A few commands to make life easier while configuring Cisco devices:
Synchronous logging
Normally the default logging will „interrupt“ typing at the console. This can be prevented with synchronous logging.
Switch(config) #line vty 0 4 Switch(config-line) #logging synchronous
It must be configured on all „lines“, eg. Console, Telnet, SSH.
Exec timeout
By default, configuration sessions will be terminated after being idle for 5 minutes. The timeout can be customized by using the „exec-timeout“ command:
Switch(config) #line vty 0 4 Switch(config-line) #exec-timeout MINUTES
As with synchronous logging, this setting has to be configured on all „lines“.
DNS resolution
For troubleshooting (eg. ping/traceroute) it can be very helpful to enable name resolution by configuring the correct DNS servers:
Switch(config) #ip name-server 8.8.8.8
Disable DNS-lookups
By default any Cisco device will try to resolve unknown commands (eg. typos) to a DNS name. This can be prevented with:
Switch(config) #no ip domain-lookup
