How to Configure a Cisco Router

Enabling Cisco CP Express

1. Assemble your Cisco router. The steps to assemble your router vary by model. If your router supports Wi-Fi, connect the antenna (included in the box) as instructed by your manual. If you need to install a SIM card, follow your manual's instructions to do so.^[1]

   1. Cisco CP Express is a web-based administration panel that allows you to set up your router using a web browser. This makes it so you don't have to learn lots of complicated Cisco commands.

2. Connect the router to your computer with a console cable. Modern Cisco's come with USB Mini-B to USB-A console cables, which ensure that you can get console access on any computer that has a USB port.^[2]

   1. If your router came with a console cable is RJ45 to DB9 (female), plug the Ethernet end of the cable into the router's Console port, and the DB9 end into your computer's serial port. If your computer doesn't have a serial port, you can use a DB9 (male) to USB-A adapter.

3. Open a terminal emulator. If you're using a Mac, you can open Terminal, which you'll find in the Applications folder under Utilities. If you have Windows, you'll need to download a terminal app like PuTTY, which you can get from their official website.

4. Connect to the router. The steps are a little different depending on your operating system:

   1. Windows (using PuTTY) Select Session in the left panel, and then select Serial as the "Connection Type." Enter the communication port number in the "Serial Line" section, and then click Open.
      1. If you don't know the address of your serial port, open the Device Manager and expand the Ports (COM & LPT) group. The port should look something like COM1.^[3]
   2. macOS^[4]
      1. Type ls /dev/cu.* and press ⏎ Return.
      2. Find the device in the list that includes the word serial. For example, /dev/tty.KeySerial1.
      3. Type screen /dev/tty.KeySerial1 and press ⏎ Return (replace the /dev/ address with the one you see if it's different).
      4. If you don't see a command prompt, press ⏎ Return a few times until it appears.

5. Type no and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return if prompted. If you see a message asking if you'd like to continue with configuration dialog, you'll want to say no so you can configure the router manually. Not everyone will see this option.

6. Type enable and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. You'll be prompted for a password.

7. Enter your password and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. The default password is usually cisco or admin.

8. Type show flash and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. This displays the default configuration file name, which follows the format modelnumber.cfg.

9. Type copy flash:cpconfig-8xx.cfg nvram: and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. Replace cpconfig-8xx with the name of your config file. This copies the configuration file to NVRAM.

10. Type copy flash:cpconfig-8xx.cfg nvram: and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. This ensures that the router will support the Cisco CP Express admin website.

    1. You can close your console connection and remove the cable now.