About This Guide

This section describes the objectives, audience, organization, and conventions of the Router Products Getting Started Guide. For information about related publications, refer to the Documentation Roadmap.

Document Objectives

This guide describes the setup command facility and its position within the entire installation and configuration process. It helps you with first-time startup and familiarizes you with the entire process of setting up the router, including hardware installation, planning your configuration, and implementing that configuration to enable you to start using your router quickly. If your router has protocol translation software, use this book in tandem with the Protocol Translator Getting Started Guide.

Audience

The Router Products Getting Started Guide is directed to customers who are responsible for the initial setup and configuration of their router product. This document provides a step-by-step approach to planning and executing the first-time configuration in response to the setup command facility, a specially designed user interface for performing basic configuration procedures on all router products. Users can also use the setup command facility for basic changes at any time.

This guide is written for customers who have little or no experience with the router. These users may be completely new to networking or they may be familiar with basic concepts and terminology. It is assumed that users have the following minimum knowledge level:

• Understand the purpose for which their router was purchased

• Know which protocols they will route

• Are familiar with interfaces they will use

• Know if they will use bridging

There are no other prerequisites for using this guide. This document is a complement to the Router Products Configuration Guide and the Router Products Command Reference publication. References to those publications are made where appropriate.

Document Organization

The organization of this guide reinforces the ease-of-use of the setup command facility and reflects the order in which the tasks should be performed. It is organized as a step-by-step planning tool that walks you through the process of setting up a router for the first time. Worksheets are included as planning and information-gathering tools. To make changes to an advanced configuration, refer to the Router Products Configuration Guide and the Router Products Command Reference publication.

The following list describes the four chapters and one appendix in this guide:

• Chapter 1, "Overview," provides an overview of the hardware installation and software configuration process.

• Chapter 2, "Preparing for First-Time Startup," guides you through the planning of your configuration when you use the setup command facility.

• Chapter 3, "First-Time Startup," shows how to use worksheets to run through a setup session.

• Chapter 4, "Where to Go from Here," provides information about using the setup command facility to alter a basic configuration after first-time startup, how to use the streamlined setup command facility if your interfaces are down and you want to netboot, and where to refer to perform advanced configuration on the router.

• Appendix A, "Blank Worksheets," provides tear-out blank worksheets to complete during the planning phase and to use during a setup command facility session.

Document Conventions

This document uses the following conventions to convey instructions and information:

• Ctrl- represents the key labeled Control.

For example, the key combination Ctrl-C means hold down the Control key while you press the C key.

• 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 include the quotation marks.

Command descriptions use these conventions:

• Examples that contain system prompts denote interactive sessions, indicating that the user enters commands at the prompt. The system prompt indicates the current command mode. For example, the prompt router(config)# indicates global configuration mode.

• Commands and keywords are in boldface.

• Arguments for which you supply values are in italic.

• Elements in square brackets ([ ]) are optional.

• Alternative but required keywords are grouped in braces ({ }) and separated by vertical bars (|).

Examples use these conventions:

• Terminal sessions and information the system displays are in screen font.

• Information you enter is in boldface screen font.

• Nonprinting characters, such as passwords, are in angle brackets (< >).

• Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets ([ ]).

• Exclamation points (!) at the beginning of a line indicate a comment line.

Caution Means reader be careful. You are capable of doing something that might result in equipment damage or loss of data.

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Note Means reader take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to materials not contained in this manual.

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