CCNA in 10 Weeks

200-301 v1.1

Week 5IP Connectivity35 min

OSPF CLI Verification & x-remote Collection

Learning objectives

  • • Collect structured OSPF verification output after completing lab configuration
  • • Interpret show ip protocols, OSPF neighbors, interface state, and OSPF routes
  • • Use an x-remote YAML playbook to gather multi-router evidence in one run
  • • Verify DR election, default-route redistribution, timers, and supporting services

Overview

After you finish OSPF configuration in lab, the exam (and your instructor) expect evidence — not just “it pings.” Run a fixed set of show commands on every router, capture the output, and confirm neighbors are FULL, routes appear as O, and services (SSH, NTP, logging) match the lab brief.

This guide walks through a real CST8371 Week 11 — CO1 OSPF Configuration verification playbook, formatted for x-remote: one YAML file, multiple devices, one output file.

Placeholders before you run

Replace {USERNAME} with your login name and {U} with your U number (used in the 198.18.{U}.x management addresses). Save the playbook as something like w11-ospf-verification.yaml, then run x-remote against it after configuration is complete.

Complete x-remote playbook

Keep the full YAML intact — x-remote reads this file as-is. Comments in the playbook mirror the section breakdown below.

# 25F-CST8371 - Week 11 - CO1 OSPF Configuration
# Collect verification commands after completing OSPF setup
# Used with x-remote.py
# https://github.com/ayalac1111/x-remote
#
# Replace {USERNAME} with your username
# Replace {U} with your U number
output_file: w11-ospf-{USERNAME}.txt
devices:
  - device_info:
      device_type: cisco_xe
      ip: 198.18.{U}.17        # RA
      username: cisco
      password: cisco
    commands:
      # --- OSPF Global Configs
      - show ip protocols
      - show ip ospf | include Reference
      # --- OSPF Neighbour, DR election and interface enable
      - show ip ospf neighbor
      - show ip ospf interface brief
      # --- Default Route Configuration
      - show ip route static | begin Gateway
      # --- OSPF Interface Configuration
      - show ip ospf interface g0/0/1 | include Timer|Router ID
      # --- OSPF Routes
      - show ip route ospf
      # --- Services
      - show ip ssh
      - show ntp associations
      - show logging | include Logging to|udp
  - device_info:
      device_type: cisco_xe
      ip: 198.18.{U}.22        # RB
      username: cisco
      password: cisco
    commands:
      # --- OSPF Global Configs
      - show ip protocols
      - show ip ospf | include Reference
      # --- OSPF interface enable
      - show ip ospf interface brief
      # --- OSPF Interface Configuration
      - show ip ospf interface g0/0/1 | include Timer
      - show ip ospf interface g0/0/0 | include Priority
      # --- OSPF Routes
      - show ip route ospf
      # --- Services
      - show tcp brief
      - show ntp associations
      - show logging | include Logging to|udp

How x-remote uses this file:

| Key | Purpose | |-----|---------| | output_file | Single text file collecting all device output (submit this) | | device_info | SSH target — IOS-XE lab routers at 198.18.{U}.17 (RA) and .22 (RB) | | commands | Ordered list run sequentially on that device |

Router RA — 198.18.{U}.17

OSPF global configuration

Confirms OSPF process is running, which networks are included, and the reference bandwidth used for cost calculation.

RA — OSPF global
show ip protocols
show ip ospf | include Reference

Look for: Routing Protocol is "ospf" with your process ID; Routing for Networks listing the correct wildcard/area statements; reference bandwidth line if you changed auto-cost reference-bandwidth.

Neighbors, DR election, and enabled interfaces

These commands prove adjacencies formed and which interfaces participate in OSPF.

RA — neighbors and interfaces
show ip ospf neighbor
show ip ospf interface brief

Look for: Neighbor state FULL (or FULL/- on broadcast segments); correct DR/BDR roles on multi-access links; every intended interface shows ENABLED under OSPF.

Default route configuration

Static default origination or redistribution is a common lab requirement — verify the static route exists before checking OSPF propagation.

RA — static default route
show ip route static | begin Gateway

Look for: 0.0.0.0/0 pointing to the expected next hop or exit interface; matches your default-information originate or static + redistribute design.

Interface timers and Router ID

Timer mismatches block adjacency; Router ID mismatches cause confusing neighbor output.

RA — G0/0/1 timers and RID
show ip ospf interface g0/0/1 | include Timer|Router ID

Look for: Hello 10 / Dead 40 on broadcast (unless lab changed them); Router ID matches your configured router-id or loopback plan.

OSPF routes in the routing table

RA — OSPF learned routes
show ip route ospf

Look for: Routes marked O or O IA for remote subnets learned from neighbors; absence of expected prefixes means adjacency or network statement problems.

Supporting services

Labs often bundle device hardening and management services with routing.

RA — SSH, NTP, syslog
show ip ssh
show ntp associations
show logging | include Logging to|udp

Look for: SSH version 2 enabled; NTP synced to the lab server; syslog host pointing at the collector (UDP 514).

Router RB — 198.18.{U}.22

RB shares global and route checks with RA but adds priority inspection on G0/0/0 — typical DR/BDR election evidence on a multi-access segment.

OSPF global configuration

RB — OSPF global
show ip protocols
show ip ospf | include Reference

Enabled OSPF interfaces

RB — interface brief
show ip ospf interface brief

Interface timers and DR priority

RB — timers on G0/0/1
show ip ospf interface g0/0/1 | include Timer
RB — DR priority on G0/0/0
show ip ospf interface g0/0/0 | include Priority

Look for: Priority 0 = never DR/BDR; 1–255 = eligible (default 1); highest priority wins DR election on that segment.

OSPF routes

RB — OSPF learned routes
show ip route ospf

Supporting services

RB uses show tcp brief instead of show ip ssh — useful when verifying listening management ports (SSH, telnet if enabled).

RB — TCP, NTP, syslog
show tcp brief
show ntp associations
show logging | include Logging to|udp

Command quick reference

| Command | What it proves | |---------|----------------| | show ip protocols | OSPF process ID, networks, passive interfaces, redistribution | | show ip ospf \| include Reference | Reference bandwidth → cost calculation baseline | | show ip ospf neighbor | Adjacency state, DR/BDR, dead timer countdown | | show ip ospf interface brief | Which interfaces run OSPF and their area/cost | | show ip route static \| begin Gateway | Static routes including default | | show ip ospf interface … \| include Timer | Hello/dead interval match with neighbors | | show ip ospf interface … \| include Priority | DR election eligibility | | show ip route ospf | Prefixes learned via OSPF | | show ip ssh / show tcp brief | Management plane services | | show ntp associations | Clock sync for logs and certificates | | show logging \| include … | Remote syslog destination |

Troubleshooting order

If output is wrong, check in this order — same logic as the Routing Troubleshooting lesson:

  1. Interface up? show ip interface brief
  2. OSPF enabled on interface? show ip ospf interface brief
  3. Neighbor FULL? show ip ospf neighbor — if empty, check area, subnet, hello/dead, ACL blocking protocol 89
  4. Routes in LSDB but not table? show ip route ospf vs show ip ospf database
  5. Services — SSH/NTP/logging are separate from OSPF but often graded in the same submission
Submit clean evidence

Run x-remote once after all configuration is saved (write memory or copy run start). Open w11-ospf-{USERNAME}.txt and confirm each section has output — empty sections usually mean wrong IP, SSH failure, or a command typo in the YAML.

Related material

Related tools

/resources/topic-notes/ospf
Routing TroubleshootingDHCP, DNS, and NTP Basics