How To: MXNet Switch - Basic Operation and VLAN Configuration

MXNet Network Switches - Basic Operation Configuration Guide

This article provides a comprehensive overview of basic diagnostic and configuration commands for MXNet network switches, including instructions for making the necessary physical connections. The switches covered in this article are operating on factory default settings.

Applies to: (unless otherwise specified elsewhere within the article)
      AC-MXNET-SW10
      AC-MXNET-SW24
      AC-MXNET-SW48
      AC-MXNET-10G-SW12C
      AC-MXNET-10G-SW24Q
      AC-MXNET-10G-SW48Q
      AC-MXNET-10G-SW24C

Requirements:
      - Windows PC with PuTTY installed (direct download link here)
      - RJ45-to-DB9 and DB9-to-USB console cable if accessing switch via the Console port
        (included with all MXNet network switches)
      - Standard RJ45 cable if accessing switch via the MGMT port

There are four ways to access the network switch for configuring and gathering diagnostic information. Refer to the following chapters for the specific method, then review the Example Guides for the commands when configuring and gathering information for the switch.

Options for Accessing the MXNet CLI of the Switch

Accessing the MXNet CLI via the Console Port

1. Connect the RJ45-to-DB9 and DB9 cables together, then plug in the cable to a USB port on the Windows PC and the RJ45 connector to the CONSOLE port on the network switch.  

2. Right-click on the Windows Start button and select Device Manager, then select the Ports (COM & LPT) dropdown menu and locate the device labeled USB Serial Port (COMx).


3. Open PuTTY and enter in the following protocols:
      Connection type: Serial
      Serial line: COMx
      Speed: 115200
                   9600 (if configuring the AC-MXNET-SW10)


4. Select Open to open a new terminal window for PuTTY, then press the Enter key. The server will respond with "User Access Verification" followed by a prompt for the "Username". This indicates that successful communication with the network switch is now established.


5. Login credentials are case sensitive. For the username, type in admin and hit the Enter key to send. For the password, type in admin and hit the Enter key to send. New lines will now begin with switch#, indicating the network switch is now fully accessible.



Accessing the MXNet CLI or Web GUI via the MGMT Port

(does not apply to the SW10 network switch)

1. Connect any RJ45 cable from your Windows PC to the MGMT port on the network switch. The example below shows the SW48, but this step applies to all MXNet switches (excluding the SW10 as it does not have an MGMT port).

Default IP address of the switch's MGMT port is 192.168.1.238

2. Type ncpa.cpl into the Windows Search Bar to open the Network Connections settings.


3. Double-click the PC's Ethernet adapter to open the PC's Ethernet Properties window.


4. Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) connection, then select Properties.


5. Select the Use the following IP address option and enter in an address on the same subnet as the network switch's static address (192.168.1.238 255.255.255.0) such as the address shown in the screenshot below.


6. Type command prompt into the Windows Search Bar to open a new Command Prompt window, then ping the switch by typing in ping 192.168.1.238 into the Command Prompt terminal and hit the Enter key to send the command.




Accessing the MXNet CLI via the MGMT Port by Telnet Client

(does not apply to the SW10 switch)

1. After successfully pinging the switch using Command Prompt, open PuTTY and enter in the following configurations into PuTTY:
      Connection type: Telnet
      Port Number: 23
      IP Address: 192.168.1.238


2. Select Open to open a new Telnet session to the switch using PuTTY. A prompt saying "Username" will appear in the PuTTY terminal window, indicating you are now successfully connected to the switch.


3. Enter in the default username admin and password admin. A list of all available commands can be shown by entering in the ? (question mark) symbol.


Tip: When typing in a command you can add a ? (question mark) symbol after the command to view all the available arguments, as shown in the example below after typing in the show command:

Tip: When the command outputs a large amount of text with the line --More-- at the bottom of the terminal window you can hit the Spacebar key to show the next block of information, or you can use the Enter key to see just the next line of text.


Accessing the Web GUI via the MGMT Port

(does not apply to the SW10 switch)

1. Use a web browser and enter in the IP address of your switch (default IP address 192.168.1.238). This will take you to the Login screen for the Web GUI.


2. Enter in the default login credentials, admin for username, and admin for password. You now have access to the full Web GUI of the switch.


3. Navigating the Web GUI of the switch is very straightforward and does not require you to input any commands. Simply click on the folders in the left-hand column and select the subfolder for the specific configuration/information regarding the switch. The relevant information for your selection will be shown to the right, as seen in the example below.



Examples of Commands

Gathering Information about the Switch

1. To see the firmware version, serial #, MAC address, and other information about the switch itself, enter in the command show version, as shown in the example below:


2. To show the current running configuration of your network switch, enter in the command show running-config. The example below shows a snippet of the show running-config output:

*The running configuration of your switch shows all current configurations applied to the switch.

3. To display the MAC addresses of the currently active endpoints connected to your switch and which ports they're connected to, enter in the command show MAC-address-table.

*This can be useful in locating an endpoint while troubleshooting a system, especially in larger systems with many endpoints.

4. To display information regarding the CPU utilization/usage of your switch, enter in the command show cpu utilization as well as the command show cpu usage. To see just the switch's operating temperature, enter in the command show temperature. All three commands are shown in the example below.


5. To check the status of all ports on the switch enter in the command show ethernet interface status.


To see the bandwidth usage of the endpoints connected to the switch, enter in the command show interface ethernet counter rate.


6. To see the power intake of endpoints connected to the switch, enter in the command show power inline interface.


7. To reboot the switch, enter in the command reload and then enter Y to confirm the command.


8. To display detailed information about a specific port on the switch, enter in the command show interface ethernet 1/0/x detail, where x is the port number.

*This is extremely useful for gathering information about a specific port and allows you to see any potential input/output errors that might be occurring while troubleshooting.

Basic Configurations for the Switch

When configuring your switch, it is important to save the current running configuration to the Startup configuration.

NOTE: The commands below for configuring the switch will require you to first enter into the "configuration" mode. This is done by enter the command config first. You should then see a new line starting with switch(config)# in the terminal. Unless specified otherwise, all of the following commands below must be used while in this configuration mode.

To exit the configuration mode, you can enter the command end. The command exit will take you back to the previous interface mode, while the command end will exit the configuration interface entirely (returning you back to the default configuration mode).

1. To save the current running configuration, enter in the command copy running-config startup-config. If it asks for confirmation, enter Y to confirm. You do not need to enter the configuration mode with the config command for this function. You may also use the command write to perform the same function described above.


To save the current running configuration into a separate configuration file for future use, you can use the command copy running-config xyz.cfg where xyz will be the name of the config file.


To load a configuration file stored on the switch to the startup configuration, enter in the command boot startup-config xyz.cfg, where xyz will be the name of the configuration file.


To view all files stored on the switch, enter in the command dir.


To delete a configuration file, enter in the command delete xyz.cfg where xyz is the name of the configuration file. Then enter Y to confirm.

2. To configure a specific port on the switch, enter in the command interface ethernet 1/0/xx where x is the specific port number you wish to configure.

(If configuring one of the QSFP+ ports on the SW24Q and SW48Q, the addressing will be 1/1/1, 1/2/1, 1/3/1, and so on.)

To configure a specific range of ports on the switch, enter in the command interface ethernet 1/0/x-y where x is the starting point of the range of ports and y is the end.


To configure multiple specific ports at the same time on the switch, enter in the command interface ethernet 1/0/x;y;z where x, y, and z are the specific ports you wish to configure.


You can combine specifying multiple ports as well as a range of ports into one command, as shown below:


The MGMT port on all switches (excluding the SW10) can be addressed by using the command interface ethernet 0.


3. To modify the IP address of the MGMT port, enter in the command interface ethernet 0 followed by the command (with no brackets) ip address [IP address] [Subnet Mask] for the newly desired IP address.

(required if using a CBOX that has its MENTOR IP address scheme on a different subnet than the default IP of the switch in order to use the CBOX's "Switch Management" feature within MENTOR)

4. To disable any inbound/outbound data transmissions on a port, you will first need to specify one or multiple ports using the commands described above in Step 2. Then you will enter in the command shutdown. (Note: PoE will still be present on the ports)

To disable the command, enter no shutdown.

5. To disable PoE output on one or multiple ports, specify the ports by using the commands described above in Step 2 and enter in the command no power inline enable. To re-enable PoE, enter in the command no power inline enable.


6. Most MXNet switches have SFP+/QSFP+ ports pre-configured for stacking with one additional switch. To stack with more switches, create a new port group for each uplink and assign it to the desired ports. To do this, enter into configure mode on the switch and use the command port-group x where x is the ID for the port group (1-64).


If IGMP snooping is configured, you will also need to enter the command ip igmp snooping vlan x mrouter-port interface port-channel y, where x is the ID of the desired VLAN and y is the ID of the newly created port group.


To set up stacking for an additional switch in the newly created port group, first specify the range of ports to be used. Then, use the command port-group x mode on to assign the desired port group number. If you're working with SFP+/QSFP+ ports, remember that they're already configured to be on Port Group 1. so you'll need to use the command no port-group to remove them from Port Group 1 before assigning them to a different group.

The example above shows how to configure an SW48 switch's SFP+ ports 51 and 52 to stack to one switch, while SFP+ ports 49 and 50 can be used to stack to a different switch.

7. To enable the SSH server, enter into config mode and send the command ssh-server enable.


To disable the SSH server, enter in the command no shh-server enable.


To disable the Telnet server, enter in the command no telnet-server enable.

To re-enable the Telnet server, enter in the command telnet-server enable.


NOTE: when using the Switch Management feature on the CBOX, access to the Telnet server is currently required. Disabling the Telnet server will lose access to the Switch Management feature.

If you wish to make additional changes to the Telnet/SSH server, enter in the command telnet-server ? or ssh-server ? to view the available parameters that you're able to modify.

Telnet:


SSH:




Basic VLAN Configurations

1. To create a new VLAN on the switch, enter into the configuration mode, then enter in the command vlan x where x is the ID of the newly created VLAN (the range of applicable VLAN ID's is 2-4095).
 (VLAN1 is the default VLAN of the switch)

To create multiple specific VLAN ID's or a range of VLAN ID's all at once, separate the VLAN ID's with a ; (semicolon) or a - (hyphen) for a range of VLANs.


2. To configure a port on the switch to access the created VLAN, first specify the desired ports by following Step 2 in the Basic Configurations for the Switch section above, then enter in the command switchport access vlan x where x is the VLAN ID. Below is an example of configuring ports 8-16 to access a VLAN with an ID of 10.


3. To give a name to a created VLAN for identification purposes, while in config mode, address the VLAN you wish to name by entering in the command vlan x where x is the VLAN ID, then enter the command name xyx, where xyz is the name of the VLAN. (String length is 1-64 characters)


4. The name of the VLAN will appear in your running configuration, which can be shown by entering the command show running-config. The default settings for a newly created VLAN will allow for basic network functionality, such as control systems or basic network endpoints.



Creating New VLANs for AV-over-IP/Dante Traffic

By default, IGMP snooping is already enabled for VLAN1. If configuring another VLAN for AV-over-IP traffic or multicast traffic with Dante, then IGMP snooping must be enabled for the desired VLAN.

1. (Note: if using an SW10, skip to Step 2 for mDNS configuration) For configuring a VLAN for Dante traffic, mDNS must be enabled on the switch. You can check if it's enabled by default by checking the running configuration for the command multicast unknown-group drop.

If multicast unknown group drop is not enabled, enter in the following string of commands:
      no ip igmp snooping (must disable global IGMP snooping settings first)
      multicast unknown-group drop
      ip igmp snooping (re-enables IGMP snooping for the switch)
      Note: this will remove all IGMP snooping settings for the default VLAN  as well. Please see the next
      step on how to configure the switch for the desired IGMP snooping settings for AVoIP traffic.
      
      Note: Multicast unknown-group drop is a global command and does not need to be configured per
      VLAN.

2. If configuring the AC-MXNET-SW10 switch, mDNS cannot be enabled using the steps above. Instead, you will first need to address the port(s) you wish to configure, then send the command switchport flood-forwarding mcast. This must be enabled per port.


3. To configure IGMP snooping for a specific VLAN, enter in the commands below:
      ip igmp snooping vlan x (where x is the desired VLAN ID)
      ip igmp snooping vlan x limit group 1000
      ip igmp snooping vlan x immediately-leave
      ip igmp snooping vlan x l2-general-querier
      ip igmp snooping vlan x l2-general-querier-version 2
      ip igmp snooping vlan x mrouter-port interface Port-Channel y
      (^repeat this command for the number of port-groups enabled on the switch, where y is the specified
      port-group number)

(Note: if mDNS was enabled following Step 1 above, the pre-configured IGMP Snooping settings for VLAN 1 must be re-enabled if desired.)

4. If you wish to connect the main LAN or a DHCP server to the switch, you will need to prevent multicast traffic from potentially flooding the main network. This can be done by addressing the port that will be connected to the main LAN/DHCP server and entering in these three commands:
      switchport flood-control mcast
      igmp snooping drop query
      igmp snooping drop report

Configuring a Trunk Port

A trunk port is a type of network port on a switch that is configured to carry traffic for multiple VLANs. By default, each port on a switch is assigned to a single VLAN and carries traffic only for that VLAN. However, a trunk port can carry traffic for multiple VLANs simultaneously, allowing different devices on a different VLANs to communicate with each other.

1. To configure a port for trunking, first address the desired port by following Step 2 from the Examples of Commands for Basic Configurations for the Switch section, then enter in the command switchport mode trunk.
(Note: if configuring the SFP+/QSFP+ ports on an MXNet switch, you must first remove the designated port group by sending the command no port-group. You may re-enable the port group after configuring the port for trunking.)


2. Once the port(s) are configured as a trunk port(s), you will then need to specify the desired VLAN(s) to be allowed to pass through the trunk port. This is done by sending the command switchport trunk allowed vlan x where x is the VLAN ID. You can assign multiple VLANs by separating them with a ; (semicolon).

Note: this must be configured on each switch. For example, if configuring a trunk port on Switch A, the receiving trunk port on Switch B must also be configured as well.)

3. (Optional) Once the port(s) are configured as a trunk you can re-add any port group designators at this point by following Step 6 in the Examples of Commands for Basic Configurations for the Switch section.




How to Import a Custom Configuration File using the CLI and Web GUI

Via the CLI

1. Connect to the switch by following the Accessing the Web GUI via the MGMT Port section. Then on the PC, open a TFTP Server, such as Tftpd32 (this program will be used for the following examples). Choose the server interface as the Ethernet driver communicating to the switch. Browse your computer for the folder that the desired configuration file is stored in and select it on your TFTP server. An example for TFTPD32 is shown below:


2. Open up a CLI terminal to the network switch. Log in, and then send the command (without the brackets) copy tftp://[your TFTP server IP address]/[config file name stored on your PC] [config file name to store on the switch].cfg. An example command is shown below:


3. To load the new configuration file, enter in the command (without the brackets) boot startup-config [configuration file name].


4. Once the new configuration file is selected to load at startup, enter the command reload, and enter Y to confirm. The switch will now reboot, and the new configuration file will be loaded. You can verify if the new configuration file was successfully loaded by entering in the command show running-config after the switch reboots in order to verify the switch's current configuration.

Via Web GUI

1. Log in to the Web GUI using the steps in the Accessing the Web GUI via the MGMT Port section. On the left side of the main page on the Web GUI, navigate to the folder Switch basic configuration then open firmware update and choose HTTP service. It will take you to the page shown in the example below.


2. Select the Choose File button and browse your PC for the desired configuration file. Once the configuration file is selected, enter in the desired name in the Local file name field for the configuration file (must end in .cfg). For the File type dropdown menu, select Config file and select apply when all fields are completed.


3. Once all fields are populated, hit apply. Once you hit apply, a prompt will ask you to confirm Ok. Once the file is uploaded, you will see a confirmation window appear near the center of the page.


4. In the left side column, select Module management then select Set Boot IMG and Startup-Config. For the startup-config field, enter in the name of the configuration file that you assigned to the Local file name field in Step 2.


Once the desired name is entered, select the Set button on the right. A confirmation window will appear confirming the new configuration file was selected to run on startup.


5. Navigate to Switch basic configuration > Switch Basic configuration > Save current running-configuration. For the Save current configuration before reboot row, select No via the dropdown menu and select Apply. The switch will then reboot with the new configuration file loaded at startup.