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New to switching

jsantiago
Level 1
Level 1
3 Replies 3

Frederic Vanderbecq
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

What is your question exactly ?

I have to set up 2 remote site. I already have connected 2 2610's with a wic t1 module to a serial 512k point to point. At my site I have 3 2610's one for internet access and the other 2 for the remote sites. I bought 2 2950's to connect the routers and my LAN. I simply have them connected with no IP or configuration on the 2950's. What will be the correct way to have all this connected.

Thanks

Jorge

Network Admin

It sounds like you are using the 2950 as a simple Layer 2 switch, with all ports on VLAN 1.

If this is all you need the switch to do, then there are just three things I would suggest:

1. Put an IP address and subnet mask on the switch, that works with the IP addresses on the three routers's LAN interfaces at your site. Put an IP default gateway on as well, pointing to the Internet router's LAN interface. Now you can manage the switch from your LAN, and the two remote LANs.

2. On the switch ports where the routers are connected, set them to "spanning-tree portfast" so the ports go active as quickly as possible. Probably would be a good idea to do this on all switch ports that connect to desktop computers, printers, and servers. Switch-to-switch connections should generally be left with spanning tree NOT set to portfast, in case you or someone else introduces a second switch-to-switch connection that creates a bridging loop.

3. Secure the switch with a console password and an enable (or enable secret) password. Also, either change public and private SNMP community strings to something not easily guessed, or disable SNMP management completely.

If you do nothing, and don't want to bother managing the switch, then leaving the IP address off will keep anyone from accessing the switch remotely, and password protection will not be an issue except from the console port. As for Spanning Tree Protocol, you will notice that a each port that is NOT set to portfast will take 30 to 50 seconds from when a link is detected to when it starts forwarding traffic.

Hope that helps.

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