4-2
Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-14982-01
Chapter 4 Assigning the Switch IP Address and Default Gateway
Assigning Switch Information
The boot loader also provides trap-door access into the system if the operating system has problems
serious enoug h that i t cannot be use d. The trap- door me chan ism provides en ough ac cess to the syste m
so that if it is necessary, you can format the Flash file system, reinstall the operating system software
image by usi ng t he XMO DEM Prot ocol , re cover fro m a lost or f orgotten pa ssword, an d finally r es tart
the operating system. For more information, see the “Recovering from Cor rup ted So ftware” section on
page 28-6 and t he “Re covering from a Lost or Forgotten Password” section on page 28-6.
Before you can assign switch information, make sure you have connected a PC or terminal to the console
port, an d configured th e PC or termina l-emu lation sof tware ba ud rate and cha ract er form at to matc h
those of the switch console port. For more information, refer to the hardware installation guide that
shipped with your switch.

Assigning Switch Inf ormation

You can assign IP information through the switch setup program, through a Dynamic Host Configuration
Protoco l (DHCP) server, or manually.
Use the switch setup program if you are a ne w user and want to be prompted for specific IP information.
With this pro gram, you c an also configure a host nam e and an ena ble secre t password. It gives you the
option of assigning a Telnet password (to provide security during remote management) and configuring
your s witch as a command or member sw itch of a cl uster or as a st andalone switch. F or more i nformation
about th e se tup pro gra m, ref e r to th e r ele as e note s o n C is co.c om.
Use a DHCP server for centralized control and automatic assignment of IP information once the server
is configured.
Note If you are using DHCP, do not re spond to any of the quest ions in the setup progra m until th e switch
receives the dynamically-assigned IP address and reads the configuration file.
Use t he m anual me t hod of c on figurat ion if y ou ar e a n experi en ced u ser fam il iar with t he sw i tc h
configurati on st eps; o therw ise, use th e se tup p ro gram de scri bed e arl ier.
This se ctio n c onta ins thi s configu ratio n inf or mat ion:
•Default Swi tch Informa tion, page 4-3
•Understa nding DHCP- Based Autoc onfiguration, pa ge 4-3
•Manuall y Assigni ng IP Infor ma tion, p age 4-1 0