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As a CCNP candidate, and in getting ready to pass the BSCI exam, you may be tempted to breeze through your static route studies, or even skip them! That’s because static routes are easy enough to configure, and as long as you remember the syntax of the ip route command, you’re in good shape.

But there’s one vital detail regarding static routes that many exam candidates miss. That’s because many CCNA and CCNP books say “the administrative distance of a static route is 1″, but that is not quite accurate.

You know from your CCNA studies that the ip route command is used to create a static route, and that you have the option of configuring a local exit interface or a next-hop IP address at the end of the command. However, the administrative distances are not the same. The AD of a static route that uses a local exit interface is zero! (That’s because the router considers a static route with a local exit interface to actually be a directly connected network.) The AD of a static route with a next-hop IP address is 1.

Therefore, if the router has the following two ip route statements to consider…

Router(config)#ip route 172.1.1.1 255.255.255.255 fast0

Router(config)#ip route 172.1.1.1 255.255.255.255 210.1.1.1

… the prefix lengths are the same, so the static route using the local exit interface fastethernet0 will be preferred due to its lower AD, and will be installed into the routing table.

Keep the details in mind on the job and in the exam room, and you’re on your way to CCNP exam success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCNA / CCNP exam questions! Details are on the website.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” and “How To Pass The CCNP”, just visit the website! You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

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As computer manufacturers begin to phase out old standards (e.g. IEEE 1284, RS-232), there is an increasingly large base of computer users who want to use their old Hewlett-Packer parallel printer with newer USB-only laptop and desktop systems. They purchase a USB to Parallel adapter, only to find that the parallel end doesn’t fit on their HP printer. What’s the problem?

In 1992, citing compact size and a simple connection to the printer, Hewlett-Packer decided to go with the IEEE 1284C connector, also known as mini- or micro-centronics. However, this connection has proved to be largely unpopular with other manufacturers, resulting in an interface that is nearly unique to HP printers.

As the IEEE 1284 standard became outdated in favor of USB, adapters sprang up to fill the gap between the older parallel printers and newer USB-only computers. However, manufacturers of these adapters went with the most popular printer connector: CEN-36 or centronics, which is considerably larger in size, although comparable in capability to the mini-centronics connection. So where does this leave those with old but useable mini-centronics parallel HP printers?

The answer is found in the centronics to mini-centronics adapter. This adapter converts a larger-sized centronics connection to the smaller, more compact mini-centronics end, allowing people to connect their parallel HP printers to their newer computers. A word of caution: the USB to parallel adapter is still necessary to complete the connection because the conversion from parallel to USB must still be made.

The contronics to mini-centronics adapter is a niche product that can be difficult to find, but it represents the best solution for those wanting to hold on to that old HP printer.

Nathan Kartchner is a product development rep for Sewell Direct, an online retailer of hard-to-find computer connectivity products, like the USB to Parallel adapter.

Tags: plc
pac
pc
port
vb
vc
c#
parallel
serial
com
usb

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