Computer Networks/Switching

This lesson introduces switching.

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the switching portion of Network+ certification include:

• Given a scenario, configure a switch using proper features
  • PoE and PoE+ (802.3af, 802.3at)
  • Managed vs unmanaged
  • Default gateway
  • Spanning tree (802.1d)/rapid spanning tree (802.1w)
  • Switch management
    • User/passwords
    • AAA configuration
    • Console
    • Virtual terminals
    • In-band/Out-of-band management
  • VLAN
    • Native VLAN/Default VLAN
    • VTP
    • Flooding
    • Forwarding/blocking
    • Filtering
  • Interface configuration
    • Trunking/802.1q
    • Tag vs untag VLANs
    • Port bonding (LACP)
    • Port mirroring (local vs remote)
    • Speed and duplexing
    • IP address assignment
    • VLAN assignment

Readings

1. Wikipedia: LAN switching
2. Wikipedia: Power over Ethernet
3. Wikipedia: Spanning Tree Protocol
4. Wikipedia: Out-of-band management
5. Wikipedia: Link aggregation
6. Wikipedia: Port mirroring
7. Wikipedia: Virtual LAN

Multimedia

1. YouTube: Configuring VLANs - CompTIA Network+ N10-006 - 2.6
2. YouTube: Spanning Tree Protocol - CompTIA Network+ N10-006 - 2.6
3. YouTube: Switch Interface Configuration - CompTIA Network+ N10-006 - 2.6
4. YouTube: Power Over Ethernet - CompTIA Network+ N10-006 - 2.6
5. YouTube: Switch Management - CompTIA Network+ N10-006 - 2.6

Activities

1. Research unmanaged and managed switches.
   • Research the differences between unmanaged and managed switches.
   • For managed switches, research the difference between layer 2 switches and layer 3 switches.
   • Using your preferred vendor and supplier, obtain pricing for:
     • An unmanaged 24-port switch
     • An unmanaged 24-port PoE switch
     • A managed 24-port layer 2 switch
     • A managed 24-port layer 2 PoE switch
     • A managed 24-port layer 3 switch
     • A managed 24-port layer 3 PoE switch
   • Consider what environments would be appropriate for each of these types of switches based on your features and price comparison. Ask your school or business organization's IT personnel which of these switch types are in use on their network.
2. Set up and configure a managed switch using either a switch emulator or an available physical switch:
   • Use a managed switch emulator to set up and configure a managed switch. (Note: The emulator will not save configuration changes.)
     • Verify console settings.
     • Verify IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway settings.
     • Change the default administrator password for the device and add an additional user account device administration.
     • Observe security settings for TACACS+ and/or RADIUS authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA).
     • Research current firmware releases for the device and determine whether a firmware update is required.
     • Save configuration changes by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration.
     • Administratively reboot the device.
   • Review settings for an available physical switch:
     • Log into the device using the device's web interface or console.
     • Verify console settings.
     • Verify IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway settings.
     • Observe the user accounts configured for the device.
     • Observe security settings for TACACS+ and/or RADIUS authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA).
     • Research current firmware releases for the device and determine whether a firmware update is required.
3. Configure ports on a managed switch using either a switch emulator or an available physical switch:
   • Use a managed switch emulator to configure ports. (Note: The emulator will not save configuration changes.)
     • Observe port settings.
     • Edit port settings for a port and modify port description, speed, and status.
     • Configure link aggregation to combine two ports into a single LACP group.
     • Observe or configure PoE settings for one or more ports.
     • Use administrative diagnostics to configure port mirroring so that network traffic on one or more ports can be monitored from another port.
   • Review port settings for an available physical switch:
     • Log into the device using the device's web interface or console.
     • Observe port settings.
     • Edit port settings for a port and observe port description, speed, and status.
     • Observe link aggregation settings that would combine two ports into a single LACP group.
     • Observe PoE settings for one or more ports.
     • Use administrative diagnostics to observe port mirroring so that network traffic on one or more ports could be monitored from another port.
4. Configure VLANs on a managed switch using either a switch emulator or an available physical switch:
   • Use a managed switch emulator to configure VLANs. (Note: The emulator will not save configuration changes.)
     • Observe existing VLAN settings.
     • Create VLANs for different departments, such as IT, Accounting, and Sales.
     • Observe port VLAN membership. Which ports are configured as trunk ports? Which ports are access ports? Which VLANs are assigned to each port?
     • Configure one or more ports as untagged access ports for each of your IT, Accounting, and Sales VLANs.
     • Configure one or more ports as tagged trunk ports for all of your IT, Accounting, and Sales VLANs.
   • Review VLAN settings for an available physical switch:
     • Log into the device using the device's web interface or console.
     • Observe existing VLAN settings.
     • Observe port VLAN membership. Which ports are configured as trunk ports? Which ports are access ports? Which VLANs are assigned to each port?
     • Identify the steps necessary to create VLANs on your switch and assign untagged access ports and tagged trunk ports to those VLANs.
5. Configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) on a managed switch using either a switch emulator or an available physical switch:
   • Use a managed switch emulator to configure STP. (Note: The emulator will not save configuration changes.)
     • Observe existing STP settings.
     • Observe existing BPDU interface settings.
     • Observe existing RSTP interface settings.
     • Observe existing MSTP interface settings.
   • Review STP settings for an available physical switch:
     • Observe existing STP settings.
     • Observe existing BPDU interface settings.
     • Observe existing RSTP interface settings.
     • Observe existing MSTP interface settings.