36CHAPTER 3: SETTING UP FOR MANAGEMENT
IP Configuration You can use one of the following methods to allocate IP information to your Switch (essential if you wish to manage your Switch across the network).
Manual IP Configuration
When you configure the IP information, the Switch remembers the information that you enter until you change it again.
You should use the Manual IP configuration method if:
■you do not have a DHCP or BootP server on your network, or
■you want to remove the risk of the IP address ever changing, or
■your DHCP or BootP server does not allow you to allocate static IP addresses. (Static IP addresses are necessary to ensure that the Switch is always allocated the same IP information.)
For most installations, 3Com recommends that you configure the Switch IP information manually. This makes management simpler and more reliable as it is not dependent on a DHCP or BootP server, and eliminates the risk of the IP address changing.
To manually enter IP information for your Switch, work through the “Manually Configuring IP Information” on page 37.
Automatic IP Configuration using DHCP
By default the Switch tries to configure itself with IP Information without requesting user intervention. It tries to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server on the network.
When using automatic IP configuration it is important that the IP address of the Switch is static, otherwise you will not know what the IP address is and it will be difficult to manage. Most DHCP servers allow static IP addresses to be configured so that you know what IP address will be allocated to the Switch. Refer to the documentation that accompanies your DHCP server.
For a detailed description of how automatic IP configuration operates, please refer to the Configuration Guide on the