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Catalyst2950 and Catalyst2955 Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter7 Clustering Switches
Using SNMP to Manage Switch Clusters

Catalyst 1900 and Catalyst 2820 CLI Considerations

If your switch cluster has Catalyst 1900 and Catalyst 2820 switches running standard edition software,
the Telnet session accesses the manage ment co nsole (a menu -dr i v e n int erf ac e) if the com mand swit ch is
at privilege level15. If the command switch is at privilege level 1to 14, you are prompted for the
password to access the menu console.
Command-switch privilege levels map to the Catalyst1900 and Catalyst 2820 member switches running
standard and Enterprise Edition Software as follows:
•If the command-switch privilege level is 1 to 14, the member switch is accessed at privilege level 1.
•If the command-switch privilege level is 15, the member switch is accessed at privilege level 15.
Note The Catalyst 1900 and Catalyst 2820 CLI is available only on switches running Enterprise Edition
Software.
For more information about the Catalyst1900 and Catalyst 2820 switches, refer to the installation and
configuration guides for those switches.
Using SNMP to Manage Switch Clusters
When you first power on the switch, SNMP is enabled if you enter the IP information by using the setup
program and accept its proposed configuration. If you did not use the setup p rog ram to ent er th e IP
information and SNMP was not enabled, you can enable it as described in the “Configuring SNMP”
section on page 28-5. On Catalyst 19 00 and Ca talyst 2820 switches, SNMP is enabled by default.
When you create a cluster, the command switch manages the exchange of messages between member
switches and an SNMP application. The cluster software on the command switch appends the member
switch number (@esN, where N is the switch number) to the first configured read-write and read-only
community strings on the command switch and propagate s t hem t o th e mem ber sw it ch. Th e co mman d
switch uses this community string to control the forwarding of gets, set s, and get-next messages between
the SNMP management station and the member switches.
Note When a cluster standby group is configured, the command switch can change without your knowledge .
Use the first read-write and read-only community strings to communicate with the command switch if
there is a cluster standby group configured for the cluster.
If the member switch does not have an IP address, the command switch r edire cts trap s fr om the mem ber
switch to the management station, as shown in Figure 7-14. If a member switch has its own IP address
and community strings, the member switch can send traps directly to the management station, without
going through the command switch.
If a member switch has its own IP address and community strings, t h ey can be u sed i n addi tio n to the
access provided by the command switch. For more information about SNMP and community str ings, see
Chapter 28, “Configuring SNMP.”