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Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 1 Overview Management Options

Management Options

The swi t ches are designed for plug-and-play operation: you only need to assign basic IP infor mation to
the switc h and c on nect i t to t he ot her devices in you r net work. I f yo u have specific network nee ds , yo u
can co nfigure a nd m onitor the switch —on an individual basis or as part of a switch cluster—through its
various managem ent i nterfaces.
This section discusse s these topics:
•Managem ent In terface Op tions, page 1-7
•Advantages of Using CMS and Clustering Switches, page 1-7

Management Interface Options

You can co nfigure and monit or individual swit ches and switc h clusters by using these interfac es:
•CMS—CMS is a gra ph ical user int erfac e t hat can be laun ch ed fr om a nywhere in yo ur net work
through a w eb b rowser suc h as N etscap e Com mu nicat or or M ic rosoft I nt ernet Expl ore r. C MS i s
already inst alle d on th e sw itch. U sing CMS, you c an c onfigure and m on itor a st anda lon e swit ch, a
specific cluster member, or an entire switch clust er. You ca n also display ne twork topolo gies to
gather link information and display switch images to modify switch and port level settings.
For more information about CMS, see Chapter 3, “Getting Started with CMS.”
•CLI—The swi tch IOS CLI soft ware is enhan ced to support desktop- switching fe atures. Yo u can
configure and monitor the switch and switch cluster members from the CLI. You can access the CLI
either by connecting your management station directly to the switch console port or by using T e lnet
from a rem ote manageme nt station.
For more information abou t the CLI, see Chapter 2, “Using the Co mman d-L ine I nter face.”
•IE2100—Cisco Inte lli gence Engine 2100 Series Co nfigur at ion Registra r is a ne t work management
device that works with embedded CNS Agents in the switch software. You can automate initial
configurati on s and c onfigurat ion up dat es by ge ne ratin g sw itch -sp eci fic con figurati on ch an ges ,
sending them to the switch, executing the configuration change, and logging the results.
For more inf orm ati on abou t IE 21 00, see Ch apter 5, “Configuring I E21 00 CN S Ag ents .”
•SNMP—SNMP provides a means to monitor and control the switch and switch clu ster member s.
You ca n mana ge sw it ch c onfigura tion se tt ings, p erfor manc e, a nd sec urit y an d c oll ect st atis tics by
using SNM P m anage men t ap pli cati ons suc h as Ci scoWorks200 0 L AN M an agemen t Sui te ( LM S)
and HP OpenView.
You can manage the switch from an SNMP-compatible management station that is running
platforms such as HP OpenView or SunNet Manager. The switch supports a comprehensive set of
MIB extensions and fo ur RMON group s.
For more information about using SNMP, see the Cha pter 24, “Configuring SNMP.”

Advantages of Using CMS and Clustering Switches

Using CMS and switch clusters can simplify and minimize your configuration and monitoring tasks. You
can use Cis co switch clu stering tec hnology to manage up to 16 in terconne cted an d supporte d Catalyst
switches through one IP address as if they were a single entity. This can conserve I P addresses if you
have a limited number of them. C MS i s the easiest inter fac e to use and makes switch and switch cluster
manageme nt acc essible to author ized users fro m any PC on your network .