Quick Start Guide
Catalyst 3500 Series XL Switches

Catalyst 3500 series XL switch
Hardware installation guide and release notes
RJ-45-to-RJ-45 rollover console cable
AC power cable
RJ-45-to-DB-9 serial adapter
Rack-mount kit
Rubber feet

Note If any item is missing or damaged, contact your Cisco representative or reseller for support.

Note You need to provide the Category 5 straight-through and crossover cables to connect the switch ports to other Ethernet devices. In addition, the supplied RJ-45-to-DB-9 serial adapter is for connecting the switch console port to a PC. You need to provide a RJ-45-to-DB-25 female DTE adapter if you want to connect the switch console port to a terminal. You can order a kit (part number ACS-DSBUASYN=) containing that adapter from Cisco.

Cable the Switch

Connect to Workstations, PCs, Servers, and Routers

1. Connect a Category 5 straight-through cable (not supplied) to a 10/100 port on the front panel of the switch.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to the RJ-45 port of the workstation, PC, server, or router.

Connect to Hubs and Other Switches

1. Connect a Category 5 crossover cable (not supplied) to a 10/100 port on the front panel of the switch.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ-45 port on the target switch or hub.

Note Use a straight-through cable to connect two ports when one of the port numbers is designated with an X. Use a crossover cable to connect two ports when both port numbers are designated with an X or when both ports do not have an X.

Connect through the GigaStack GBICs (Optional)

1. Insert GigaStack Gigabit Interface Convertors (GBICs) in the GBIC module slots on the switches.

2. Connect the GigaStack GBICs with the Cisco GigaStack cables.

Note The GigaStack GBICs are orderable separately. Refer to the Catalyst GigaStack Gigabit Interface Convertor Installation Guide for details on installing and cabling the GigaStack GBICs.

Connect to Cisco IP Phones

The Catalyst 3524-PWR XL 10/100 ports also can provide inline power to Cisco IP Phones.

1. Connect a Category 5 straight-through cable (not supplied) to a 10/100 port on the front panel of the switch.

2. Connect the other end of the cable to the LAN-to-phone jack on the Cisco IP Phone.

Note The rear panel of the Cisco IP Phone might have more than one RJ-45 jack. Use the LAN-to-phone jack to connect the phone to the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL switch. Refer to the documentation that came with your Cisco IP Phone for information about connecting devices to it.

Connect to a Power Source

1. Connect one end of the supplied AC power cord to the power connector on the switch rear panel.

2. Connect the other end of the power cable to a grounded AC outlet.

Note If you are connecting the switch to a Cisco Redundant Power System (RPS), refer to the documentation that shipped with your RPS. Specific Cisco RPS models support specific Catalyst 3500 XL switches:

Cisco RPS 600 (model PWR600-AC-RPS) supports the Catalyst 3512, 3524, 3548, and 3508 XL switches.
Cisco RPS 300 (model PWR300-AC-RPS) supports the Catalyst 3524-PWR XL switch.

Connect to a PC or Terminal

1. Connect the blue rollover cable to the port marked CONSOLE on the rear panel of the switch.

2. If necessary, attach the RJ-45-to-DB-9 adapter to the PC, or attach the appropriate adapter to a terminal. You can order a kit (part number ACS-DSBUASYN=) containing the terminal adapter from Cisco.

3. Connect the other end of the cable to the PC or terminal running terminal-emulation software, such as ProComm Plus or HyperTerminal.

4. If necessary, reconfigure the terminal-emulation software to match the console port settings (default settings are 9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit).

Assign Switch Information

The first time that you access the switch, it runs a setup program that prompts you for IP and other configuration information necessary for the switch to communicate with the local routers and the Internet. This information also is required if you plan to use the Cluster Management Suite of applications to configure and manage the switch.

Note If the switch will be a cluster member managed through the IP address of the command switch, it is not necessary to assign IP information or a password. If you are configuring the switch as a standalone switch or as a command switch, you must assign IP information. Refer to the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Software Configuration Guide for more information.

IP Information Requirements

You will need the following information from your system administrator:

Switch IP address
Subnet mask (IP netmask)
Default gateway (router)
Enable secret password

First-Time Setup

Use this procedure to create an initial configuration for the switch:

1. Enter Y at the prompt:

Continue with configuration dialog? [yes/no]: y

: If this prompt does not appear, enter enable, and press Return. Enter setup, and press Return to restart the setup program.

2. Enter the switch IP address, and press Return:

Enter IP address: ip_address

3. Enter the subnet mask (IP netmask) address, and press Return:

Enter IP netmask: ip_netmask

4. Enter Y to enter a default gateway (router):

Would you like to enter a default gateway address? [yes]: y

5. Enter the IP address of the default gateway, and press Return:

IP address of the default gateway: ip_address

6. Enter the host name for the switch, and press Return.

Note On a command switch, the host name is limited to 28 characters and on a member switch to 31 characters. Do not use -n, where n is a number, as the last characters in a host name for any switch.

Enter the host name: host_name

7. Enter a secret password (which ensures switch security), and press Return:

Note The secret password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, can start with a number, is case-sensitive, and allows spaces but ignores leading spaces.

Enter enable secret: secret_password

8. Enter Y to enter a Telnet password:

Would you like to configure a Telnet password? [yes]: y

9. Enter the Telnet password, and press Return:

Note The Telnet password can be from 1 to 25 alphanumeric characters, is case-sensitive, allows spaces, but ignores leading spaces.

Enter Telnet password: telnet_password

10. Enter Y to configure this switch as the cluster command switch. Enter N to configure it as a member switch or as a standalone switch.

Note If you enter N to configure the switch as a member switch or as a standalone switch, it appears as a candidate switch in Cluster Builder, and the Step 11 message is not displayed.

Would you like to enable as a cluster command switch? y

11. Assign a name to the cluster, and press Return:

Note The cluster name can be 1 to 31 alphanumeric characters, dashes, or underscores.

Enter cluster name: cls_name

12. Verify that the addresses are correct in the initial configuration displayed:

The following configuration command script was created:

ip subnet-zero
interface VLAN1
ip address ip_address ip_netmask
ip default-gateway ip_address
hostname host_name
enable secret 5 $1$M3pS$cXtAlkyR3/6Cn8/ 
line vty 0 15
password telnet_password
snmp community private rw
snmp community public ro
cluster enable cls_name
!
end
!
Use this configuration? [yes/no]:

13. If the information is correct, enter Y at the prompt, and press Return to use the displayed configuration. When you see the message "Press RETURN to get started," the setup program is complete. You can use your browser and the Cluster Management Suite or use the command-line interface (CLI) to manage the switch.

If the information is not correct, enter N at the prompt, press Return, and begin again at Step 1.

Where to Go Next

After you complete the setup program, the switch can run the created default configuration. If you want to change this configuration or want to perform other management tasks, use one of these tools:

CLI
Cluster Management Suite from your browser

To use the CLI, enter commands at the switch> prompt. Refer to the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Software Configuration Guide or the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Command Reference (online only) for configuration information.

To use the Cluster Management Suite, go to the "Access the Switch from Your Browser" section.

Access the Switch from Your Browser

Downloading the Required Plug-In

A Java browser plug-in is required to access the HTML interface. You can download the plug-in from Cisco Connection Online (CCO). If you have a SmartNet support contract, you can log in to the following URL and download the plug-in:

http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cat3500XL

If you do not have a SmartNet contract, you can download the plug-in from the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cat3500XL

Follow the instructions that accompany the plug-in to install it on your computer.

Supported Operating Platforms and Network Browsers

After you have assigned an IP address to the switch and installed the plug-in, you can access the switch from your browser and use the Cluster Management Suite to view or change configuration settings. If this is a command switch, you also can use the Cluster Management application to configure other switches. To use web-based tools, follow the procedure to set the appropriate browser options.

The web-based tools support the following platforms and network browsers:

Operating System	Minimum Operating System Requirements	Netscape Communicator	Microsoft Internet Explorer
Windows 95	Service Pack 1	4.61 or 4.7	4.01a or 5.0
Windows 98	Second Edition	4.61 or 4.7	4.01a or 5.0
Windows NT	Service Pack 3	4.61 or 4.7	4.01a or 5.0
Solaris 2.5.1 or higher	SUN-recommended patch cluster for the OS and Motif library patch 103461-24	4.61 or 4.7	Not supported

Note Netscape Communicator version 4.60 is NOT supported.

The switch checks the browser version when starting a session to ensure that the browser is supported. If the browser is not supported, the switch displays a warning message.

Note Refer to the release notes for additional requirements for setting up your browser.

Configuring Netscape Communicator (All Versions)

1. From the menu bar, select Edit>Preferences.

2. In the Preferences window, click Advanced.

3. Select the Enable Java, the Enable JavaScript, and the Enable Style Sheets check boxes.

4. From the Advanced drop-down list, select Cache.

5. Under Document in cache is compared to document on network, select Every time.

6. Click OK.

Configuring Internet Explorer (4.01a)

Note For the procedure to configure Internet Explorer 5.0, refer to the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Software Configuration Guide.

1. From the menu bar, select View>Internet Options.

2. In the Internet Options window, click Advanced.

3. Scroll through the list of options to Java VM, select the Java JIT compiler enabled and the Java logging enabled check boxes, and click Apply.

4. Click General. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Settings. The Settings window opens.

5. Select Every visit to the page, and click OK.

6. In the Internet Options window, click Security.

7. In the Zone drop-down list, select Trusted Sites Zone, and click Custom.

8. Click Settings.

9. In the Java>Java permissions section, select Custom. Click the Java Custom Setting, which appears at the bottom of the window.

10. In the Trusted Sites Zone window, click Edit Permissions.

11. If the buttons under Run Unsigned Content are not available, select either Medium or Low security in the Reset Java Permissions list box, and click Reset.

12. Under Run Unsigned Content, select Enable, and click OK.

13. In the Security Settings window, click OK.

14. In the Internet Options window, click Security. Verify that the Zone drop-down list is set to Trusted Sites Zone.

15. In the Trusted Sites Zone section, click Add Sites.

16. In the Trusted Sites Zone window, deselect the Require server verification check box.

17. In the Add this Web site to the Zone field, enter the IP address of the switch.

Note If the you plan to use Cluster Management for switch configuration, you must enter the address of the cluster command switch. You also can enter the addresses of the member switches, but they are not required. If you plan to use Visual Switch Manager (VSM) for switch configuration, you must enter the IP address of each switch that you want to manage. You do not need to delete the address from the Trusted Sites list if the switch later becomes a cluster member. Refer to the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Software Configuration Guide for more information.

18. Click Add, and then click OK.

19. In the Internet Options window, click Apply, and then click OK.

Displaying the Access Page

After the browser is configured, display the Cluster Management Suite access page:

1. Enter the switch IP address in the Location field if you are using Netscape (the Address field if you are using Internet Explorer).

Note You can cut and paste the switch IP address from the window that you use to complete the setup program.

2. Press Return. The universal access page for your switch displays.

Note You are prompted with a message if your browser version is not supported.

3. Click Cluster Management Suite or Visual Switch Manager to display the appropriate Cluster Management application.

For More Information

See the Catalyst 3500 Series XL Hardware Installation Guide for detailed installation instructions for the Catalyst 3500 series XL switch. See the Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Software Configuration Guide for detailed instructions on using the Cluster Management Suite and the CLI to configure and manage switches. See the release notes for recent information about the Catalyst 3500 series XL switches.

Table of Contents

Quick Start GuideCatalyst 3500 Series XL Switches

Quick Start GuideCatalyst 3500 Series XL Switches

Quick Start Guide
Catalyst 3500 Series XL Switches

Quick Start Guide
Catalyst 3500 Series XL Switches