CHAPTER
7-1
Cisco Systems IntelligentGigabit Ethernet Switch Modules for the IBM BladeCenter, Software Configuration Guide
24R9746
7
Configuring Interface Characteristics
This chapter describes the types of interfaces on a Cisco Systems Intelligent Gigabit Ethernet Switch
Module and how to configure them. The chapter has these sections:
Understanding Interface Types, page 7-1
Using the Interface Command, page 7-4
Configuring Ethernet Interfaces, page 7-9
Monitoring and Maintaining the Interfaces, page 7-13
Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the switch
command reference for this release and the online Cisco IOS Interface Command Reference for Cisco
IOS Release12.1.

Understanding Interface Types

This section describes the different types of interfaces supported by the switch with references to
chapters that contain more detailed information about configuring these int erface types. The rest of the
chapter describes configuration procedures for switch ports.
Note The switch has 4 external ports and 16 internal ports. For more information, see the “Using the Interface
Command” section on page 7-4 and the switch hardware installation guide.
Switch ports are Layer 2-only interfaces associated with a physical port. They are used for managing the
physical interface and associated Layer 2 protocols and do not handle routing or bri dging. A switch port
can be an access port or a trunk port.
You can configure a port as an access port or trunk port or let the Dynamic Trunking Pro tocol (DTP)
operate on a per-port basis to determine if a switch port should be an access port or a trunk port by
negotiating with the port on the other end of the link.
Configure switch ports by using the switchport interface configuration commands. For detailed
information about configuring access port and trunk port characteristics, see Chapter 12, “Configuring
VLANs.”