Networks Analyzed @ Netralized

In this article I will show you how to configure an Ip address and a default gateway in your manageable switch.

But first things first,

Why is an Ip address and default gateway needed in the switch?

After all switches are OSI Layer 2 devices that care only about MAC addresses.

The modern switches are manageable and support extra features than normal old fashion switches. This features include the support of TCP/IP applications like ping, telnet, trace route etc. For example, if you want to telnet or ping a switch, the switch must have an Ip configured. Also, if you want to execute ping or telnet to a device in another subnet the switch must have a default gateway configured.

Now let’s see the configuration for a 2950 series cisco switch.

Ip address

To configure the ip address first you have to enter from global configuration mode to interface vlan 1.

Switch#

Switch#conf t

Switch(config)#int vlan 1

Switch(config-if)#ip address {your ip address} {mask}

Switch(config-if)#no shutdown

Default Gateway

Be careful!!! The configuration of default gateway takes place in the configuration mode and the command does not include the mask for the ip.

Switch#

Switch#conf t

Switch(config)#ip default-gateway {ip address}

Now you can access your switch remotely, you can ping it from another network with different subnet and start “playing” with the settings. Have fun

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 5:00 pm, by Jim Skenderlis and is filed under Cisco. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.