This front matter section introduces the Router Products Configuration and Reference audience and scope, organization, use, and conventions.
This publication addresses the system administrator who will configure and maintain a Cisco gateway, router, or bridge running Release 8.3 and earlier software. (Software changes from previous releases are noted in the release note accompanying this manual.)
The Router Products Configuration and Reference provides information about using and configuring the Cisco network servers--use and administration of the system interface, system configuration, and network configuration. This publication and a software release note are included with each Cisco network server system.
To match the multiprotocol, multirouting, and bridging capabilities of the Cisco network server product line, this publication has been divided into parts, contained in which are chapters describing information about a particular task, protocol, or command function. You will find dividers separating this publication into these parts:
Volume I
- Part One: Product Overview, contains an overview of the Cisco network server product line.
- Part Two: System Configuration and Management, contains chapters that provide system start-up procedures, information about the system command interpreter, and system configuration procedures. Begin your system configuration process in this part of the manual.
- Part Three: Interface Configuration, contains chapters that provide information and procedures for configuring the system interfaces. This information includes special configuration techniques, and procedures to examine the interfaces for correct operation. Become familiar with the information in this part of the manual, and refer to it while configuring your Cisco router/bridge for its particular task.
Volume II
- Part Four: Routing Configuration, contains chapters that describe how to configure each Cisco-supported routing protocol. These protocols include the AppleTalk, Apollo Domain, Banyan VINES, CHAOSnet protocols, Internet Protocol (IP), ISO Connectionless Network Services (CLNS), Novell IPX, Phase IV DECnet, PUP, and Xerox XNS (including Ungermann-Bass and 3Com). The chapters are arranged in alphabetical order, for ease of use.
- Part Five: Bridging and Connectivity, contains chapters that describe how to configure transparent and source-route bridging on the Cisco router/bridges, and how to configure the SDLC transport and serial-tunneling mechanisms in an IBM local area network.
- Appendices, which contain system error messages, a summary of the access list commands, a technical brief describing regular expressions to use for pattern-matching operations, a list of Ethernet type codes, an ASCII chart, and a list of references and recommended reading.
- Glossary, which contains definitions of terms and concepts described in this manual.
- Index, which provides page references to the topics and commands covered in this publication.
The command descriptions use these conventions:
- Commands and keywords are in boldface.
- Variables for which you supply values are in italics.
- Elements in square brackets ([ ]) are optional.
- Alternative but required keywords are grouped in braces ({ }) and are separated by a vertical bar (|).
- A string is defined as a nonquoted set of characters. For example, when setting up a community string for SNMP to "public", do not use quotes around the string or the string will be set to "public".
The samples use these conventions:
- Terminal sessions are printed in a screen font.
- Information you enter is in a boldface screen font.
- Nonprinting characters are shown in angle brackets (<>).
- Information the system displays is in screen font, with default responses in square brackets ([ ]).
This publication also uses the following conventions:
Note is a special paragraph that means
reader take note. It ususally refers to helpful suggestions, the writer's assumptions, or reference to materials not contained in this manual.
 | Caution is a special paragraph that means reader be careful. It means that you are capable of doing something that might result in equipment damage, or worse, that you might have to take something apart and start over again. |
