The Visual Switch Manager (VSM) window contains administrative information about the switch and a switch graphic that shows the current switch status. If the switch is configured in a cluster, the administrative information includes information about the cluster. Because the Visual Switch Manager window is displayed when you access the switch from your browser, it is frequently called the switch home page.
With the VSM window, you can:
Note: To ensure access to all software features, make sure you are using the correct browser version for this release. For more information, refer to the Release Notes for the Catalyst 2900 Series XL and Catalyst 3500 Series XL, Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)XU.
The switch image on the VSM window shows the LED colors at the last poll interval. Polling occurs every 30 seconds, and the image is updated in real time. You can change the polling interval by selecting Cluster > User Settings.
Click the MODE button on the switch image to display the port status, speed settings, duplex mode, and line power (on Catalyst 3524-PWR XL switches only). Each time you click the MODE button, it highlights these settings in sequence: STAT, SPD, FDUP, LINE PWR. The LED colors show the port status, speed, duplex mode, and line power currently in effect on the switch. You can also see the Cisco Redundant Power System (RPS) LED, which indicates the presence of an RPS. On modular switches, you can see expansion module LEDs. Select Help > Legend to learn the meanings of the colors.
From the VSM window, you can monitor switch bandwidth utilization by selecting Bandwidth Graph from a switch pop-up menu. You can monitor link utilization by selecting Link Graph from a port pop-up menu. (See Using Pop-up Menus for details.)
To select a port to check or change its settings, click on it in the switch graphic. To select multiple ports, hold down the Ctrl key while you click on each port that you want to select. To deselect a port, click anywhere on the switch chassis.
From the VSM window, you can display the pop-up menu for the switch or for one or multiple ports on the switch. To display a pop-up menu for the switch, right-click the graphic anywhere on the switch chassis (do not position the mouse cursor on a port).
To display a pop-up menu for a port, right-click on the port graphic. To display the pop-up menu for several ports, hold down the Ctrl key while you select the ports; then right-click on any of the selected ports to display the menu.
Pop-up menu and menu options that are followed by an ellipsis display a dialog box in which to make changes.
Use the menu bar at the top of the VSM window to check or change the switch configuration. The menu bar organizes switch-level options in the System and Device menus, port-level options on the Port, VLAN, and Security menus, and relevant documentation in the Help menu. If any ports are selected on the window, only the port-level menus are active; inactive menus are grayed out. If the switch is not configured in a cluster, cluster options are also grayed out.
The tool bar contains icons for many options listed on the menu bar. To determine the function of an icon, move the mouse over the icon and read the tool tip that is displayed.
Items on the VSM menu bar that are followed by an ellipsis (...) display a configuration window where you can check or change configuration settings. Some windows are organized into tabs, each of which contains related groups off configuration parameters. In many cases, a special dialog box is displayed when you want to change settings in a window. When you close the dialog box, your changes are put in effect and the new settings are shown in the window.
Many windows contain a device list, which is centered at the top of the window. When a window contains a device list, the information displayed on the window and any changes that you make on the window apply to the switch selected in the device list. If All Switches is selected in the device list, the displayed information and your changes apply to all cluster switches. If the command switch is selected, any changes you make using Cluster menu options are propagated to member switches.
Buttons on Visual Switch Manager windows and dialogs box have the following effect:
| Button | Effect |
| Apply | Records changes that you entered in a modification dialog box and closes the dialog box. |
| OK | Records changes that you entered in an entire window and closes the window. If you changed settings anywhere on the window and did not click Apply, the OK button puts your changes in effect before closing the window. |
| Modify | Displays a modification dialog box for changing parameters on multiple switches or ports. |
| Refresh | Restores the settings that are currently in effect on the switch. Use Refresh before you click Apply or OK to remove unwanted entries. |
| Cancel | Clears any entries in a window or dialog box that are not
recorded. Note: The Cancel button does not delete entries that you already recorded using Apply button or the OK button. |
| Help | Displays the help file that is specific to the window. |
Whenever you make changes to VSM configuration windows, your changes take effect when you click the Apply or OK button. However, if you want your changes to be permanent (remain in effect after the switch is powered off and powered on again), you must save them to nonvolatile memory. To save your changes to nonvolatile memory, select System > Save Config.