Interface Names

One of the biggest problems that new administrators face is the interface names on the different models of routers. With all of the different Cisco devices that are in production networks today, some administrators are becoming confused on the names of their interfaces.

The following chart is a sample of some of the different interface names for various routers. This is by no means a complete list. Refer to the hardware guide of the specific router that you are working on to see the different combinations, or use the following command to see which interfaces are installed on your particular router:

router#show ip interface brief 

Router Model	Port Location/Slot Number	Slot/Port Type	Slot Numbering Range	Example
2501	On Board	Ethernet	Interface-type Number	ethernet0 (e0)
	On Board	Serial	Interface-type Number	serial0 (s0) & s1
2514	On Board	Ethernet	Interface-type Number	e0 & e1
	On Board	Serial	Interface-type Number	s0 & s1
1721	On Board	FastEthernet	Interface-type Number	fastethernet0 (fa0)
	Slot 0	WAC (WIN Interface Card) (Serial)	Interface-type Number	s0 & s1
1760	On Board	Fast Ethernet	Interface-types 0/port	fa0/0
	Slot 0	WIC/VIC (Voice Interface Card)	Interface-type 0/port	s 0/0 & s0/1 v0/0 & v0/1
	Slot 1	WIC/VIC	Interface-type 1/port	s1/0 & s1/1 v1/0 & v1/1
	Slot 2	VIC	Interface-type 2/port	v2/0 & v2/1
	Slot 3	VIC	Interface-type 3/port	v3/0 & v3/1
2610	On Board	Ethernet	Interface-type 0/port	e0/0
	Slot 0	WIC (Serial)	Interface-type 0/port	s0/0 & s0/1
2611	On Board	Ethernet	Interface-type 0/port	e0/0 & e0/1
	Slot 0	WIC (Serial)	Interface-type 0/port	s0/0 & s0/1
2620	On Board	FastEthernet	Interface-type 0/port	fa0/0
	Slot 0	WIC (Serial)	Interface-type 0/port	s0/0 & s0/1
2621	On Board	FastEthernet	Interface-type 0/port	fa0/0 & fa 0/1
	Slot 0	WIC (Serial)	Interface-type 0/port	s0/0 & s0/1
1841	On Board	FastEthernet	Interface-type 0/port	fa 0/0 & fa 0/1
	Slot 0	High Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC)/WIC/VWIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	s0/0/0 & s0/0/1
1841	Slot 1	HWIC/WIC/VWIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	s0/1/0 & s0/1/1
2801	On Board	FastEthernet	Interface-type 0/port	fa0/0 & fa 0/1
	Slot 0	VIC/VWIC (voice only)	Interface-type 0/slot/port	voice0/0/0 voice0/0/3
	Slot 1	HWIC/WIC/VWIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	0/1/0 0/1/3 (single-wide HWIC) 0/1/0 0/1/7 (double-wide HWIC)
	Slot 2	WIC/VIC/VWIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	0/2/0 - 0/2/3
	Slot 3	HWIC/WIC/VWIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	0/3/0 0/3/3 (single-wide HWIC) 0/3/0 - 0/3/7 (double-wide HWIC)
2811	Built into Chassis Front	USB	Interface-type port	usb0 & usb 1
	Built into Chassis Rear	FastEthernet Gigabit Ethernet	Interface-type 0/port	fa0/0 & fa 0/1 gi0/0 & gi0/1
	Slot 0	HWIC/HWIC-D/WIC/VWIC/VIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	s0/0/0 & s0/0/1 fa0/0/0 & 0/0/1
	Slot 1	HWIC/HWIC-D/WIC/VWIC/VIC	Interface-type 0/slot/port	s0/1/0 & s0/1/1 fa0/1/0 & 0/1/1
	NME Slot	NM/NME	Interface-type 1/port	gi1/0 & gi1/1 s1/0 & s1/1