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Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Switches

Release Notes for the Catalyst 3550 Switch, Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1 (Rev June 2004)

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Table Of Contents

Release Notes for the
Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch
Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1

Contents

System Requirements

Hardware Supported

Software Compatibility

Recommended Platform Configuration for Web-Based Management

Operating System and Browser Support

Supported Java Plug-Ins

Java Plug-In Notes

Cluster Capability

Downloading Software

Determining the Software Version and Feature Set

Determining Which Files to Use

Upgrading a Switch by Using CMS

Upgrading a Switch by Using the CLI

Upgrading with a Nondefault System MTU Setting

Recovering from Software Failure

Installation Notes

Using Express Setup to Configure a Switch

Starting Express Setup

Configuring the Switch Settings

Verifying Switch IP Address (Optional)

Re-Running Express Setup

Clearing the Switch IP Address and Configuration

Where to Go Next

Setting Up the Catalyst 3550 Initial Configuration

New Software Features

Upgrading Software and 802.1X

Limitations and Restrictions

Cisco IOS Limitations and Restrictions

Cluster Limitations and Restrictions

CMS Limitations and Restrictions

Important Notes

Cisco IOS Notes

Cluster Notes

CMS Notes

Read-Only Mode in CMS

Open Caveats

Open Cisco IOS Caveats

Open CMS Caveats

Resolved Caveats

Cisco IOS Caveats Resolved in Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1

CMS Caveats Resolved in Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1

Documentation Updates

References to the Cisco Documentation CD-ROM

Corrections to the Software Configuration Guide and Command Reference

Additions to the Hardware Installation Guide

Installing the Optional Ground Kit

Corrections to the Hardware Installation Guide

Lightning Activity Warning

Related Documentation

Obtaining Documentation

Cisco.com

Documentation CD-ROM

Ordering Documentation

Documentation Feedback

Obtaining Technical Assistance

Cisco.com

Technical Assistance Center

Cisco TAC Website

Cisco TAC Escalation Center

Obtaining Additional Publications and Information


Release Notes for the
Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch
Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1

June 2004

The Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1 runs on all Catalyst 3550 multilayer switches.

These release notes include important information about this Cisco IOS release and any limitations, restrictions, and caveats that apply to it. Verify that these are the correct release notes for your switch:

•If you are installing a new switch, refer to the Cisco IOS release label on the rear panel of your switch.

•If your switch is on, use the show version privileged EXEC command. See the "Determining the Software Version and Feature Set" section.

•If you are upgrading to a new release, refer to the software upgrade filename for the Cisco IOS version.

For the complete list of Catalyst 3550 switch documentation, see the "Related Documentation" section.

You can download the switch software from these sites:

•http://www.cisco.com/kobayashi/sw-center/sw-lan.shtml

(for registered Cisco.com users with a login password)

•http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/sw-lan.shtml

(for nonregistered Cisco.com users)

This Cisco IOS release is part of a special release of Cisco IOS software that is not released on the same 8-week maintenance cycle that is used for other platforms. As maintenance releases and future Cisco IOS releases become available, they will be posted to Cisco.com (previously Cisco Connection Online [CCO]) in the Cisco IOS software area.

Note If you are upgrading a switch that uses the 802.1X security feature, you must reenable 802.1X after upgrading the software. For more information, see the "Upgrading Software and 802.1X" section.

Contents

This information is in the release notes:

•"System Requirements" section

•"Downloading Software" section

•"Installation Notes" section

•"New Software Features" section

•"Limitations and Restrictions" section

•"Important Notes" section

•"Open Caveats" section

•"Resolved Caveats" section

•"Documentation Updates" section

•"Related Documentation" section

•"Obtaining Documentation" section

•"Obtaining Technical Assistance" section

•"Obtaining Additional Publications and Information" section

System Requirements

These are the system requirements for this Cisco IOS release:

•"Hardware Supported" section

•"Software Compatibility" section

Hardware Supported

Table 1 lists the hardware supported by this Cisco IOS release.

Table 1 Supported Hardware 

Switch
Description

Catalyst 3550-12T

10 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and 2 GBIC1 -based Gigabit Ethernet slots

Catalyst 3550-12G

10 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots and 2 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000BASE-T ports

Catalyst 3550-24

24 autosensing 10/100 Ethernet ports and 2 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots

Catalyst 3550-48

48 autosensing 10/100 Ethernet ports and 2 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots

Catalyst 3550-24-FX

24 100BASE-FX ports and 2 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots

Catalyst 3550-24-DC

24 autosensing 10/100 Ethernet ports, 2 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots, and an on-board DC2 power converter

Catalyst 3550-24PWR

24 autosensing 10/100 Ethernet ports, 2 GBIC-based Gigabit Ethernet slots, ability to provide power for Cisco IP Phones and Cisco Aironet Access Points from all 10/100 Ethernet ports, auto-detection and control of inline power on a per-port basis on all 10/100 ports

GBIC modules

•1000BASE-SX GBIC

•1000BASE-LX/LH GBIC

•1000BASE-ZX GBIC

•1000BASE-T GBIC

•GigaStack GBIC

•CWDM3 fiber-optic GBIC

Redundant power system

Cisco RPS 300 Redundant Power System

Cisco RPS 675 Redundant Power System4

1 GBIC = Gigabit Interface Converter

2 DC = direct current

3 CWDM = Course Wave Division Multiplexer

4 The Cisco RPS 675 does not support the Catalyst 3550-24-DC switches.


Software Compatibility

These are the software compatibility requirements for this Cisco IOS release:

•"Recommended Platform Configuration for Web-Based Management" section

•"Operating System and Browser Support" section

•"Supported Java Plug-Ins" section

•"Java Plug-In Notes" section

Recommended Platform Configuration for Web-Based Management

Table 2 lists the recommended platforms for web-based management.

Table 2 Recommended Platform Configuration for Web-Based Management

OS
Processor Speed
DRAM
Number of Colors
Resolution
Font Size

Windows NT 4.01

Pentium 300 MHz

128 MB

65,536

1024 x 768

Small

Solaris 2.5.1 or higher

SPARC 333 MHz

128 MB

Most colors for applications

—

Small (3)

1 Service Pack 3 or higher is required.


The minimum PC requirement is a Pentium processor running at 233 MHz with 64 MB of DRAM. The minimum UNIX workstation requirement is a Sun Ultra 1 running at 143 MHz with 64 MB of DRAM.

Note These are only the recommended configurations for running Cluster Management Suite (CMS). For information about all supported operating systems, see the next section.

Operating System and Browser Support

You can access the web-based interfaces by using the operating systems and browsers listed in Table 3. CMS checks the browser version when starting a session to ensure that the browser is supported.

Table 3 Supported Operating Systems and Browsers

Operating System
Minimum Service Pack or Patch
Netscape Communicator1
Microsoft Internet Explorer2

Windows 95

Service Pack 1

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

5.5 or 6.0

Windows 98

Second Edition

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

5.5 or 6.0

Windows NT 4.0

Service Pack 3 or later

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

5.5 or 6.0

Windows 2000

None

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

5.5 or 6.0

Windows XP

None

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

5.5 or 6.0

Solaris 2.5.1 or later

Sun-recommended patch cluster for the OS and Motif library patch 103461-24

4.75, 6.22, or 6.23

Not supported

1 Netscape Communicator version 6.0 is not supported.

2 Service Pack 1 or higher is required for Internet Explorer 5.5.


Note If your browser is Internet Explorer and you receive an error message stating that the page might not display correctly because your security settings prohibit running activeX controls, this might mean that your security settings are set too high. To lower security settings, go to Tools > Internet Options, and select the Security tab. Select the indicated Zone, and move the Security Level for this Zone slider from High to Medium (the default).

Note In Cluster Management displays, Internet Explorer versions 4.01 and 5.0 might not display edge devices that are not connected to the command switch. Other functionality is similar to that of Netscape Communicator.

Supported Java Plug-Ins

One of the these Java plug-ins is required for the browser to access and run the Java-based CMS:

•Java plug-in 1.4

•Java plug-in 1.3.1

These Java plug-ins are supported both in Windows environments and on Solaris platforms. You can download the plug-ins and installation instructions from this URL:

http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/java

Note Only one of these Java plug-ins is required for CMS. Do not install more than one Java plug-in.

On Solaris platforms, follow the instructions in the README_FIRST.txt file to install the Java plug-in.

Java Plug-In Notes

These notes apply to Java plug-in configuration:

•To verify that a supported version of the Java plug-in is installed, select Start > Settings > Control Panel. The Java plug-in is listed with the version number in the Control Panel menu.

•If you have installed the Java plug-in but CMS still does not launch, make sure that the plug-in is enabled by selecting Start > Settings > Control Panel > Java Plug-in. Click the Basic tab, select Enable Java Plug-in, and click Apply.

•If the Java applet does not initialize after you have installed and enabled the plug-in, open the Java Plug-in Control Panel (Start > Programs > Java Plug-in Control Panel), and verify these settings:

In the Proxies tab, verify that Use browser settings is checked and that no proxies are enabled.

•If you are running an Internet virus checker on Windows 2000 and the plug-in takes a long time to load, you can speed up CMS operation by disabling the virus checker filter option or download option or both.

From the Start menu on McAfee VirusScan, disable the VirusScan Internet Filter option, the Download Scan option, or both by selecting Start > Programs > Network Associates > Virus Scan Console > Configure.

or

From the taskbar, right-click the Virus Shield icon and in the Quick Enable menu, disable the options by deselecting Internet Filter or Download Scan. Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0 Plug-Ins.

Cluster Capability

When creating a switch cluster, we recommend configuring the highest-end switch in your cluster as the command switch.

A Catalyst 3550 switch can be a command switch or a member of a switch cluster.

If your cluster has Catalyst 3550, Catalyst 2950, Catalyst 2940, Catalyst 2900 XL, and Catalyst 3500 XL switches, the Catalyst 3550 switch should be the command switch. The Catalyst 3550 switch that has the latest software should be the command switch.

Table 4 lists the cluster capabilities and minimum software versions for the switches. The switches are listed in the order of highest to lowest end switch. A lower-end switch cannot be the command switch of a switch listed above it in the table (for example, a Catalyst 2940 switch cannot be the command switch of a cluster that has Catalyst 2950 or Catalyst 3550 switches.)

Table 4 Switch Software and Cluster Capability 

Switch
Cisco IOS Release
Cluster Capability

Catalyst 3750

Release 12.1(11)AX or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 3550

Release 12.1(4)EA1 or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2970

Release 12.1(11)AX r later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2950

Release 12.0(5.2)WC(1) or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2955

Release 12.1(12c)EA1 or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2940

Release 12.1(13)AY r later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 3500 XL

Release 12.0(5.1)XU or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2900 XL (8-MB switches)

Release 12.0(5.1)XU or later

Member or command switch

Catalyst 2900 XL (4-MB switches)

Release 11.2(8.5)SA6 (recommended)

Member switch only1

Catalyst 1900 and 2820

Release 9.00(-A or -EN)

Member switch only

1 Catalyst 2900 XL (4-MB) switches appear in the front-panel and topology views of CMS. However, CMS does not support configuration or monitoring of these switches.


Some versions of the Catalyst 2900 XL software do not support clustering and if you have a cluster with switches that are running different versions of Cisco IOS software, software features added on the latest release might not be reflected on switches running the older versions. For example, if you start Visual Switch Manager (VSM) on a Catalyst 2900 XL switch running Cisco IOS Release 11.2(8)SA6, the windows and functionality can be different from a switch running Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)WC(1) or later.

Note The CMS is not forward-compatible, which means that if a member switch is running a software version that is newer than the release running on the command switch, the new features are not available on the member switch. If the member switch is a new device supported by a software release that is later than the software release on the command switch, the command switch cannot recognize the member switch and it is displayed as an unknown device in the Front Panel view. You cannot configure any parameters or generate a report through CMS for that member; instead, you must launch the Device Manager application to perform configuration and obtain reports for that member.

Downloading Software

These are the procedures for downloading software:

•"Determining the Software Version and Feature Set" section

•"Determining Which Files to Use" section

•"Upgrading a Switch by Using CMS" section

•"Upgrading a Switch by Using the CLI" section

•"Recovering from Software Failure" section

Note Before downloading software, read this section for important information.

Caution The crypto image includes a bootloader upgrade. Do not power cycle the switch while you are copying this image to the switch. If a power failure occurs when you are copying this image to the switch, call Cisco Systems immediately.

When you upgrade a switch, the switch continues to operate while the new software is copied to Flash memory. If Flash memory has enough space, the new image is copied to the selected switch but does not replace the running image until you reboot the switch. If a failure occurs during the copy process, you can still reboot your switch by using the old image. If Flash memory does not have enough space for two images, the new image is copied over the existing one. Features provided by the new software are not available until you reload the switch.

If a failure occurs while copying a new image to the switch, and the old image has already been deleted, refer to the "Recovering from Corrupted Software" section in the "Troubleshooting" chapter of the Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide.

Determining the Software Version and Feature Set

The Cisco IOS image is stored as a .bin file in a directory that is named with the Cisco IOS release. A subdirectory contains the files needed for web management. The image is stored on the system board Flash device (flash:).

You can use the show version privileged EXEC command to see the software version that is running on your switch. The second line displays C3550-I5Q3L2 for the enhanced multilayer software image (EMI) or C3550-I9Q3L2 for the standard multilayer software image (SMI).

Note Although the show version output always shows the software image running on the switch (Layer 2 only or Layer 2 and Layer 3), the model name shown at the end of this display is the factory configuration (SMI or EMI) and does not change if you upgrade the software image.

You can also use the dir filesystem: privileged EXEC command to see the directory names of other software images that you might have stored in Flash memory.

Determining Which Files to Use

The upgrade procedures in these release notes describe how to perform the upgrade by using a combined .tar file. This file contains both the Cisco IOS image file and the CMS files. You must use the combined .tar file to upgrade the switch through the CMS.

The .tar file is an archive file from which you can extract files by using the tar command. You also use the .tar file to upgrade the system by using the archive download-sw privileged EXEC command.

Table 5 lists the software filenames for this Cisco IOS release.

Table 5 Cisco IOS Software Files for Catalyst 3550 Switches 

Filename

Description

c3550-i9q3l2-tar.121-14.EA1.tar

Cisco IOS SMI image file and CMS files.
This image has Layer 2+ and basic Layer 3 routing features.

c3550-i5q3l2-tar.121-14.EA1.tar

Cisco IOS EMI image file and CMS files.
This image has both Layer 2+ and full Layer 3 features.

c3550-i9k2l2q3-tar.121-14.EA1.tar

Cisco IOS SMI crypto image file and CMS files.
This image has the Kerberos, Secure Shell (SSH), Layer 2+, and basic Layer 3 routing features.

c3550-i5k2l2q3-tar.121-14.EA1.tar

Cisco IOS EMI crypto image file and CMS files.
This image has the Kerberos, SSH, Layer 2, and full Layer 3 features.


The Catalyst 3550 switch is supported by either the SMI, which provides Layer 2+ features and basic Layer 3 routing, or the EMI, which provides Layer 2+ features, full Layer 3 routing, and advanced services. All Catalyst 3550 Gigabit Ethernet switches are shipped with the EMI installed. Catalyst 3550 Fast Ethernet switches are shipped with either the SMI or the EMI installed. After initial deployment, you can order the Enhanced Multilayer Software Image Upgrade kit to upgrade the Catalyst 3550 Fast Ethernet switches from the SMI to the EMI.

Upgrading a Switch by Using CMS

You can upgrade switch software by using CMS. From the menu bar, select Administration > Software Upgrade. For detailed instructions, click Help.

Caution If you are copying the crypto image to the switch, the bootloader can take up to 30 seconds to upgrade. Do not power cycle the switch while you are copying the image to the switch. If a power failure occurs when you are copying the image, call Cisco Systems immediately.

Upgrading a Switch by Using the CLI

This procedure is for copying the combined .tar file to the Catalyst 3550 switch. You copy the file to the switch from a TFTP server and extract the files. You can download an image file and replace or keep the current image. This procedure requires a configured TFTP server.

Caution If you are copying the crypto image to the switch, the bootloader can take up to 30 seconds to upgrade. Do not power cycle the switch while you are copying the image to the switch. If a power failure occurs when you are copying the image, call Cisco Systems immediately.

To download software, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use Table 5 to identify the file that you want to download.

Step 2 Download the software image file.

•If you have a SmartNet support contract, go to this URL and log in to download the appropriate files:

http://www.cisco.com/kobayashi/sw-center/sw-lan.shtml

•If you do not have a SmartNet contract, go to this URL and follow the instructions to register on Cisco.com and download the appropriate files:

http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/sw-lan.shtml

To download the SMI and EMI files, select Catalyst 3550 software.

To obtain authorization and to download the crypto software files, select Catalyst 3550 3DES Cryptographic Software.

Step 3 Copy the image to the appropriate TFTP directory on the workstation, and make sure the TFTP server is properly configured.

For more information, refer to Appendix B in the Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide.

Step 4 Log in to the switch through the console port or a Telnet session.

Step 5 Check your VLAN 1 configuration by using the show interfaces vlan 1 privileged EXEC command, and verify that VLAN 1 is part of the same network as the TFTP server. (Check the Internet address is line near the top of the display.)

Step 6 Download the image file from the TFTP server to the switch. If you are installing the same version of software that is currently on the switch, overwrite the current image by using this privileged EXEC command: 

archive download-sw /overwrite /reload tftp:[[//location]/directory]/image-name.tar

The /overwrite option overwrites the software image in Flash memory with the downloaded one.

The /reload option reloads the system after downloading the image unless the configuration has been changed and not been saved.

For //location, specify the IP address of the TFTP server.

For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the image to download. Directory and image names are case sensitive.

This example shows how to download an image from a TFTP server at 198.30.20.19 and to overwrite the image on the switch: 

Switch# archive download-sw /overwrite tftp://198.30.20.19/c3550-i5q3l2-tar.121-13.EA1.tar

You can also download the image file from the TFTP server to the switch and keep the current image by replacing the /overwrite option with the /leave-old-sw option.

Upgrading with a Nondefault System MTU Setting

If the switch was running Cisco IOS Release 12.1(8)EA1c or earlier and you had used the system mtu global configuration command to configure a nondefault system maximum transmission unit (MTU) size on your switch, follow these steps to upgrade your switch to Cisco IOS Release 12.1(11)EA1 or later:

Step 1 Upgrade the Cisco IOS software to Cisco IOS Release 12.1(11)EA1 or later.

Step 2 If a system MTU size of greater than 2000 is configured on the Catalyst 3550-12T or Catalyst 3550-12G, use the system mtu global configuration command to set it to the maximum supported MTU size.

Note The maximum allowable system MTU for Catalyst 3550 Gigabit Ethernet switches
is 2000 bytes; the maximum system MTU for Fast Ethernet switches is 1546 bytes.

Step 3 Save the running configuration by entering the copy running-config startup-config privileged EXEC command.

Step 4 Reload the switch by using the new Cisco IOS software.

Step 5 When the switch comes back up with Cisco IOS Release 12.1(11)EA1 or later, reload the switch a second time by using the reload privileged EXEC command so that the system mtu command takes effect.

Recovering from Software Failure

If the software fails, you can reload the software. For detailed recovery procedures, refer to the "Troubleshooting" chapter in the Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide.

Installation Notes

You can assign IP information to your switch by using these methods:

•Running the express setup program as described in the "Using Express Setup to Configure a Switch" section.

•Running the setup program as described in the "Setting Up the Catalyst 3550 Initial Configuration" section.

•Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)-based autoconfiguration (refer to the Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide)

•Manually assigning an IP address (refer to the Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide).

Note If you are upgrading a switch that uses the 802.1X security feature, you must reenable 802.1X after upgrading the software. For more information, see the "Upgrading Software and 802.1X" section.

Using Express Setup to Configure a Switch

Express Setup is a browser-based program that you can use to set up and configure the switch. You assign the IP information so that the switch can connect to local routers and the Internet. The IP address is also required if you plan to further configure the switch.

You do not create a username with Express Setup. Express Setup provides the minimum configuration to configure a switch. To create a username for the switch, use the Cluster Management Suite (CMS) or the command-line interface (CLI).

Note To use Express Setup, you must have Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1 or later running on your switch.

This section provides a quick step-by-step setup procedure for a standalone switch and includes these steps:

•Starting Express Setup

•Configuring the Switch Settings

•Clearing the Switch IP Address and Configuration

•Where to Go Next

Caution Do not start Express Setup when there are any devices connected to the switch or connect a switch that is already in Express Setup mode to any device other than the PC or workstation that is being used to configure it. The switch acts as a DHCP server during the Express Setup procedure, and only the PC or workstation connected to the switch after Express Startup is started should receive a DHCP address from the switch.

Before using Express Setup to configure a switch, refer to the switch hardware installation guide for this information:

•Removing the switch and AC power cord from the shipping container

•Getting an Ethernet (Category 5) straight-through cable to connect the switch to your PC or workstation

•Powering on the switch

Note The illustrations in this section show the Catalyst 2940 switch but the Mode button, LEDs, and switch ports are similar on the switch.

Starting Express Setup

Before starting Express Setup, verify that the switch has passed POST. The SYST and STAT LEDs should be on and green if the switch has successfully passed POST. For information about troubleshooting a POST failure, refer to the switch hardware installation guide. You cannot start Express Setup until POST has completed.

Caution Do not start Express Setup when there are any devices connected to the switch. The switch acts as a DHCP server during the Express Setup procedure, and only the PC or workstation connected to the switch after Express Startup is started should receive a DHCP address from the switch.

Follow these steps to start the Express Setup program:

Step 1 Verify that no devices are connected to the switch.

Step 2 Press and hold the Mode button, as shown in Figure 1, until the four LEDs next to the Mode button turn green. This takes approximately 2 seconds.

Figure 1 Starting Express Setup

1

Mode button


Step 3 When the LEDs turn green, release the Mode button.

Note If all of the Mode LEDs begin to blink after you have held the Mode button for 2 seconds, a configuration already exists on the switch, and the switch cannot go into Express Setup mode. Release the button. For more information, see the "Clearing the Switch IP Address and Configuration" section.

Caution If you continue to hold the mode button for 8 more seconds, the switch configuration is deleted, and the switch reloads.

Step 4 Connect the Ethernet cable (not included) to a 10/100 Ethernet port on the front panel of the switch, as shown in Figure 2.

Caution Do not connect the switch to any device other than the PC or workstation being used to configure it.

Figure 2 Connecting the Switch and PC or Workstation Ethernet Ports

1

Switch

3

PC or workstation

2

Ethernet cable

   

Step 5 Connect the other end of the cable to the Ethernet port on the PC or workstation.

Verify that the port status LEDs on both connected Ethernet ports are green.

Step 6 Wait approximately 30 seconds after the port LEDs turn green, and launch a web browser on your PC or workstation.

Step 7 Enter the IP address 10.0.0.1, as shown in Figure 3, in the browser, and press Enter.

Figure 3 Entering the IP Address

The Express Setup home page appears, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Express Setup Home Page

If the Express Setup does not run, or the Express Setup home page does not appear in your browser:

•Did you wait 30 seconds after connecting the switch and PC or workstation before entering the IP address in your browser?

If not, wait 30 seconds and re-enter 10.0.0.1 in the browser, and press Enter.

•Did you enter the wrong address in your web browser, or is there an error message displayed in the browser window?

Re-enter 10.0.0.1 in the browser, and press Enter.

•Did you connect a crossover instead of a straight-through Ethernet cable between an Ethernet port of the switch and the Ethernet port of the PC or workstation, as shown Figure 2?

If not, reconnect the cable to the Ethernet port on the switch and PC or workstation. Wait 30 seconds before entering 10.0.0.1 in the browser.

•Did you verify that POST successfully ran before starting Express Setup?

If not, make sure that only the SYST and STAT LEDs are green before pressing the Mode button to begin Express Setup.

Note The rest of this section explains how to configure a switch by using the Express Setup web page. To configure the switch by using the CLI-based setup program, refer to the "Setting Up the Catalyst 3550 Initial Configuration" section.

Configuring the Switch Settings

The Management Interface field displays VLAN1-Default. This is the management interface through which you manage the switch and to which you assign IP information.

Follow these steps to configure your switch with Express Setup:

Step 1 Contact your system administrator and obtain the IP address, the IP subnet mask, and the default gateway for your switch.

Step 2 Enter the IP address of the switch in the IP Address field.

Step 3 Click the drop-down arrow in the IP Subnet Mask field, and select an IP Subnet Mask.

Step 4 Enter the IP address for the default gateway in the Default Gateway field.

A gateway (router or dedicated network device) is a system that connects a network on one subnet to one or more networks on a different subnet.

Note You must specify a default gateway if the management workstation and the switch are on different IP segments.

Step 5 Enter your password in the Switch Password field.

The password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, can start with a number, is case sensitive, allows embedded spaces, but does not allow embedded spaces at the beginning or end.

Step 6 Enter your password again in the Confirm Switch Password field.

You do not enter a username for the switch. After the switch is configured with an IP address, you can use CMS to configure a username.

Step 7 (Optional) Enter a host name for the switch in the Host Name field. The host name is limited to 31 characters; embedded spaces are not allowed.

Step 8 (Optional) Enter the name of your system contact in the System Contact field. This identifies the system administrator for the switch or network.

Step 9 (Optional) Enter your system location in the System Location field. This identifies the physical location of the switch.

Step 10 (Optional) Click Enable in the Telnet Access field if you are going to use Telnet. If you enable Telnet access, you must enter a Telnet password:

a. Enter a password in the Telnet Password field. The Telnet password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, is case sensitive, allows embedded spaces, but does not allow embedded spaces at the beginning or end.

b. Enter the Telnet password again in the Confirm Telnet Password field.

Step 11 (Optional) Click Enable to configure Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Enable SNMP only if you plan to manage switches by using Cisco Works or another SNMP-based network-management system.

If you enable SNMP, you must enter a community string in either the SNMP Read Community field, the SNMP Write Community field, or both. SNMP community strings authenticate access to MIB objects. Embedded spaces are not allowed in SNMP community strings. If you set the SNMP read community, users can access MIB objects, but cannot modify them. If you set the SNMP write community, users can access and modify MIB objects.

Step 12 Click Save to save your settings to the switch, or click Cancel to clear your settings.

After you save your settings, the switch exits Express Setup mode.

Your switch is now configured with the new IP address. You can install the switch in your production network.

Verifying Switch IP Address (Optional)

After you have installed the switch in your network, follow these steps to verify the IP address configured on your switch:

Step 1 Launch a web browser on a PC or workstation that is connected the network.

Step 2 Enter the IP address of your switch (for example: 172.20.139.142.) The switch home page appears, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Switch Home Page

Re-Running Express Setup

If you did not click Save at the end of the "Configuring the Switch Settings" section section, you can re-run Express Setup by clicking Express Setup on the Switch home page.

If you have entered a wrong IP address or need to change the IP address of your switch, you can clear the IP address on your switch by following the steps in the "Clearing the Switch IP Address and Configuration" section.

Clearing the Switch IP Address and Configuration

If you have configured a new switch with a wrong IP address, or all the switch LEDs start blinking when you are trying to enter Express Setup mode, you can clear the IP address that is configured on the switch.

Note This procedure clears the IP address and all configuration information stored on the switch. Do not follow this procedure unless you want to completely reconfigure the switch.

To clear the IP address and the switch configuration information, follow these steps:

Step 1 Press and hold the Mode button, as shown in Figure 1.

The switch LEDs begin blinking after about 2 seconds.

Step 2 Continue holding down the Mode button. The LEDs stop blinking after 8 additional seconds, and then the switch reboots.

Note These steps only work on a previously configured switch.

Where to Go Next

After you have saved your configuration to the switch, you can install the switch (refer to the switch hardware installation guide) or further configure it (refer to the switch software configuration guide).

Setting Up the Catalyst 3550 Initial Configuration

The first time that you access the switch, it runs a setup program that prompts you for an IP address and other configuration information necessary for the switch to communicate with the local routers and the Internet. This information is also required if you plan to use the CMS to configure and manage the switch.

Note If the switch will be a cluster member managed through the IP address of the command switch, it is not necessary to assign IP information or a password. If you are configuring the switch as a standalone switch or as a command switch, you must assign IP information.

Follow these steps to create an initial configuration for the switch:

Step 1 Enter Yes at the first two prompts. 

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: yes


At any point you may enter a question mark '?' for help.

Use ctrl-c to abort configuration dialog at any prompt.

Default settings are in square brackets '[]'.


Basic management setup configures only enough connectivity

for management of the system, extended setup will ask you

to configure each interface on the system.


Would you like to enter basic management setup? [yes/no]: yes

Step 2 Enter a host name for the switch, and press Return.

On a command switch, the host name is limited to 28 characters; on a member switch to 31 characters. Do not use -n, where n is a number, as the last character in a host name for any switch. 

Enter host name [Switch]: host_name

Step 3 Enter a secret password, and press Return.

The password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, can start with a number, is case sensitive, allows spaces, but ignores leading spaces. 

Enter enable secret: secret_password

Step 4 Enter an enable password, and press Return. 

Enter enable password: enable_password

Step 5 Enter a virtual terminal (Telnet) password, and press Return.

The password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, is case sensitive, allows spaces, but ignores leading spaces. 

Enter virtual terminal password: terminal-password

Step 6 (Optional) Configure Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) by responding to the prompts.

Step 7 Enter the interface name (physical interface or VLAN name) of the interface that connects to the management network, and press Return. For this release, always use VLAN 1 as that interface. 

Enter interface name used to connect to the

management network from the above interface summary: vlan 1

Step 8 Configure the interface by entering the switch IP address and subnet mask and pressing Return: 

Configuring interface vlan 1:

Configure IP on this interface? [yes]: yes 

IP address for this interface: 10.4.120.106

Subnet mask for this interface [255.0.0.0]: 255.255.255.0

Step 9 Enter Y to configure the switch as the cluster command switch. Enter N to configure it as a member switch or as a standalone switch.

If you enter N, the switch appears as a candidate switch in the CMS. In this case, the message in Step 10 is not displayed. 

Would you like to enable as a cluster command switch? [yes/no]: yes

Step 10 Assign a name to the cluster, and press Return. 

Enter cluster name: cluster_name

The cluster name can be 1 to 31 alphanumeric characters, dashes, or underscores.

The initial configuration appears: 

The following configuration command script was created:


hostname host-name

enable secret 5 $1$LiBw$0Xc1wyT.PXPkuhFwqyhVi0

enable password enable-password

line vty 0 15

password terminal-password

snmp-server community public

!

no ip routing

!

interface vlan 1

no shutdown

ip address 10.4.120.106 255.255.255.0


interface GigabitEthernet0/1

no ip address

!

interface GigabitEthernet0/2

no ip address

!         

...<output abbreviated>

!

interface GigabitEthernet0/12

no ip address


cluster enable cluster-name

!

end

Step 11 These choices appear: 

[0] Go to the IOS command prompt without saving this config.


[1] Return back to the setup without saving this config.


[2] Save this configuration to nvram and exit.


Enter your selection [2]:2

Make your selection, and press Return.

After you complete the setup program, the switch can run the created default configuration. If you want to change this configuration or want to perform other management tasks, use one of these tools:

•Command-line interface (CLI)

•CMS from your browser

New Software Features

Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1 contains these new features or enhancements:

•VLAN 1 minimization to reduce the risk of spanning-tree loops or storms by allowing VLAN 1 to be disabled on any individual VLAN trunk link. With this feature enabled, no user traffic is sent or received. The switch CPU continues to send and receive control protocol frames.

•Port security on trunk ports for limiting and identifying MAC addresses of the stations allowed to access the VLAN.

•Port Security on an increased number of secure MAC addresses, up to the maximum number of unicast MAC addresses supported in the active Switch Database Management (SDM) template.

•802.1X with guest VLAN to provide limited services to non-802.1X capable users.

•Support for the aging out of the IGMP forward-table entries that were learned by source-only learning.

•Full CISCO-PORT-SECURITY-MIB support

•CMS PreFlight, Port Picker Wizard enhancement, and Express Setup

Upgrading Software and 802.1X

In Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1, the implementation for 802.1X changed from the previous release. Some global configuration commands became interface configuration commands, and new commands were added.

If you have 802.1X configured on the switch and you upgrade to Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EA1 or later, the configuration file will not contain the new commands, and 802.1X will not operate. After the upgrade is complete, make sure to globally enable 802.1X by using the dot1x system-auth-control global configuration command. For more information, refer to the software configuration guide for this release.

Limitations and Restrictions

You should review this section before you begin working with the switches. These are known limitations that will not be fixed, and there is not always a workaround. Some features might not work as documented, and some features could be affected by recent changes to the switch hardware or software.

These are the limitations and restrictions:

•"Cisco IOS Limitations and Restrictions" section

•"Cluster Limitations and Restrictions" section

•"CMS Limitations and Restrictions" section

Cisco IOS Limitations and Restrictions

These limitations apply to Cisco IOS configuration:

•Modifying a multicast boundary access list does not prevent packets from being forwarded by any multicast routes that were in existence before the access list was modified if the packets arriving on the input interface do not violate the boundary. However, no new multicast routes that violate the updated version of the multicast boundary access list are learned, and any multicast routes that are in violation of the updated access list are not relearned if they age out.

After updating a multicast boundary, the workaround is to use the clear ip mroute privileged EXEC command to delete any existing multicast routes that violate the updated boundary. (CSCdr79083)

•When an IP packet with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error is received, the per-packet per-Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) counter (for DSCP 0) is incremented. Normal networks should not have packets with CRC errors. (CSCdr85898)

•If you configure the DHCP server to allocate addresses from a pool to the switch, two devices on the network might have the same IP address. Pooled addresses are temporarily allocated to a device and are returned to the pool when not in use. If you save the configuration file after the switch receives such an address, the pooled address is saved, and the switch does not attempt to access the DHCP server after a reboot to receive a new IP address. As a result, two devices might have the same IP address.

The workaround is to make sure that you configure the DHCP server with reserved leases that are bound to each switch by the switch hardware address. (CSCds55220)

•The show ip mroute count privileged EXEC command might display incorrect packet counts. In certain transient states (for example, when a multicast stream is forwarded only to the CPU during the route-learning process and the CPU is programming this route into the hardware), a multicast stream packet count might be counted twice. Do not trust the counter during this transient state. (CSCds61396)

•When changing the link speed of a Gigabit Ethernet port from 1000 Mbps to 100 Mbps, there is a slight chance that the port will stop transmitting packets. If this occurs, shut down the port, and re-enable it by using the shutdown and no shutdown interface configuration commands. (CSCds84279)

•In IP multicast routing and fallback bridging, certain hardware features are used to replicate packets for the different VLANs of an outgoing trunk port. If the incoming speed is line rate, the outgoing interface cannot duplicate that speed (because of the replication of the packets). As a result, certain replicated packets are dropped. (CSCdt06418)

•When you use the no interface port-channel global configuration command to remove an EtherChannel group, the ports in the port group change to the administratively down state.

When you remove an EtherChannel group, enter the no shutdown interface configuration command on the interfaces that belonged to the port group to bring them back on line. (CSCdt10825)

•In the output displayed after a show interface interface-id privileged EXEC command, the output buffer failures field shows the number of packets lost before replication, whereas the packets output field shows the successful transmitted packets after replication. To determine actual discarded frames, multiply the output buffer failures by the number of VLANs on which the multicast data is replicated. (CSCdt26928)

•Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets classified by QoS to map the DSCP value and the class of service (CoS) value in a QoS policy map might only modify the DSCP property and leave the CoS value at zero. (CSCdt27705)

•If you assign both tail-drop threshold percentages to 100 percent by using the wrr-queue threshold interface configuration command and display QoS information for this interface by using the show mls qos interface statistics privileged command, the drop-count statistics are always zero even if the thresholds were exceeded. To display the total number of discarded packets, use the show controllers ethernet-controllers interface-id privileged EXEC command. In the display, the number of discarded frames includes the frames that were dropped when the tail-drop thresholds were exceeded. (CSCdt29703)

•Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) path costs and Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) metrics are incorrect for switch virtual interface (SVI) ports. You can manually configure the bandwidth of the SVI by using the bandwidth interface configuration command. Changing the bandwidth of the interface changes the routing metric for the routes when the SVI is used as an outgoing interface. (CSCdt29806)

•Remote Monitoring (RMON) collection functions on physical interfaces, but it is not supported on EtherChannels and SVIs. (CSCdt36101)

•Multicast router information is displayed in the show ip igmp snooping mrouter privileged EXEC command when IGMP snooping is disabled. Multicast VLAN Registration (MVR) and IGMP snooping use the same commands to display multicast router information. In this case, MVR is enabled, and IGMP snooping is disabled. (CSCdt48002)

•When a VLAN interface has been disabled and restarted multiple times by using the shutdown and no shutdown interface configuration commands, the interface might not restart following a no shutdown command. To restart the interface, re-enter a shutdown and no shutdown command sequence. (CSCdt54435)

•When you configure the ip pim spt-threshold infinity interface configuration command, you want all sources for the specified group to use the shared tree and not use the source tree. However, the switch does not automatically start to use the shared tree. No connectivity problem occurs, but the switch continues to use the shortest path tree for multicast group entries already installed in the multicast routing table. You can enter the clear ip mroute * privileged EXEC command to force the change to the shared tree. (CSCdt60412)

•Configuring too many multicast groups might result in an extremely low memory condition and cause the software control data structure to go out of sync, causing unpredictable forwarding behavior. The memory resources can only be recovered by entering the clear ip mroute privileged EXEC command. To prevent this situation, do not configure more than the recommended multicast routes on the switch. (CSCdt63480)

•The dec keyword is not supported in the bridge bridge-group protocol global configuration command. If two Catalyst 3550 switches are connected to each other through an interface that is configured for IP routing and fallback bridging, and the bridge group is configured with the bridge bridge-group protocol dec command, both switches act as if they were the spanning tree root. Therefore, spanning-tree loops might be undetected. (CSCdt63589)

•When you configure an EtherChannel between a Catalyst 3550 and a Catalyst 1900 switch, some of Catalyst 3550 links in the EtherChannel might go down, but one link in the channel remains up, and connectivity is maintained.

•If the number of multicast routes configured on the switch is greater than the switch can support, it might run out of available memory, which can cause it to reboot. This is a limitation in the platform-independent code.

The workaround is to not configure the switch to operate with more than the maximum number of supported multicast routes. You can use the show sdm prefer and show sdm prefer routing privileged EXEC commands to view approximate maximum configuration guidelines for the current SDM template and the routing template. (CSCdt63354)

The workaround is to disable the Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) on both devices by using the channel-group channel-group-number mode on interface configuration command. PAgP negotiation between these two devices is not reliable. (CSCdt78727)

•When the switch is operating with equal-cost routes and it is required to learn more unicast routes than it can support, the CPU might run out of memory, and the switch might fail.

The workaround is to remain within the documented recommended and supported limits. (CSCdt79172)

•The behavior of a software access control list (ACL) with QoS is different from a hardware ACL with QoS. On the Catalyst 3550 switch, when the QoS hardware rewrites the DSCP of a packet, the rewriting of this field happens before software running on the CPU examines the packet, and the CPU sees only the new value and not the original DSCP value.

When the security hardware ACL matches a packet on input, the match uses the original DSCP value. For output security ACLs, the security ACL hardware should match against the final, possibly changed, DSCP value as set by the QoS hardware. Under some circumstances, a match to a security ACL in hardware prevents the QoS hardware from rewriting the DSCP and causes the CPU to use the original DSCP.

If a security ACL is applied in software (because the ACL did not fit into hardware, and packets were sent to the CPU for examination), the match probably uses the new DSCP value as determined by the QoS hardware, regardless of whether the ACL is applied at the input or at the output. When packets are logged by the ACL, this problem can also affect whether or not a match is logged by the CPU even if the ACL fits into hardware and the permit or deny filtering was completed in hardware.

To avoid these issues, whenever the switch rewrites the DSCP of any packet to a value different from the original DSCP, security ACLs should not test against DSCP values in any of their access control elements (ACEs), regardless of whether the ACL is being applied to an IP access group or to a VLAN map. This restriction does not apply to ACLs used in QoS class maps.

If the switch is not configured to rewrite the DSCP value of any packet, it is safe to match against DSCP in ACLs used for IP access groups or for VLAN maps because the DSCP does not change as the packet is processed by the switch.

The DSCP field of an IP packet encompasses the two fields that were originally designated precedence and type of service (TOS). Statements relating to DSCP apply equally to either IP precedence or IP TOS. (CSCdt94355)

•On earlier versions of Catalyst 3550-24 switches, if a 10/100BASE-TX port on the switch is connected to a Catalyst 2820 or Catalyst 1900 switch through an ISL trunk at 100 Mbps, bidirectional communication cannot be established. The Catalyst 2820 or Catalyst 1900 switch identifies the Catalyst 3550-24 switch as a CDP neighbor, but the Catalyst 3550-24 switch does not recognize the Catalyst 2820 or Catalyst 1900 switch. On these switches, you should not use ISL trunks between the Catalyst 3550-24 and a Catalyst 2820 or Catalyst 1900 switch. Configure the link as an access link instead of a trunk link.

This problem has been fixed in hardware on Catalyst 3550-24 switches with motherboard assembly number 73-5700-08 or later. To determine the board level on your switch, enter the show version privileged EXEC. Motherboard information appears toward the end of the output display. (CSCdv68158)

•When IGMP filtering is enabled and you use the ip igmp profile global configuration command to create an IGMP filter, reserved multicast addresses cannot be filtered. Because IGMP filtering uses only Layer 3 addresses to filter IGMP reports and due to mapping between Layer 3 multicast addresses and Ethernet multicast addresses, reserved groups (224.0.0.x) are always allowed through the switch. In addition, aliased groups can leak through the switch. For example, if a user is allowed to receive reports from group 225.1.2.3, but not from group 230.1.2.3, aliasing will cause the user to receive reports from 230.1.2.3. Aliasing of reserved addresses means that all groups of the form y.0.0.x are allowed through. (CSCdv73626)

•If a switch stack contains both Catalyst 3550 switches and Catalyst 2900 XL or Catalyst 3500 XL switches, Cross-Stack UplinkFast (CSUF) is not enabled if the management VLAN on the Catalyst 2900 XL or 3500 XL switches is changed to a VLAN other than VLAN 1 (the default).

T