should be switched based on its destination. Since IP does not ensure that the packet reaches the destination, it is described as an unreliable, connectionless protocol, that uses best-effort delivery. If packets are dropped in route, arrive in the wrong order, or are transmitted faster than the receiver can accept them, IP alone cannot correct the problem. To address these problems, IP relies on TCP. This module describes TCP and its functions and introduces UDP, another important Layer 4 protocol. Each layer within the OSI reference model has various functions. These functions are independent of the other layers. Each layer expects to receive services from the layer beneath it, and each layer provides certain services to the layer above it. The application, presentation, and session layers of the OSI model, which are all cons...
Summary The show ip route command is used to gather detailed information about the routes installed on the router. It displays the contents of the IP routing table. New routes may be added with static routing, which allows an administrator to manually define routes, or with dynamic routing, which uses the rules defined by a routing protocol to exchange information and determine the best path. Default routes are used when the router is unable to match a destination network with a more specific entry in the routing table. The router uses this default route to reach the gateway of last resort in an effort to forward the packet. The path determination function occurs at the network layer of the OSI model. It enables a router to evaluate the available paths to a destination and to establish the preferred handling of a packet. This information is configured manually or collected dynamically. The administrative distance of the route is used by the router to decide what the best path is t...
Introduction to debug 9.3.7 This page will explain the functions of the debug command. The debug commands assist in the isolation of protocol and configuration problems. The debug command is used to display dynamic data and events. Since the show commands only display static information, they provide a historical picture of the router operation. The debug command output gives more insight into the current events of the router. These events could be traffic on an interface, error messages generated by nodes on the network, protocol-specific diagnostic packets, and other useful troubleshooting data. The dynamic output of the debug command creates performance issues. This command produces high processor overhead that may disrupt normal router operation. For this reason, debug should be used conservatively. Use debug commands to examine specific types of traffic or problems after likely problems have been narrowed a few causes. The debug command should be used to isol...
Troubleshooting using show controllers 9.3.6 This page will teach students about troubleshooting using the show controllers command. Router configuration and troubleshooting can be performed remotely when physical inspection of the connections is not possible. The show controllers command is useful to determine the type of cable connected without inspecting the cables. The output displayed by the show controllers command indicates the type of cable detected by the controller. This is useful for finding a serial interface with no cable, the wrong type of cable, or a defective cable. The show controllers serial 0/0 command queries the integrated circuit, or controller chip, that controls the serial interfaces and displays information about the physical interface serial 0/0. This output varies for different controller chips. Regardless of the controller chip type, the show controllers command produces a large amount of output. Other than the ca...
Troubleshooting routing issues 9.3.5 This page will describe the show ip protocols and show ip route commands. These commands display information about routing protocols and the routing table. The output from these commands can be used to verify the routing protocol configuration. The show ip route command may be the most important command used to troubleshoot routing issues. This command displays the contents of the IP routing table. The output from the show ip route command shows the entries for all known networks and subnetworks, and how that information was learned. If there is a problem reaching a host in a particular network, then the output of the show ip route command can be used to verify that the router has a route to that network. If the output of the show ip route command does not show the expected learned routes, or any learned routes, then the problem may be that routing information has not been exchanged. In this case, use the show ip protocols ...
Troubleshooting using show cdp 9.3.3 This page will explain the functions of the show cdp command. CDP advertises device information to its direct neighbors. This includes MAC and IP addresses and outgoing interfaces. The output from the show cdp neighbors command displays information about directly connected Cisco device neighbors. This information is useful for debugging connectivity issues. If a cabling problem is suspected, enable the interfaces with the no shutdown command and then execute the show cdp neighbors detail command before any other configuration. The command displays specific device detail such as the active interfaces, the port ID, and the device. The version of Cisco IOS that is running on the remote devices is also shown. If the physical layer functions properly, then all other directly connected Cisco devices should be displayed. If no known device appears, this usually indicates a Layer 1 problem. One area of concern with CDP is security. The a...
Troubleshooting Layer 2 using show interfaces 9.3.2 This page will further explain why the show interfaces command may be the most important tool to discover Layer 1 and Layer 2 problems with the router. The first parameter, which is line, refers to the physical layer. The second parameter, which is protocol, indicates if the IOS processes that control the line protocol consider the interface usable. This is determined by whether keepalives are successfully received. Keepalives are defined as messages sent by one network device to inform another network device that the virtual circuit between the two is still active. If the interface misses three consecutive keepalives, the line protocol is marked as down. When the line is down, the protocol is always down, because there is no useable media for the Layer 2 protocol. This will be true when the interface is down due to a hardware problem and when it is administratively down. If the interface is up and the line protocol is ...
Troubleshooting Layer 1 using show interfaces 9.3.1 This page will discuss show commands and explain how they are used to troubleshoot Layer 1 issues. The Cisco IOS contains many commands for troubleshooting. Among the more widely used are the show commands. Every aspect of the router can be viewed with one or more of the show commands. The show command used to check the status and statistics of the interfaces is the show interfaces command. The show interfaces command without arguments returns status and statistics on all the router ports. The show interfaces returns the status and statistics of only the named port. To view the status of Serial 0/0, use show interfaces serial 0/0 . The status of two important portions of the interfaces is shown with the show interfaces command. They are the physical, or hardware portion and logical, or software, portion. These can be related to the Layer 1 and the Layer 2 functions. The hardware includes cables, connectors, and ...
Layer 7 troubleshooting using Telnet 9.2.7 The Telnet utility is a virtual terminal protocol that is part of the TCP/IP protocol suite. It allows verification of the application layer software between source and destination stations. This is the most complete test mechanism available. The Telnet utility is normally used to connect remote devices, to gather information, and to run programs. The Telnet application provides a virtual terminal connection to routers that use TCP/IP. For troubleshooting purposes, it is useful to verify that a connection can be made using Telnet. This proves that at least one TCP/IP application is able to connect end-to-end. A successful Telnet connection indicates that the upper-layer application and the services of lower layers are functioning properly. If an administrator can Telnet to one router but not to another router, verify lower layer connectivity. If connectivity has been verified, it is likely that the Telnet failure is caused ...