Setting Up Your Switch 39
dependent on a DHCP or BootP server, and eliminates the risk of the IP address changing.
To manually enter IP information for your switch, refer to “Manually Configuring IP Information” on page 42.
Automatically Configuring the IP Address using DHCP
By default the switch attempts to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server on the network without requesting user intervention. When using automatic IP configuration, it is important that the switch’s IP address is static so that you know what it is, otherwise it will be difficult to manage that switch. Most DHCP servers allow you to configure static IP addresses. Refer to the documentation that accompanies your DHCP server.
For a detailed description of how automatic IP configuration operates, refer to the Configuration Guide on the 3Com Web Site.
You should use the automatic IP configuration method if:
■Your network uses DHCP to allocate IP information
■Flexibility is needed. If the switch is deployed on a different subnet, it automatically reconfigures itself with an appropriate IP address so that you to not have to manually reconfigure the switch.
If the switch is not allocated with an automatic IP address, the IP configuration will be blank or shown as ‘’’’.
If you use the automatic IP configuration method, you need to discover the automatically allocated IP information before you can begin management.