Initial Configuration of a Router

Connect Devices

Network devices and end users typically connect to a network using a wired Ethernet or wireless connection. Refer to the figure as a sample reference topology. The LANs in the figure serve as an example of how users and network devices could connect to networks.

Home office devices can connect as follows:

• Laptops and tablets connect wirelessly to a home router.

• A network printer connects using an Ethernet cable to the switch port on the home router.

• The home router connects to the service provider cable modem using an Ethernet cable.

• The cable modem connects to the Internet service provider (ISP) network.

The Branch site devices connect as follows:

• Corporate resources (i.e., file servers and printers) connect to Layer 2 switches using Ethernet cables.

• Desktop PCs and voice over IP (VoIP) phones connect to Layer 2 switches using Ethernet cables.

• Laptops and smartphones connect wirelessly to wireless access points (WAPs).

• The WAPs connect to switches using Ethernet cables.

• Layer 2 switches connect to an Ethernet interface on the edge router using Ethernet cables. An edge router is a device that sits at the edge or boundary of a network and routes between that network and another, such as between a LAN and a WAN.

• The edge router connects to a WAN service provider (SP).

• The edge router also connects to an ISP for backup purposes.

The Central site devices connect as follows:

• Desktop PCs and VoIP phones connect to Layer 2 switches using Ethernet cables.

• Layer 2 switches connect redundantly to multilayer Layer 3 switches using Ethernet fiber-optic cables (orange connections).

• Layer 3 multilayer switches connect to an Ethernet interface on the edge router using Ethernet cables.

• The corporate website server is connected using an Ethernet cable to the edge router interface.

• The edge router connects to a WAN SP.

• The edge router also connects to an ISP for backup purposes.

In the Branch and Central LANs, hosts are connected either directly or indirectly (via WAPs) to the network infrastructure using a Layer 2 switch.