General network switch configuration skills (1)

You can configure a vswitch in two ways: local configuration and remote network configuration, however, note that the latter configuration method is only available after the previous configuration is successful.
1. Local Configuration
For local configuration, we need to first encounter the physical connection mode, and then we need to face the software configuration, in terms of software configuration, let's take the most common Cisco "Catalyst 1900" switch as an example. The local configuration of the vswitch involves hardware and software connections. The following two steps describe the basic connection process.
1. physical connection
Because of the portable performance of the laptop, the switch is usually configured with a laptop. In the absence of a laptop, you can also use a desktop, but it is more difficult to move. The local configuration of a vswitch is to communicate directly through the "Console" Port of the computer and the vswitch, as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1
There is usually a "Console" port on the vswitch that can manage the network. This is already described in the previous section of the hub, and the same is true for the vswitch ), it is used to configure and manage vswitches. Connecting to and configuring a vswitch through the Console port is required to configure and manage the vswitch. Although there are several other ways to configure and manage vswitches, such as Web and Telnet), these methods must be configured through the Console port. Because the IP address, domain name, or device name is required for other methods, the newly purchased switch obviously cannot have these parameters, therefore, connecting to and configuring a vswitch through the Console port is the most common and basic management and configuration method that must be mastered by the network administrator.
Different types of switch Console ports are located in different locations, some on the front panel such as Catalyst 3200 and Catalyst 4006), and some on the rear panel such as Catalyst 1900 and Catalyst 2900XL ). Generally, most modular switches are located on the front panel, while most fixed configuration switches are located on the rear panel. However, you don't have to worry about the failure to find the Console port. On the top or side of the port, there will be an identifier similar to "CONSOLE", as shown in 2.

Figure 2
In addition to location differences, the Console port type is also different, the vast majority of the Catalyst 1900 and Catalyst 4006) are using RJ-45 Port 2 ), but there are also a few using DB-9 serial port such as Catalyst 3200) or DB-25 serial port such as Catalyst 2900 ).
Whether the switch uses a DB-9 or a DB-25 serial interface or an RJ-45 interface, a dedicated Console line is required to connect to a serial port configured on a computer, usually called a terminal. The Console line corresponds to the different Console ports of the vswitch. There are also two types of Console lines: one is a serial line, that is, both ends are serial interfaces and both ends are master ports ), the two ends can be inserted into the serial port of the computer and the Console port of the switch respectively; the other is the flat line at both ends of the RJ-45 Joint RJ-45-to-RJ-45. Since both ends of the flat line are RJ-45 interfaces, you cannot connect directly to the computer's serial port, so you must also use an adapter for a RJ-45-to-DB-9 or RJ-45-to-DB-25 shown in 3 at the same time. Typically, such a Console line and the corresponding DB-9 or DB-25 adapter are randomly presented in the switch box.

Figure 3
2. Software Configuration
After the physical connection is complete, we need to turn on the computer and switch power for software configuration. Next we will describe this configuration process with a Cisco netmanager switch "Catalyst 1900. Before entering the configuration, we also need to enter the system. The steps are as follows:
Step 2: power on the computer connected to the vswitch and run one of Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows 1st.
Step 2: Check whether the "Super Terminal" Hyper Terminal) component is installed. If the component is not found in the "attachment" Accessories), you can Add the Windows component by adding/deleting programs Add/Remove Program.
All right, after the "Super Terminal" is installed, we can communicate with the switch. Of course, we need to connect and turn on the switch power). The following steps are officially configured. Before using a Super Terminal to establish a communication with a vswitch, you must first set the Super Terminal.
All default configurations of the Catalyst 1900 switch before configuration are as follows: all ports have no port names; all ports have Normal priority and all 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports are set to Auto, all 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports are set to half duplex mode and no virtual subnet is configured. The steps for formal configuration are as follows ):
Step 4: Click the start button and click Super Terminal in the attachment option of the program menu. The page shown in Figure 4 is displayed.

Figure 4
Step 2: double-click the "Hypertrm" icon to bring up the dialog box 5 shown. This dialog box is used to oppose a new super terminal connection item.
Figure 5
Step 2: In the "name" text box, type the name of the connection item for creating a super-level terminal. This is mainly for easy identification and there are no special requirements. Here we enter "Cisco ", if you want to select an icon that you like for this connection item, you can also select one in the icon bar and click "OK" to bring up the dialog box 6.

Figure 6
Step 2: select the serial port of the computer connected to the vswitch from the "connect to use" drop-down list box. Click OK to bring up the dialog box 7.

Figure 7
Step 2: Select "5th" in the "baud rate" drop-down list box, because this is the highest Communication Rate of the serial port, all other options use the default value. Click "OK". If the communication is normal, the main configuration interface similar to the following is displayed, and the initial configuration of the switch is displayed in this window.
Catalyst 1900 Management Console
Copyright c) Cisco Systems, Inc. 1993-1999
All rights reserved.
Standard Edition Software
Ethernet address: 00-E0-1E-7E-B4-40
PCA Number: 73-2239-01
PCA Serial Number: SAD01200001
Model Number: WS-C1924-A
System Serial Number: FAA01200001
---------------------------------------
User Interface Menu
[M] Menus // main configuration menu
[I] IP Configuration // IP address and other configurations
[P] Console Password // control Password configuration
Enter Selection: // Enter a shortcut letter for the item to be selected, and press Enter to confirm
Note: The content following "//" is the author's explanation of the preceding statement, the same below.
Now, the vswitch configuration page is officially entered. The following work will officially configure the vswitch.
3. Basic vswitch Configuration
After entering the configuration page, if this is the first configuration, You need to configure the IP address first, which is mainly for remote configuration later. The IP address configuration method is as follows:
Enter "I" in "Enter Selection:" On the configuration page that appears, and click Enter. The following configuration information is displayed:
The IP Configuration Menu appears.
Catalyst 1900-IP Configuration
Ethernet Address: 00-E0-1E-7E-B4-40
------------- Settings ------------------
[I] IP address
[S] Subnet mask
[G] Default gateway
[B] Management Bridge Group
[M] IP address of DNS server 1
[N] IP address of DNS server 2
[D] Domain name
[R] Use Routing Information Protocol
------------- Actions -------------------
[P] Ping
[C] Clear cached DNS entries
[X] Exit to previous menu
Enter Selection:
Enter "Enter Selection:" at the end of the configuration interface and Enter the "I" letter again. Select the "IP address" option in the configuration menu to configure the IP address of the switch, after you click the Enter key, the following configuration page is displayed:

Enter administrative IP address in dotted quad format nnn. Nnn. Nnn. Nnn): // press "nnn. Nnn. Nnn. Nnn "format input IP Address
Current setting ==> 0.0.0.0 // the IP address before the switch is not configured is "0.0.0.0", representing any IP Address
New setting ==> // enter a New IP address here
If you want to configure the subnet mask and default gateway of the vswitch, select "S" and "G" on the IP configuration page. Now let's take a look at the Password Configuration:
In the IP configuration menu above, select "X" to return to the switch configuration interface described above.
Enter the "P" letter and press the Enter key. Then, at the prompt that appears, enter a 4-to 8-bit password. The password is displayed as "*" on the screen ), after entering the information, press enter to confirm and return to the logon page.
After you have configured the IP address and password, the switch can work properly according to the default configuration. To change the vswitch configuration and monitor the network conditions, you can use the control command menu, or use WEB-based Catalyst 1900 Switch Manager anywhere.