Cisco switches are a bit cryptic, but well documented. You can generally do just about anything with enough patience and Googling, but even simple configuration tasks can be difficult if you’re not familiar with the interface.

Basic tips

These are my 3 tips to configuring Cisco devices:

1. telnet
   • Always telnet or SSH to the switch to log on. Don’t use configuration utilities or a web interface, because everything that turns up on Google refers to the command-line interface.
2. enable
   • All of the useful options are hidden by default. Use enable to do serious work.
3. ?
   • Pressing ? pops up a list of ways you can complete the current command.

For example: IP settings

The first step when moving around a used switch is to set it up for a different network. Here is where you will find the IP config:

Log in:

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telnet 10.1.x.x

Now enable the admin options:

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example-switch>enable
Password: (type in your password)

Note that the prompt has changed from > to #. We can now change the IP and subnet mask of the switch:

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example-switch#
interface vlan 1
ip address 10.1.x.x 255.255.x.x