Chapter 14 - Sw Conf

Editor's Notes

1. A switch may already be preconfigured and only passwords may need to be entered for the user EXEC, enable, or privileged EXEC modes. Switch configuration mode is entered from privileged EXEC mode. In the CLI, the default privileged EXEC mode is Switch#. In User EXEC mode the prompt will be Switch>. The following steps will ensure that a new configuration will completely overwrite any existing configuration: Remove any existing VLAN information by deleting the VLAN database file vlan.dat from the flash directory Erase the back up configuration file startup-config Reload the switch
2. Security, documentation, and management are important for every internetworking device. A switch should be given a hostname, and passwords should be set on the console and vty lines.
3. To allow the switch to be accessible by Telnet and other TCP/IP applications, IP addresses and a default gateway should be set. By default, VLAN 1 is the management VLAN. In a switch-based network, all internetworking devices should be in the management VLAN. This will allow a single management workstation to access, configure, and manage all the internetworking devices.
4. The Fast Ethernet switch ports default to auto-speed and auto-duplex. This allows the interfaces to negotiate these settings. When a network administrator needs to ensure an interface has particular speed and duplex values, the values can be set manually
5. Intelligent networking devices can provide a web-based interface for configuration and management purposes. Once a switch is configured with an IP address and gateway, it can be accessed in this way. A web browser can access this service using the IP address and port 80, the default port for http. The HTTP service can be turned on or off, and the port address for the service can be chosen. Any additional software such as an applet, can be downloaded to the browser from the switch. Also, the network devices can be managed by a browser based graphical user interface (GUI).