Switches - My first time

[Nettik]

Hello all!

I am setting up a 3COM SuperStack II Desktop Switch for the first time and I was wondering what I put in the Default Gateway?

Is it an IP number that is an exit address on the switch for those hooked into it or is the Gateway for the network?

Do I make any sense?

Thanks!

[mourikise]

Pretty close to that! A gateway is just an IP address. If a TCP/IP packet has a destination that does not belong to the local subnet and there are no routing instructions for it then the packet will travel to the gateway. For exaple, if you have a PC with an IP address 192.168.0.1 and do "ping 150.34.0.7" the packet will go through the gateway, unless the routing table of the machine has a specific instruction for it.

As far as I am concerned you don't need to put a gateway to your switch, unless you have also another switch that belongs to another subnet.

[Nettik]

Thanks mourikise.

Sound like I will leave the gateway blank since it is not on a different subnet.

[Nettik]

OK, I'm an idiot.
I have tried for too long now to get this switch to work.

I have 4 of the 3COM SuperStack II Destktop Switches. Two of them have a transceiver that I am using to connect them to the backbone of the network and they are working great.

The other two do not have a transceiver on them so I set them up (so I thought) to use port one to connect them to the other switch. I just want to chain them together.

I have tried all sorts of IP address, Gateway combo's. I can't get it to work.

What am I missing?

I can go into the utilities and it says it has a connection on Port one.

[Moe]

I'm not precisely sure of what you are using this network for so I'm not sure my answer will necessarily be correct.

I'm guessing you just want to connect a few PCs on a subnet to an internet connection or something similar like a large company network.

I'm not terribly familiar with switches either, but I do know a little bit about how they work in general. First off, those switches might be managed, and if so, you can assign them an IP address and fiddle with their routing and so forth. If they are managed, you probably could use the internal switch software to determine exactly what is going on with the TCP/IP packets. Second, (you probably know all this, but just in case) a switch routes packets directly to their destination, as opposed to a hub that sends all packets to everyone. If this routing is somehow fouled up, it could cause severe problems.

Further, you probably have one system (or dedicated equipment) on the subnet that has an internet connection (or is connected to another network) and acts as a router. This system should be the "gateway" for outgoing traffic. You have to know its IP address, and set all of the machines' to use it as a gateway.

More detail about how the network is supposed to be connected might be helpful.

Hope it helps

[Nettik]

The setup is an offsite location that I am hooking via a wireless connection. I am trying to setup the switch before I take it to the other site.

Basicall I have four of the switches and the two that have a transceiver on the back I have hooked up to the backbone of our network and they are working great.

The other two do not have a transceiver on the back on I am trying to "chain" them together. Yes, I can get into the utilities by using a terminal program. I have played with different IP's and Gateways.

We have a couple of T-1 connections that hook us up to the corp. office. For the life of me I can not get the two non-transceiver swithces to work.

There is no MDIX button and I am using a crossover cable.

[Moe]

Ok, I think the crossover cable is your problem. Use a regular patch cable to connect the hubs together and see if that works.

IMHO, crossover cables are really just a kludge for people w/ 2 computers that don't wnat to buy a hub (or a switch ).

[mourikise]

Hey Moe,

I think Nettik is correctly using a crossover cable. As far as I know, the switch should work with a crossover cable, no matter the port. However, he could try this suggestion and tell us what happened. I also suggest that he connect the switches together with a cross cable using not the 1st port another one (eg 4th). Also, check your cable that is not broken somewhere!

One last think. Nettik, could you please tell us the IPs you assign on the switches? Do they belong to the same subnet? (eg. 192.168.0.4 and 192.168.0.5)

[EParent]

Just a quick note: The IP addresses of the switchs make no difference and don't even need to be configured.

They will be handy for troubleshooting since you can ping the switch and not have to find a PC that is turned on. They will also allow you to telnet into the switch and configure it from a distance.

Right out of the box, the superstacks require no configuration to work, simply plug and play.

Start by checking if the link lights are coming on where your cross connect cable is connected on both switches.

In order to hook up two switches together (Cascade them, or stack them) you need a crossover cable. Make sure this cable is indeed a Ethernet crossover cable, not an ATM or a DS1 crossover cable.

For information about making or to check your crossover cable see this link: http://www.wtvi.com/teks/exchange/crossovercable.html

Eric

[Nettik]

OMG, I got them working!!
Well, let me tell you, I feel like an idiot on this one. These four switches we received from the corp. headquarters because they are 10BaseT and they are going to 100. So they where set up for them.

Anyway, I separated the two offending one's and started from sractch and put them on there own subnet and all is working great!

Thank you everyone for all your help.

Man, I love working with this stuff!!

[Nettik]

I am pretty sure that this is a crossover cable. I have used this same cable for crossover before.

I have tried using no IP and I have tried using an IP. The link lights are on on the crossover port. I go into the Utilities via a terminal program and I am getting incoming data but no outgoing.

Argg.. I'll get this, Oh yes I will.

[This message has been edited by Nettik (edited 07-28-2000).]