Overview of concepts and management methods of vswitches with network management capabilities

What is a network-managed switch?

Vswitches are classified into network management switches and non-network management switches based on network management. What are the differences between the two vswitches? Vswitches that cannot be managed by network management cannot be managed. The management function is to monitor vswitch ports, divide VLANs, and set Trunk ports through management ports. However, a manageable switch can be managed. It has many features that are not available to common switches, such as port monitoring and VLAN division.

Whether a vswitch is a manageable vswitch can be distinguished from its appearance. There is usually a serial port or parallel port on the front or back of the network management switch. You can connect the switch to the computer through the serial cable or parallel cable, which is easy to set.

Manageable vswitches

Network Management switches can be managed through the following channels: Through the RS-232 serial port or parallel port) management, through the network browser management and network management software management.

1. Manage through serial port

A serial port cable is attached to a network management switch for management. First, insert one end of the serial port cable into the serial port on the back of the switch, and the other end into the serial port of the general computer. Connect the vswitch to the computer. "Super Terminal" programs are provided in Windows 98 and Windows 2000. Open the "Super Terminal". After setting the connection parameters, you can use the serial port cable to interact with the switch. This method does not occupy the bandwidth of the switch, so it is called "Out-of-band management" Out of band ).

In this mode, the switch provides a menu-driven console interface or command line interface. You can use the "Tab" key or the arrow key to move the menu and sub-menu, press the Enter key to execute the corresponding command, or use a dedicated switch to manage the switch. The command sets of vswitches of different brands are different. Even vswitches of the same brand have different commands. It is more convenient to use menu commands.

2. Web Management　

A network management switch can be managed through a Web browser, but an IP address must be specified for the switch. This IP address is not used unless used by the Management Switch. By default, a vswitch does not have an IP address. You must specify an IP address through the serial port or other methods before you can enable this management mode.

When you use a Web browser to manage a vswitch, The vswitch is equivalent to a Web server, but the webpage is not stored in the hard disk, but in the nvram of the vswitch. You can upgrade the Web program in NVRAM through a program. When the Administrator enters the IP address of the switch in the browser, the switch transmits the webpage to the computer just like a server. At this time, it feels like you are visiting a website, this method occupies the bandwidth of the switch, so it is called "In-band management" In band ).

If you want to manage a vswitch, you only need to click the corresponding function on the webpage and change the vswitch parameters in the text box or drop-down list. Web management can be implemented on the LAN, so remote management can be implemented.

3. Manage through network management software

Network Management switches comply with the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The SNMP protocol is a complete set of network device management specifications that comply with international standards. All devices that follow the SNMP protocol can be managed through the network management software. You only need to install an SNMP network management software on a network management workstation. Through the LAN, you can easily manage vswitches, routers, and servers on the network. Through the SNMP network management software interface, it is also an in-band management mode.

You can manage network management switches in the preceding three ways. Which method is used? When a vswitch is initially set, it usually needs to be managed out of band. After an IP address is set, you can use the in-band management mode. In-band management because the management data is transmitted through the public LAN, remote management can be implemented, but the security is not strong. Out-of-band management is implemented through serial communication, and data is transmitted only between switches and Management machines. Therefore, it is highly secure. However, due to the limitation of the length of the serial port cable, remote management cannot be implemented. So which method you use depends on your security and manageability requirements.

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