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This chapter explains the various ways of managing a Switch, and details the steps required before you can configure a Switch to suit the needs of your network. It covers the following topics:
You can manage a Switch using one of the following methods:
For maximum manageability, we recommend that you use 3Com Transcend Enterprise Manager software.
Figure 1 shows each of these management methods.
Figure 1 Management methods
You can access the web interface using:
While multiple users can access the web interface at any one time, too many users may result in a slow response time for the web pages and the error message "document contains no data". We therefore recommend that you allow only three users access to the interface at any one time.
To manage a Switch using the web interface through the console
port:
1 . You must connect the management workstation to the console port directly using a standard null modem cable. The console port of the Switch has a male 9-pin d-type connector. You can find a pin-out diagram for the cable in your Switch User Guide.
2 . The management workstation must be running the Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP), and the SLIP parameters (address and subnet mask) of the Switch need to be configured correctly. To do this, you must install, configure and run the Serial Web Utility described in "Serial Web Utility".
3 . Install the online help and online documentation for the web interface, if required. For more information, see "Installing Online Help and Documentation" .
4 . Access the web interface using the correct user name and password. Default user names and passwords are described in "Logging in as a Default User" .
To manage a Switch using the web interface over an IP network:
1 . You must set up the Switch with IP information. To do this:
For more information about IP, see "Managing a Switch Over the Network". For more information about the Getting Started pages, see "The Getting Started Pages" . For more information about the IP Setup page, see "Setting Up IP Information" .
2 . You must have an IP stack correctly installed on your management workstation. You can check this by trying to browse the World Wide Web; if you can browse, an IP stack is installed.
3 . Your management workstation must be connected to the Switch using a port that is in VLAN 1 (the Default VLAN). By default, all ports on the Switch are in VLAN 1. For more information about VLANs, see "Virtual LANs (VLANs)".
The CD-ROM supplied with your Switch contains online help and online documentation that can be used with the web interface:
All the online documentation is in HTML and PDF (Portable Document Format).
To set up the online help and documentation:
1 . Decide where the files are to be stored:
If several users are using the web interface, we recommend that you copy the files onto a server, or insert the CD-ROM into a networked CD-ROM server.
2 . If the files are to be accessed from the CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into the relevant CD-ROM drive.
3 . If the files are to be accessed from a local drive or server, copy the files from the CD-ROM to the relevant directory:
We recommend that you copy the /help and the /docs directory as a whole to maintain the structure of the files.
CAUTION: When entering file paths and URLs, ensure that you use / characters rather than \ characters to define drives and directories. The web interface only understands UNIX file path conventions.
To display the web interface correctly, you must use a Web browser that supports:
Suitable Web browsers are:
For an optimal display of the web interface, we recommend that you configure your Web browser to use the Times 12pt or Times New Roman 12pt font by default.
You can access the command line interface using:
To manage a Switch using the command line interface through the console port:
1 . You must connect the terminal or terminal emulator to the console port correctly. If you are connecting directly to the console port, you need a standard null modem cable. If you are connecting to the console port using a modem, you need a standard modem cable. The console port of the Switch has a male 9-pin d-type connector. You can find pin-out diagrams for both cables in your Switch User Guide.
2 . The terminal, terminal emulator, or modem must use the same settings as the console port:
3 . Access the command line interface using the correct user name and password. Default user names and passwords are described in "Logging in as a Default User".
To manage a Switch using the command line interface over a network using Telnet:
1 . You must set up the Switch with IP information. To do this:
For more information about IP, see "Managing a Switch Over the Network". For more information about the ip interface define command, see "Specifying IP and SLIP Information".
2 . If you are using a terminal emulator, you must have an IP stack correctly installed on the terminal emulator.
3 . Your terminal or terminal emulator must be connected to the Switch using a port that is in VLAN 1 (the Default VLAN). By default, all ports on the Switch are in VLAN 1. For more information about VLANs, see "Virtual LANs (VLANs)".
4 . To open the Telnet session, you must specify the IP address of the Switch. Check the documentation supplied with the Telnet facility if you are unsure how to do this.
Any network management application running the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) can manage a Switch if:
For information about using an SNMP network management application to manage a Switch, see the documentation supplied with the software.
To manage your Switch using an SNMP network management application, you need to specify SNMP community strings for the users defined on the Switch. You can do this using the command line interface - see "Specifying SNMP Community Strings" .
When managing a Switch over the network, the Switch must be correctly configured with the following IP information:
If you are uncertain about what IP addresses to assign your equipment, contact your network administrator.
To operate correctly, each device on your network (for example a hub or management station) must have a unique IP address (if one is configured). IP addresses have the format n.n.n.n where n is a decimal number between 0 and 255. An example IP address is `192.168.100.8'.
The IP address can be split into two parts:
If your network is internal to your organization only, you may use any arbitrary IP address. We suggest you use addresses in the series 192.168.100.X (where X is a number between 1 and 254) with a subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Use the default SLIP address of 192.168.101.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
These suggested IP addresses are part of a group of IP addresses that have been set aside specially for use "in house" only.
CAUTION: If your network has a connection to the external IP network, you must apply for a registered IP address. This system ensures that every IP address used is unique; if you do not have a registered IP address, you may be using an identical address to someone else and your network will not operate correctly.
InterNIC Registration Services is the organization responsible for supplying registered IP addresses. The following contact information is correct at time of publication:
World Wide Web site: http://www.internic.net
You can divide your IP network into sub-networks or subnets. Support for subnets is important because the number of bits assigned to the device part of an IP address limits the number of devices that may be addressed on any given network. For example, a Class C address is restricted to 254 devices.
If you have a small network (less than 254 devices), you may decide not to have subnets.
A subnet mask is used to divide the device part of the IP address into two further parts:
The bits of the subnet mask are set to 1 if the device is to treat the corresponding bit in the IP address as part of the original network number or as part of the subnet number. These bits in the mask are set to 0 if the device is to treat the bit as part of the device number.
If you are unsure about what mask to use, we suggest that you use a general mask, 255.255.255.0, which corresponds to the example address used in the previous sections.
If you manage a Switch using the web interface or the command line interface, you need to log on with a valid user name and password. The Switch has four default user names, and each user name has a different password and level of access. These default user names are listed in Table 5.
CAUTION: To protect your Switch from unauthorized access, you must change all default passwords as soon as possible.