Switch • Setup (with Expanded Tooltips)

Global / Management

Hostname ⓘ

Hostname: Device name used in prompts, logs, and discovery.

Details

Choose a unique, human-readable name (e.g., SW-DC1-FLR2-A).
Include site/role in a naming standard to aid operations.

Mgmt IP (SVI / Loopback) ⓘ

Mgmt IP: Address used for SSH/SNMP/API access.

Options

SVI (e.g., VLAN 99) if the switch is L3-capable for mgmt VLAN.
Loopback for stable address; route it across the network.

Best practice

Restrict access via ACLs; log to syslog; monitor via SNMP.

Default Gateway ⓘ

Default Gateway: Next hop for out-of-subnet management traffic.

Required for SSH/SNMP from remote networks.
Set to the mgmt VLAN router IP (e.g., 10.99.0.1).

NTP Servers ⓘ

NTP: Time sync for logs, certs, and monitoring accuracy.

Use at least 2 reliable servers; prefer internal if available.
Allow UDP/123 from the switch to NTP servers.

SNMP (RO community / v3 user) ⓘ

SNMP: Monitoring/alerting interface (traps, polling).

Prefer SNMPv3 (auth+priv). Limit managers by ACL.
Set sysName/Location/Contact for inventory hygiene.

LLDP/CDP (Neighbor Discovery) ⓘ

LLDP/CDP: Advertise/learn neighbor info (port, sysname, VLAN).

Enable LLDP globally; optionally CDP in Cisco-only zones.
Useful for mapping, VoIP phones, APs (power/VLAN hints).

VLANs

VLAN ID (1–4094) ⓘ

VLAN ID: Layer-2 broadcast domain identifier.

1–4094 (avoid 1 for production; use dedicated mgmt VLAN).
Document purpose (e.g., VLAN 20 = Users-East).

VLAN Name ⓘ

Name: Friendly label for ops and monitoring.

Keep short and consistent (e.g., USERS-EAST).

VLAN ID	Name	Actions

Interfaces

Port ⓘ

Port: Physical switchport identifier.

Use exact name (e.g., Gi1/0/5 or 1/0/5).
Optionally add a description (e.g., user/desk asset tag).

Mode (Access/Trunk) ⓘ

Mode: Access = 1 VLAN; Trunk = multiple VLANs (tagged).

Access: end hosts, phones, printers.
Trunk: uplinks to switches/APs/hypervisors; allows VLAN list.

Access VLAN ⓘ

Access VLAN: Untagged VLAN for this port.

Typical user/device network (e.g., VLAN 20).
Phones may use voice VLAN separately (LLDP-MED/CDP).

Trunk Allowed VLANs (list/range) ⓘ

Allowed VLANs: VLANs permitted on the trunk.

Use commas and ranges (e.g., 10,20,30-40,99).
Restrict to required VLANs to reduce risk and STP load.

Native VLAN (untagged on trunk) ⓘ

Native VLAN: Untagged VLAN on an 802.1Q trunk.

Must match on both ends; avoid using VLAN 1.
Use a dedicated, unused VLAN to reduce spoofing risk.

STP Edge/PortFast ⓘ

STP Edge: Skip STP listening/learning for end-host ports.

Faster link-up for users/servers; never enable on switch-to-switch links.
Combine with BPDU Guard to shut on accidental loops.

BPDU Guard ⓘ

BPDU Guard: Err-disables edge ports that receive BPDUs.

Protects against loops; recommended with PortFast/Edge.
Monitor and reenable intentionally connected small switches.

Storm Control (pps / %) ⓘ

Storm Control: Caps broadcast/multicast/unknown-unicast.

Prevents broadcast storms; set thresholds (e.g., 1–5%).
Apply to access ports; uplinks need higher limits or none.

PoE (Power over Ethernet) ⓘ

PoE: Supply power to phones/APs/cameras over Ethernet.

Standards: 802.3af (15W), 802.3at (30W), 802.3bt (60–90W).
Budget is per switch; high-draw devices can exhaust it.

Port	Mode	Access VLAN	Allowed VLANs	Native	Edge	BPDU Guard	Storm	PoE	Actions

Link Aggregation (LAG/LACP)

LAG ID / Port-Channel # ⓘ

LAG ID: Logical bundle of physical links for bandwidth & resiliency.

Match on both ends (e.g., Po1 ↔ Ae1).
Ensure hashing policies align with traffic (L2/L3/L4).

LACP Mode (Active/Passive/On) ⓘ

LACP: Negotiates link bundles; detects miswires.

Active sends LACPDUs; Passive waits.
On forces aggregation without LACP—use cautiously.

Member Ports (comma/range) ⓘ

Members: Physical interfaces in the bundle.

Example: Gi1/0/47-48 or 1/0/47,1/0/48.
Ensure identical speed/duplex; same VLAN/trunking config.

LAG	Mode	Members	Actions

Spanning Tree

STP Mode (RSTP/MSTP/PVST) ⓘ

STP Mode: Loop prevention protocol for L2.

RSTP (802.1w): fast convergence, single instance.
MSTP (802.1s): multiple instances mapped to VLANs.
PVST+: per-VLAN (vendor); more control, more state.

Bridge Priority (lower = root) ⓘ

Priority: Root switch selection control.

Set core/distribution as preferred root (e.g., 24576 or 4096).
Keep consistent across instances (PVST/MSTI).

Multicast

IGMP Snooping (per-VLAN) ⓘ

IGMP Snooping: Constrains multicast to interested ports.

Listens to IGMP joins/leaves to build per-VLAN group tables.
Prevents flooding multicast to all ports.

IGMP Querier (no L3 present) ⓘ

IGMP Querier: Sends queries when no multicast router exists.

Enable per VLAN if there’s no PIM/IGMP router gateway.
Set a stable, unique querier IP per VLAN.

QoS

Trust (CoS/DSCP/None) ⓘ

Trust: Accept upstream markings or remark at edge.

CoS for L2 trunks; DSCP for L3 links.
On user ports, often None + remark using policy maps.

Voice VLAN (LLDP-MED/CDP) ⓘ

Voice VLAN: Separates IP phones to a dedicated VLAN with QoS.

Advertise via LLDP-MED/CDP; mark EF/46 for RTP streams.