Connect another 2960 Switch to existing 2960 Switch

[namathbazza]

Hello, I’m reaching out for some guidance…

I’ve got a Cisco 2960 L2 Switch 48 Port, PC’s are the end device.

I’ve reached the limit of ports and I need to connect another Switch Cisco 2960 that I have now.

DHCP is configured on the FW, this is how the PC’s will get their address.

I have port 1/47 and 1/48 free. The switch will be in the same Cab.

Do I put the same configuration on as the first switch with different management ip on my vlan?

Create an uplink port 1/47 and create a trunk switchport.

Do I need a etherchannel or spanning tree, if so this is where I need some help please?

Thanks

[MHM Cisco World]

Do I put the same configuration on as the first switch with different management ip on my vlan? This I cant answer you' sure in end there is different in port number or IP between two SW

Create an uplink port 1/47 and create a trunk switchport. If you use one port and you have multi vlan sure you need trunk' if only one vlan one port then access port is enough' but in case in feature you need to add more vlan then this link need to change to trunk

Do I need a etherchannel or spanning tree, if so this is where I need some help please? If you have one port between two SW no need portchannel' if more than one port sure you need portchannel'

For stp it run by defualt' what you need is only match the stp mode between two SW.

MHM

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Cannot say exactly how you should configure the second switch as you've provided very little detail about your existing switch's configuration.

"Do I put the same configuration on as the first switch with different management ip on my vlan?"

Possibly.

Do you need a trunk port?  Do you now have multiple VLANs or plan to have them?

Do you need Etherchannel?  Worried about a port failure or need (about) 50% more bandwidth for a dual link?

Do you need spanning tree?  Any, by design, L2 loops?  If not, you don't need but generally recommended in case of accidental L2 loops.  (Also spawns the question, what STP. variant to use.)

[Richard Burts]

I agree with Joseph that the OP does not provide enough information for us to give good advice. And Joseph correctly identifies several features that might be needed: do you need a trunk configured? depends on there is more than one vlan. Do you need EtherChannel? depends on how important increased capacity and redundancy might be. Spanning tree is enabled by default and the easy thing is to just let spanning tree run, and if any loops do get created then spanning tree will deal with them.

The OP indicates that there is a firewall connected to the original switch and it provides DHCP (as well as other services I assume). As long as the new switch does not introduce any new vlans it should be transparent to the firewall that another switch has been added to the network.

[M02@rt37]

Hello @namathbazza 

To seamlessly integrate your additional C2960 switch into your network, ensure that it's configured with matching VLAN settings as the existing switch, assign a distinct management IP within the same VLAN, and connect it to the existing switch via an uplink trunk port (e.g., port 1/47). Verify that spanning tree protocol is enabled to prevent loops, which could cause network instability...

While not strictly necessary, configuring etherchanel between the switches can enhance bandwidth and redundancy.