Prepare Your Router for dCloud Configuration

April 2024

For Meraki MX appliances: Add the device for dCloud use only once for each Meraki MX. The Meraki MX configuration will be dynamically added and removed at session start and session end.

The Meraki MX will connect automatically to any session to which you add it.

For your Meraki configuration, leave this topic and visit this help page: Get a Meraki MX Router for dCloud Use.

To learn more about how Meraki enhances Cisco solutions, see How Routers work with Cisco dCloud.

For approved Legacy routers, before you start:

• Router and power cord for your router.
• Internet connection through an Internet modem.
• Ethernet cable to connect the Internet modem to your router.
• Windows or Mac laptop, a console cable to connect the serial port on your laptop to your router, and if your laptop has no serial port, a USB to serial DB-9 adapter to connect the serial end of the console cable to a USB port on your laptop.
• Terminal emulator program (such as PuTTY for Windows and iTerm2 on Mac) installed on your laptop to use to log in to your router.

For more information, see Supported Routers.
 

To prepare your Legacy router for dCloud configuration:

1. Verify you have the list above on-hand.
2. With your router powered OFF, connect the power cord to the router and plug the power cord into your power source.
3. Connect your router to your laptop, using the console cable. If your laptop has no serial port to connect to the serial end of the console cable, use the USB to serial DB-9 adapter to connect the serial end of the console cable to a USB port on your laptop.
4. Connect your router to your Internet modem using the Ethernet cable: Plug one cable end into the router port listed in the External/Internet Port column on the Supported and Recommended Routers page. Then, plug the other end into an Ethernet port on your Internet modem.
5. If your router is new and never used, you can skip this reset step. If it is not new and has been used: Reset your router to its factory-default configuration.
6. Power on your router and wait 5 to 10 minutes for the router to finish booting. When the lights are solid or blink in repeating patterns, the router has finished booting.
7. On your laptop, start the terminal emulator program and use it to connect to your router command line interface (CLI).
   
8. In the router CLI, if prompted for a username and password, enter the factory-default credentials which are usually Username: cisco and Password: cisco.
9. Check the router IOS version running on the router and upgrade the IOS version if needed.
   
10. Exit the router CLI:

    router# exit  [Exits privileged mode]

11. Close the router CLI window to end the terminal emulator connection.
12. Turn off your router.
13. Reset your router to its factory-default configuration again.

    This second reset ensures that the default router username and password are in effect, which is required to configure your router for dCloud configuration.

14. Power on your router, then wait 5-10 minutes for the router to finish booting. You can check the lights on your router -- when the lights are solid or blink in repeating patterns, the router is finished booting.
15. Now that your router preparation is complete, you must configure your router for dCloud use.

Learn & Explore:

Review Using Routers with Cisco dCloud to become familiar with concepts that will help you learn; tasks you can perform with the concepts in mind; and helpful references to explore.

Back to top