Configure a Switch with Initial Settings

Switch Boot Sequence

After a Cisco switch is powered on, it goes through the following boot sequence:

1. First, the switch loads a power-on self-test (POST) program stored in ROM. POST checks the CPU subsystem. It tests the CPU, DRAM, and the portion of the flash device that makes up the flash file system.

2. Next, the switch loads the boot loader software. The boot loader is a small program stored in ROM and is run immediately after POST successfully completes.

3. The boot loader performs low-level CPU initialization. It initializes the CPU
registers, which control where physical memory is mapped, the quantity of memory, and its speed.

4. The boot loader initializes the flash file system on the system board.

5. Finally, the boot loader locates and loads a default IOS operating system software image into memory and hands control of the switch over to the IOS.

S1(config)# boot system flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE/c2960-mz.150-2.SE.bin

The boot loader finds the Cisco IOS image on the switch as follows: the switch attempts to automatically boot by using information in the BOOT environment variable. If this variable is not set, the switch attempts to load and execute the first executable file it can by performing a recursive, depth-first search throughout the flash file system. In a depth-first search of a directory, each encountered subdirectory is completely searched before continuing the search in the original directory. On Catalyst 2960 Series switches, the image file is normally contained in a directory that has the same name as the image file (excluding the .bin file extension).

The IOS operating system then initializes the interfaces using the Cisco IOS commands found in the configuration file, startup configuration, which is stored in NVRAM.

In the figure, the BOOT environment variable is set using the boot system global configuration mode command. Use the show bootvar command (show boot in older IOS versions) to see what the current IOS boot file is set to.

Recovering From a System Crash

The boot loader provides access into the switch if the operating system cannot be used because of missing or damaged system files. The boot loader has a command-line that provides access to the files stored in flash memory.

The boot loader can be accessed through a console connection following these steps:

Step 1. Connect a PC by console cable to the switch console port. Configure terminal emulation software to connect to the switch.

Step 2. Unplug the switch power cord.

Step 3. Reconnect the power cord to the switch and, within 15 seconds, press and hold down the Mode button while the System LED is still flashing green.

Step 4. Continue pressing the Mode button until the System LED turns briefly amber and then solid green; then release the Mode button.

Step 5. The boot loader switch: prompt appears in the terminal emulation software on the PC.

The boot loader command line supports commands to format the flash file system, reinstall the operating system software, and recover from a lost or forgotten password. For example, the dir command can be used to view a list of files within a specified directory as shown in the figure.

Note: Notice that in this example, the IOS is located in the root of the flash folder.

Switch LED Indicators

Cisco Catalyst switches have several status LED indicator lights. You can use the switch LEDs to quickly monitor switch activity and its performance. Switches of different models and feature sets will have different LEDs and their placement on the front panel of the switch may also vary.

The figure shows the switch LEDs and the Mode button for a Cisco Catalyst 2960 switch. The Mode button is used to toggle through port status, port duplex, port speed, and PoE (if supported) status of the port LEDs. The following describes the purpose of the LED indicators, and the meaning of their colors:

System LED - Shows whether the system is receiving power and is functioning properly. If the LED is off, it means the system is not powered on. If the LED is green, the system is operating normally. If the LED is amber, the system is receiving power but is not functioning properly.

Redundant Power System (RPS) LED - Shows the RPS status. If the LED is off, the RPS is off or not properly connected. If the LED is green, the RPS is connected and ready to provide back-up power. If the LED is blinking green, the RPS is connected but is unavailable because it is providing power to another device. If the LED is amber, the RPS is in standby mode or in a fault condition. If the LED is blinking amber, the internal power supply in the switch has failed, and the RPS is providing power.

•  Port Status LED - Indicates that the port status mode is selected when the LED is green. This is the default mode. When selected, the port LEDs will display colors with different meanings. If the LED is off, there is no link, or the port was administratively shut down. If the LED is green, a link is present. If the LED is blinking green, there is activity and the port is sending or receiving data. If the LED is alternating green-amber, there is a link fault. If the LED is amber, the port is blocked to ensure a loop does not exist in the forwarding domain and is not forwarding data (typically, ports will remain in this state for the first 30 seconds after being activated). If the LED is blinking amber, the port is blocked to prevent a possible loop in the forwarding domain.
•  Port Duplex LED - Indicates the port duplex mode is selected when the LED is green. When selected, port LEDs that are off are in half-duplex mode. If the port LED is green, the port is in full-duplex mode.
• Port Speed LED - Indicates the port speed mode is selected. When selected, the port LEDs will display colors with different meanings. If the LED is off, the port is operating at 10 Mb/s. If the LED is green, the port is operating at 100 Mb/s. If the LED is blinking green, the port is operating at 1000 Mb/s.
  
• Power over Ethernet (PoE) Mode LED - If PoE is supported; a PoE mode LED will be present. If the LED is off, it indicates the PoE mode is not selected and that none of the ports have been denied power or placed in a fault condition. If the LED is blinking amber, the PoE mode is not selected but at least one of the ports has been denied power, or has a PoE fault. If the LED is green, it indicates the PoE mode is selected and the port LEDs will display colors with different meanings. If the port LED is off, the PoE is off. If the port LED is green, the PoE is on. If the port LED is alternating green-amber, PoE is denied because providing power to the powered device will exceed the switch power capacity. If the LED is blinking amber, PoE is off due to a fault. If the LED is amber, PoE for the port has been disabled.

Preparing for Basic Switch Management

To prepare a switch for remote management access, the switch must be configured with an IP address and a subnet mask. Keep in mind, that to manage the switch from a remote network, the switch must be configured with a default gateway. This is very similar to configuring the IP address information on host devices. In the figure, the switch virtual interface (SVI) on S1 should be assigned an IP address. The SVI is a virtual interface, not a physical port on the switch.

SVI is a concept related to VLANs. VLANs are numbered logical groups to which physical ports can be assigned. Configurations and settings applied to a VLAN are also applied to all the ports assigned to that VLAN.

By default, the switch is configured to have the management of the switch controlled through VLAN 1. All ports are assigned to VLAN 1 by default. For security purposes, it is considered a best practice to use a VLAN other than VLAN 1 for the management VLAN.

Note that these IP settings are only for remote management access to the switch; the IP settings do not allow the switch to route Layer 3 packets.

Configuring Basic Switch Management Access with IPv4

Step 1. Configure Management Interface

An IP address and subnet mask is configured on the management SVI of the switch from VLAN interface configuration mode. As shown in Figure 1, the interface vlan 99 command is used to enter interface configuration mode. The ip address command is used to configure the IP address. The no shutdown command enables the interface. In this example, VLAN 99 is configured with IP address 172.17.99.11.

Figure 1.

The SVI for VLAN 99 will not appear as "up/up" until VLAN 99 is created and there is a device connected to a switch port associated with VLAN 99. To create a VLAN with the vlan_id of 99, and associate it to an interface, use the following commands:

S1(config)# vlan vlan_id

S1(config-vlan)# name vlan_name

S1(config-vlan)# exit

S1(config)# interface interface_id

S1(config-if)# switchport access vlan vlan_id

Step 2. Configure Default Gateway

The switch should be configured with a default gateway if it will be managed remotely from networks not directly connected. The default gateway is the router the switch is connected to. The switch will forward its IP packets with destination IP addresses outside the local network to the default gateway. As shown in Figure 2, R1 is the default gateway for S1. The interface on R1 connected to the switch has IP address 172.17.99.1. This address is the default gateway address for S1.

Figure 2.

To configure the default gateway for the switch, use the ip default-gateway command. Enter the IP address of the default gateway. The default gateway is the IP address of the router interface to which the switch is connected. Use the copy running-config startup-config command to back up your configuration.

Step 3. Verify Configuration

As shown in Figure 3, the show ip interface brief command is useful when determining the status of both physical and virtual interfaces. The output shown confirms that interface VLAN 99 has been configured with an IP address and subnet mask and that it is operational.

Figure3.