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Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter3 Getting Started with CMS Menus and Toolbar
Menus and Toolbar
The configuration and monitoring options for configuring switches and switch clu sters are availabl e
from the menu bar, toolbar, and the Front-Panel and Topology view popup menus.

Menu Bar

The menu bar provides the complete list of options for managing a single switch and switc h cluster. The
menu bar is the same whether or not the Front-Panel or Topology views are displayed.
Options displayed from the menu bar can vary:
•The option for enabling a command switch is only available from a CMS session launched from a
command-capable switch.
•Cluster management tasks, such as upgrading the software of groups of switches, are av ailable only
from a CMS session launched from a command switch.
•If you launch CMS from a specific switch, the menu bar displays the features supported o nly by that
switch.
•If you launch CMS from a command switch, the menu bar disp lays t he f eat ures supp orte d on t he
switches in the cluster, with these exceptions:
–
If the command switch is a Layer3 switch, such as a Catalyst 3550 switch, the menu bar
displays the features of all Layer3 and Layer 2 switches in the cluster.
–
If the command switch is a Layer2 switch, such as a Catalyst 2950 or Catalyst 3500 XL switch,
the menu bar displays the features of all Layer 2 switches in the cluster. The menu bar does not
display Layer 3 features even if the cluster has Catalyst 3550 Layer 3 member switches.
Note We strongly recommend that the highest-end, command-capable switch in the cluster be the
command switch so that all of the features suppo rted in the cluster are displayed from the menu bar.
If you have a switch cluster with a Catalyst3550, that switch should be the command switch. If your
switch cluster has Catalyst 2900 XL, Catalyst 2950, and Catalyst 35 00 XL switches, the
Catalyst 2950 should be the command switch. Refer to the release notes for the Catalyst switches that
can be part of a switch cluster.
Note • Unless noted otherwise, Tab le 3-10 lists the menu-bar options available from a Catalyst 3550
command switch and when the cluster contains only Catalyst 3550 member switches. The menu
bar of the command switch displays all menu-bar options available from the cluster, including
options from member switches from other cluster-capable switch platforms.
•The menu-bar options on a Catalyst 3550 switch change depending on w hether the switch is running
the enhanced multilayer software image or not. Footnotes describe the availability of an option if
the switch is running the enhanced multilayer software image.
•The footnotes in the table describe the availability of an option based on yo ur access mode in CMS:
read-only (access level 1–14) and read-write (access level 15). For more information abou t CMS
access modes, see the “Access Modes in CMS” section on page3-31.