Configuring Token Ring Interfaces

Token Ring interfaces have similar configuration tasks to Ethernet, but the technologies are very different. For lab purposes, those differences are out of the scope of this book.
The only configuration difference in Token Ring versus Ethernet interfaces is that, on Token Ring, you need to specify a ring speed, either 4 or 16 Mbps. Begin by reviewing the routers that you will be configuring as Token Ring, as shown in Figure 7-6.

Figure 7-6 Router Interfaces to Configure as Token Ring

To set the ring speed, you must be in interface configuration mode for the Token Ring interface and must use this command:

Router(config-if)#ring-speed {4 |16}

As mentioned earlier, Token Ring supports two speeds: 4 and 16 Mbps. For this lab, use 16 Mbps. For Token Ring to operate correctly, every device belonging to a certain Ring must be configured for the same ring speed. After you set the speed, you can assign an IP address to the interface. Example 7-40 completes the commands on R5.

Example 7-40. R5 Token Ring Interface Configuration

R4#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
    Termserver#5
[Resuming connection 5 to r5 ... ]

R5#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R5(config)#interface tokenRing 0
R5(config-if)#ring-speed 16
R5(config-if)#ip address 192.168.50.5 255.255.255.0
R5(config-if)#$iption This interface does not connect with another IP device
R5(config-if)#no shutdown
R5(config-if)#
%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to initializing
R5(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R5(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R5(config-if)#

Example 7-40 shows a console message a little differently than on other interfaces. "%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to initializing" means that the router is trying to insert the Token Ring into the main network ring. If that is successful, you will get the interface up and line protocol up messages. This looks good, so save the configuration and complete R6. See Example 7-41.

Example 7-41. Token Ring Interface Configuration on R6

R5#copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
[OK]
R5#<ctrl-shft-6><x>
    Termserver#6
[Resuming connection 6 to r6 ... ]

R6#config t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R6(config)#interface tokenRing 0
R6(config-if)#ring-speed 16
R6(config-if)#ip address 192.168.60.6 255.255.255.0
R6(config-if)#$iption This interface does not connect with another IP device
R6(config-if)#no shutdown
R6(config-if)#
%LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to initializing
R6(config-if)#
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R6(config-if)#
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface TokenRing0, changed state to up
R6(config-if)#

Everything looks good. Next you will learn how to create and configure loopback interfaces.

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