Chapter 2
Connecting to your Switch
Connecting to your Switch
There are a couple ways you can connect to your switch, let me elaborate.
1) Serial Cable to AUX Port: "Console Cable" (RECOMMENDED)
This is the most "secure" connection you can have to your switch just for the pure fact that someone has to Physically be in front of the switch with a notebook or PC to connect in this fashion, Thus it is the most secure because nobody would be able to access your switch from outside using this method.
Your Cisco switch should come with a light BLUE Serial to CAT5 cable. You take the 9PIN side of this connection and plug it in to your notebook on your COM port, The other side will go in the SWITCH there should be a RJ45 port on the switch that is labled "CONSOLE" this is most likely located on the BACKSIDE of the switch as shown below and the port might even be colored the same as the cable.
Talk about idiot proof!!
Once you have connected to the switch with the cable, you need to create a COM session. There is a couple programs to do this, I myself use "PuTTY" a small and free program that is great, download it by clicking the link. Another popular way for windows users (not vista) is to use "Hyper Terminal". In either of these progams the settings are simple and as follows.
Port: COM1 (depending on your hardware, could be COM2 or COM3)
Speed (Baud): 9600
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
2) IP Address (TELNET or SSH): (RECOMMENED AFTER SETUP WITH IP)
Another common way is to connect to the switch VIA IP Address, if the switch is brand new it then it will NOT have an IP Address for you to connect to. This is mainly for switches that have already been configured in the past and was assigned an IP. Once your switch is setup this becomes the more COMMON way to access a switch. This way lets you connect to your switch from anywhere inside your network.
Telnet: Telnet is one way to connect to the switch. The settings you need are:
IP ADDRESS: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX The IP Management IP for your switch
Port: 23 (Default TELNET port is 23) After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
SSH: SECURE Shell. How is this secure?? We'll it works very very simular to telnet with but this encrypts your password when entered, that way there is no risk of someone logging or sniffing out your password over the network. SSH will secure the connection to your switch by encrypting it. The settings you need are:
IP ADDRESS: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX The IP Management IP for your switch
Port: 22 (Default SSH port is 22)
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
HTTPs: Web Interface. (NOT Recommended in less manditory)
A couple cisco switch models can be managed via HTTP. This is a little more easy on the eyes because it comes with a more user friendly GUI for you to play with and change settings, the two major issues with this is it is Not a very secure method to connect to your switch, Also the more advance and comforable you get with the Cisco IOS you will find the web interface to be a pain in the ass to be honest. Also you loose some functionallity when using the GUI because only the options presented are the options you can configure, Unlike the Cisco IOS where you have a more vast range of options. The settings you need are:
Go to: Https://your.ip.of.switch (example https://192.168.1.2)
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
Congrats you have sucessfully connected to your Cisco switch and you are ready to start setting it up!!!
Coming Soon Chapter 3!
1) Serial Cable to AUX Port: "Console Cable" (RECOMMENDED)
This is the most "secure" connection you can have to your switch just for the pure fact that someone has to Physically be in front of the switch with a notebook or PC to connect in this fashion, Thus it is the most secure because nobody would be able to access your switch from outside using this method.
Your Cisco switch should come with a light BLUE Serial to CAT5 cable. You take the 9PIN side of this connection and plug it in to your notebook on your COM port, The other side will go in the SWITCH there should be a RJ45 port on the switch that is labled "CONSOLE" this is most likely located on the BACKSIDE of the switch as shown below and the port might even be colored the same as the cable.
Talk about idiot proof!!
Once you have connected to the switch with the cable, you need to create a COM session. There is a couple programs to do this, I myself use "PuTTY" a small and free program that is great, download it by clicking the link. Another popular way for windows users (not vista) is to use "Hyper Terminal". In either of these progams the settings are simple and as follows.
Port: COM1 (depending on your hardware, could be COM2 or COM3)
Speed (Baud): 9600
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
2) IP Address (TELNET or SSH): (RECOMMENED AFTER SETUP WITH IP)
Another common way is to connect to the switch VIA IP Address, if the switch is brand new it then it will NOT have an IP Address for you to connect to. This is mainly for switches that have already been configured in the past and was assigned an IP. Once your switch is setup this becomes the more COMMON way to access a switch. This way lets you connect to your switch from anywhere inside your network.
Telnet: Telnet is one way to connect to the switch. The settings you need are:
IP ADDRESS: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX The IP Management IP for your switch
Port: 23 (Default TELNET port is 23) After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
SSH: SECURE Shell. How is this secure?? We'll it works very very simular to telnet with but this encrypts your password when entered, that way there is no risk of someone logging or sniffing out your password over the network. SSH will secure the connection to your switch by encrypting it. The settings you need are:
IP ADDRESS: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX The IP Management IP for your switch
Port: 22 (Default SSH port is 22)
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
HTTPs: Web Interface. (NOT Recommended in less manditory)
A couple cisco switch models can be managed via HTTP. This is a little more easy on the eyes because it comes with a more user friendly GUI for you to play with and change settings, the two major issues with this is it is Not a very secure method to connect to your switch, Also the more advance and comforable you get with the Cisco IOS you will find the web interface to be a pain in the ass to be honest. Also you loose some functionallity when using the GUI because only the options presented are the options you can configure, Unlike the Cisco IOS where you have a more vast range of options. The settings you need are:
Go to: Https://your.ip.of.switch (example https://192.168.1.2)
After you enter the correct settings you should be prompted for a USER name and Password.
Congrats you have sucessfully connected to your Cisco switch and you are ready to start setting it up!!!
Coming Soon Chapter 3!
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