Catalyst 1900 Configuration {lost} sorry

A typical console cable has an RJ45 connector on one end (just like an Ethernet patch cord), but the other end has a 15 pin D-shell connector that you attach to a laptop serial port. This end may vary depending on the console cable your device uses.

The console cable is often identifiable (when its in a pile) by its light blue color.

Download the hardware config guide for your device, view the pictures of the console cable, determine the required part number, then acquire the required cable.

Best Regards, News Reader

The 1900 is very old and I have not checked however the norm for Cicsco is to have a "Configuration Guide" and a Command Reference" look them up. Don't worry too much about the version of the manuals, use the latest one you can find until you find out what you have.

The password recovery guide might be a place to look for console information. Hyperterminal is correct.

Cisco use the same console cable pretty much throughout the range hopefully the 1900 is not an exception (I don't think it is). There is either a rollover cable and seperate headshell or a moulded plug with the same result. CAbles are usually flat and light blue but older ones were black and clearly they can be any colour.

There is also a decent chance that it will do what you want exactly as it is and it will almost certainly do so with the default configuration.

Thank you all very much. After some checking I found what I believe are the right kinds of cables to connect this unit to a Hyperterminal... and just want to make sure I am straight. It sounds like the first and foremost thing I must do is get into the Console in order to configure it how I need. Am I right on this assumption?

Ok, so, the unit is in my own private lab. I have no idea on its history and no information about it whatsoever, .... so this is where I will need a little bit of insight. I mean, once I get this console cable and hook it in to a serial port on a laptop or machine I suppose, does it automatically give me the Console Menu without much trouble? Meaning, if I follow the instructions in the manual for it, should it be a fairly straightforward series of steps to get to this console menu? :-0 I don't see anything in the manual about passwords ... just the Baud Rate and other modem settings for configuring the terminal. Is it just as easy at that?

Back to the cable. Two paths I have for this cable. Maybe someone can clarify,

there is this kind:

thank you so much for helping to advance my knowledge, and the gift of this group.

Default passwords are blank. If changed you will have to do password recovery.

There is no menu only commands :-() See documents. Once set to factory default it will work as a switch if memory serves correctly.

Fine - as I say 1900 is V old and there were some exceptions. Think it is OK

Perfect description.

Ah, sweetness. I will be acquiring the proper cables, and see if I can get to junction point B -- I.e. my goal to connect up a couple machines into this device. I may have a couple more questions. Thank you for the confidence to go forth. Be well, Sarah. :-)

Hello again... (Update), I ordered the blue console cable and immediately had success accessing the switch menus via Hyperterminal! :-) I had to do a little password recovery, but finally got into the system. Ok, this is where I am situated:

I have two offline Windows machines. They both have network cards (reconfigured), and nothing is setup in Windows networking management (Default-De-Facto/Clean). I would like to connect these into the switch, and make them accessible to each other on separate addresses. How do I start to do this? :-)

The switch apparently had been used before, and had a IP address, Subnet Mask, & Default Gateway configured. I wrote those addresses down and then performed a Factory Re-Set on the switch, ... so now everything is blank and clean.

I am *CLUELESS* on the semantics of the configuration, but can follow straight forward directions, so please be gentle :-) I hope someone can help me, it would be immensely appreciated.

Have a wonderful afternoon or evening as it might be. Sarah.

Well, what are you looking to do with it?

Perhaps you are thinking this box can do tons of different things whereas its really about as basic managed switch as you can get? Ie. you'll be able to control the speed/duplex on the ports. You can get SNMP stats off the switch, and you'll be able to setup some VLAN capabilities. There are other commands, but these are the 3 main features that exist, and really are the only interesting ones you'll want to even try.

Factory default, all the ports are going to be auto-speed, auto-duplex, and part of the default VLAN. Ie. much like a $20 Dlink switch from any computer store.

If you want the two windows computers to see each other, plug in a computer each into a port, and configure the network on the windows side.

The only interesting things start to get with the basic VLAN capabilities. You can set a sequence of ports to be in one VLAN, and another sequence of ports in another VLAN. This is a basic Layer-2 switch, so there won't be any routing possible between them at the switch level, although that can happen outside of the switch.

The enterprise model 1900's may even get to do VLAN trunking to something else that does VLAN trunking. This only works on the A and B ports. It probably is ISL trunking only, being pre standards and all that. And only the enterprise models do it, rather than the desktop switches.

Reconfigured in what context?

Assuming you don't have a DHCP server from which the hosts (computers) will lease IP addresses, you will want to statically define IP addresses on the hosts (e.g.: 192.168.1.8 and 192.168.1.9 with a mask of

Applying this mask yields a network ID of 192.168.1.0. The network ID is common to all hosts on the network. Only the fourth "octet" would be assignable to hosts with this network ID/mask combination.

Hosts may be assigned addresses 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.254. The broadcast address is 192.168.1.255 (not assignable to a host). Usually the first (192.168.1.1) or last (192.168.1.254) address is assigned to a router/gateway attached to the network, but is not an actual requirement.

IP address assignments must be unique. No two devices may share the same IP address.

Don't own a 1900 switch.

Likely the IP address was assigned to the VLAN1 interface. This would be a logical interface rather than a physical one. That interface would be used for "in-band" management of the switch via telnet, and other purposes.

All ports would likely be assigned to a common default VLAN (i.e.: VLAN 1).

The ports may be in "shutdown" mode. If so you will need to bring them out of it. The method being dependent on the type of management interface you have on the switch. The IOS software image installed on the switch (standard vs. enhanced) may determine the type of interface you have (menu vs. CLI) on a 1900.

If you have a CLI (command line interface) you would enter something like this:

c2950#conf t Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z. c2950(config)#int FastEthernet 0/1 c2950(config-if)#no shutdown

Note that your interfaces may use a different syntax than mine (FastEthernet 0/1).

Use the following to help you determine which interface types you have:

c2950(config)#int ? Ethernet Ethernet IEEE 802.3 FastEthernet FastEthernet IEEE 802.3 Vlan Catalyst Vlans (partial output)

Once the ports to which the hosts are attached are brought up (i.e.: no longer shutdown), the hosts should be able to reach each other. A simple "ping" will confirm connectivity.

Recommend that you do some reading.

The configuration guides on the following page would be a good place to start:

That is wonderful and &VERY& helpful. Have an excellent week and thank you for your expertise knowledge. Sarah

Welp, I think I almost have it! Here is where I am right now.... Basically, I have two Windows machines tied into this Catalyst 1900.

Machine #1

----------

IP Address: 192.168.1.8

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 192.1.1.90

Machine #2

----------

IP Address: 192.168.1.9

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 192.1.1.90

Catalyst 1900

-------------

The Cisco unit was reset to default "factory" settings.

Machine #1 is plugged into PORT 1, and Machine #2 into PORT 2.

In the PORT 1 addressing area of the Console menu, I have listed the Physical Address 00-2A-23-E1-EB-19 of Machine #1 as the Accepted Source Port and it is the only PA listed

For PORT 2 I did the same, listed the Physical Address of Machine #2

Problem is.... when I ping Machine #2 from #1, it does not respond. However, from Machine #2, I can ping #1 and itself (#2)... so that seems cool. I don't understand why I cannot ping Machine #2 from #1. Any clues? :-) Would it be something I am probably not setting up right on the machine, or maybe something I am missing in the Switch configuration? I am still slightly confused on the setup procedure.

Thank you in advance for insights & please have a great day!

Sarah.

The two machines should communicate without ANY configuration of the switch. The correct name for the function of a switch is "transparent bridge" but the marketing boys and girls got their hands on it and we are now stuck with switch.

As its name suggests a transparent bridge is not visible to the end systems.

Most switches including your one, work right-out-of-the-box.

I do not know the terms you refered to "Accepted Source Port" (the 1900 is very old and it is a while since I have seen one) and I cannot find them on CCO.

Back to your "problem" of one machine being able to ping the other and not vice versa.

This could be caused by one of the machines being configured with a firewall.

If ping is working one way in such a simple set-up then nearly everything is in place for it to work the other way too.

Ping from A to B needs.

1. machine A to be able to ARP for machine B MAC broadcast to reach machine B MAC unicast to be able to machine A
2. source m/c ping request packet to reach ping machine B MAC unicast to reach machine B
3. target m/c to be able to ARP for machine A MAC broadcast to reach machine A MAC unicast to be able to return
4. machine B ping reply packet to reach machine A MAC unicast

If any one of these is broken then ping will not work.

You can verify arp on most hosts with

arp -a

Windows, Linux ...

H:\\>arp -a

Interface: 192.168.7.176 --- 0x7 Internet Address Physical Address Type 192.168.7.1 00-50-00-5e-53-68 dynamic 192.168.7.12 00-50-00-fb-71-44 dynamic 192.168.7.14 00-50-00-c1-80-42 dynamic

In the non working direction you could clear the ARP tables (often arp -d) and do the ping. Then check the ARP tables on the two ends. This may tell you how the ping is progressing.

The other essential tool is a packet sniffer such as Wireshark. Freeware and pretty nice.

Oh, I suppose you should set your PCs to Auto Speed/Duplex. This is unlikely to be affecting your test but it is possible that it is if there is other traffic.

Although this is not the cause of your inability to ping the other system (another poster responded to that issue), your gateway assignment is incorrect (or host assignments, depending on your perspective).

The hosts and their default gateway need to be on the same network. A network is defined by the mask, and not physical interfaces.

If you apply the mask (255.255.255.0) to your host address (192.168.1.8) you will see that the network ID is "192.168.1.0". All hosts on that network (including the default gateway interface address) share "192.168.1" in common. Only the fourth octet is unique.

If you apply the mask to your assigned default gateway address (192.1.1.90) you get "192.1.1.0" which is not equal to "192.168.1.0", (i.e.: different network IDs).

You need to amend your host assignments to 192.1.1.8, 192.1.1.9, OR your gateway to 192.168.1.90, the decision as to which depends on whether there is other connected infrastructure to consider.

When a host needs to connect to a resource, it applies its mask to its own address and the address of the other resource then compares the results. If the results match, then it knows the resource is on the same network; can be reached directly without the aid of a gateway, and communicates with the resource at the MAC layer.

If the results do not match, it knows that it needs the services of its default gateway to reach the resource. The default gateway needs to be on the same network (your's currently isn't) so that it can be communicated with at the MAC layer. The default gateway will communicate with the next-hop router at the MAC layer, and so on, and so on, until the packet reaches a router that has an interface connected to the destination network to which the resource is connected.

As packets travel on a hop-by-hop basis the source and destination IP addresses remain constant. However, the MAC addresses change hop by hop.

Same issue. See comments above.

Best Regards, News Reader