Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2)E (Industrial Ethernet 3000 Switch)

Port-Based VLANs

A VLAN is a switched network that is logically segmented by function, team, or application, without regard to the physical location of the users. For more information about VLANs, see the Chapter17, “Configuring VLANs” Packets received on a port are forwarded only to ports that belong to the same VLAN as the receiving port. Network devices in different VLANs cannot communicate with one another without a Layer 3 device to route traffic between the VLANs.

VLAN partitions provide hard firewalls for traffic in the VLAN, and each VLAN has its own MAC address table. A VLAN comes into existence when a local port is configured to be associated with the VLAN, when the VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) learns of its existence from a neighbor on a trunk, or when a user creates a VLAN.

To configure VLANs, use the vlan vlan-id global configuration command to enter VLAN configuration mode. The VLAN configurations for normal-range VLANs (VLAN IDs 1 to 1005) are saved in the VLAN database. If VTP is version 1 or 2, to configure extended-range VLANs (VLAN IDs 1006 to 4094), you must first set VTP mode to transparent. Extended-range VLANs created in transparent mode are not added to the VLAN database but are saved in the switch running configuration. With VTP version 3, you can create extended-range VLANs in client or server mode. These VLANs are saved in the VLAN database.

Add ports to a VLAN by using the switchport interface configuration commands:

• Identify the interface.
• For a trunk port, set trunk characteristics, and if desired, define the VLANs to which it can belong.
• For an access port, set and define the VLAN to which it belongs.
• For a tunnel port, set and define the VLAN ID for the customer-specific VLAN tag. See Chapter21, “Configuring IEEE 802.1Q and Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling”

Switch Ports

Switch ports are Layer 2-only interfaces associated with a physical port. A switch port can be an access port, a trunk port, or a tunnel port. You can configure a port as an access port or trunk port or let the Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) operate on a per-port basis to set the switchport mode by negotiating with the port on the other end of the link. You must manually configure tunnel ports as part of an asymmetric link connected to an IEEE 802.1Q trunk port. Switch ports are used for managing the physical interface and associated Layer 2 protocols.

Configure switch ports by using the switchport interface configuration commands. Use the switchport command with no keywords to put an interface that is in Layer 3 mode into Layer 2 mode.

Note When you put an interface that is in Layer 3 mode into Layer 2 mode, the previous configuration information related to the affected interface might be lost, and the interface is returned to its default configuration.

For detailed information about configuring access port and trunk port characteristics, see Chapter17, “Configuring VLANs” For more information about tunnel ports, see Chapter 17, “Configuring IEEE 802.1Q and Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling.”

Access Ports

An access port belongs to and carries the traffic of only one VLAN (unless it is configured as a voice VLAN port). Traffic is received and sent in native formats with no VLAN tagging. Traffic arriving on an access port is assumed to belong to the VLAN assigned to the port.

If an access port receives an 802.1Q tagged packet, the packet is dropped, and the source address is not learned.

Two types of access ports are supported:

• Static access ports are manually assigned to a VLAN (or through a RADIUS server for use with IEEE 802.1x. For more information, see the “802.1x Authentication with VLAN Assignment” section.
• VLAN membership of dynamic access ports is learned through incoming packets. By default, a dynamic access port is not a member of any VLAN, and forwarding to and from the port is enabled only when the VLAN membership of the port is discovered. Dynamic access ports on the switch are assigned to a VLAN by a VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS). The VMPS can be a Catalyst 6500 series switch; the IE 3000 switch cannot be a VMPS server.

You can also configure an access port with an attached Cisco IP Phone to use one VLAN for voice traffic and another VLAN for data traffic from a device attached to the phone. For more information about voice VLAN ports, see Chapter19, “Configuring Voice VLAN”

Trunk Ports

A trunk port carries the traffic of multiple VLANs and by default is a member of all VLANs in the VLAN database.

The switch supports only IEEE 802.1Q trunk ports. An IEEE 802.1Q trunk port supports simultaneous tagged and untagged traffic. An IEEE 802.1Q trunk port is assigned a default port VLAN ID (PVID), and all untagged traffic travels on the port default PVID. All untagged traffic and tagged traffic with a NULL VLAN ID are assumed to belong to the port default PVID. A packet with a VLAN ID equal to the outgoing port default PVID is sent untagged. All other traffic is sent with a VLAN tag.

Although by default, a trunk port is a member of every VLAN known to the VTP, you can limit VLAN membership by configuring an allowed list of VLANs for each trunk port. The list of allowed VLANs does not affect any other port but the associated trunk port. By default, all possible VLANs (VLAN ID 1 to 4094) are in the allowed list. A trunk port can become a member of a VLAN only if VTP knows of the VLAN and if the VLAN is in the enabled state. If VTP learns of a new, enabled VLAN and the VLAN is in the allowed list for a trunk port, the trunk port automatically becomes a member of that VLAN and traffic is forwarded to and from the trunk port for that VLAN. If VTP learns of a new, enabled VLAN that is not in the allowed list for a trunk port, the port does not become a member of the VLAN, and no traffic for the VLAN is forwarded to or from the port.

For more information about trunk ports, see Chapter17, “Configuring VLANs”

Tunnel Ports

Tunnel ports are used in IEEE 802.1Q tunneling to segregate the traffic of customers in a service-provider network from other customers who are using the same VLAN number. You configure an asymmetric link from a tunnel port on a service-provider edge switch to an IEEE 802.1Q trunk port on the customer switch. Packets entering the tunnel port on the edge switch, already IEEE 802.1Q-tagged with the customer VLANs, are encapsulated with another layer of an IEEE 802.1Q tag (called the metro tag), containing a VLAN ID unique in the service-provider network, for each customer. The double-tagged packets go through the service-provider network keeping the original customer VLANs separate from those of other customers. At the outbound interface, also a tunnel port, the metro tag is removed, and the original VLAN numbers from the customer network are retrieved.

Note Tunnel ports are supported only on switches running the IP services image.

Tunnel ports cannot be trunk ports or access ports and must belong to a VLAN unique to each customer.

For more information about tunnel ports, see Chapter21, “Configuring IEEE 802.1Q and Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling”

Routed Ports

A routed port is a physical port that acts like a port on a router; it does not have to be connected to a router. A routed port is not associated with a particular VLAN, as is an access port. A routed port behaves like a regular router interface, except that it does not support VLAN subinterfaces. Routed ports can be configured with a Layer 3 routing protocol. A routed port is a Layer 3 interface only and does not support Layer 2 protocols, such as DTP and STP. Routed ports are supported only on switches running the IP base or IP services image.

Configure routed ports by putting the interface into Layer 3 mode with the no switchport interface configuration command. Then assign an IP address to the port, enable routing, and assign routing protocol characteristics by using the ip routing and router protocol global configuration commands.

Note Entering a no switchport interface configuration command shuts down the interface and then re-enables it, which might generate messages on the device to which the interface is connected. When you put an interface that is in Layer 2 mode into Layer 3 mode, the previous configuration information related to the affected interface might be lost.

The number of routed ports that you can configure is not limited by software. However, the interrelationship between this number and the number of other features being configured might impact CPU performance because of hardware limitations. See the “Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces” section for information about what happens when hardware resource limitations are reached.

For more information about IP unicast and multicast routing and routing protocols, see Chapter 41, “Configuring IP Unicast Routing” and the “IP Multicast Routing Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2)E (Industrial Ethernet 3000 Switch)”

Note The IP base image supports static routing and the Routing Information Protocol (RIP). For full Layer 3 routing or for fallback bridging, you must have the IP services image installed.

Switch Virtual Interfaces

A switch virtual interface (SVI) represents a VLAN of switch ports as one interface to the routing or bridging function in the system. Only one SVI can be associated with a VLAN, but you need to configure an SVI for a VLAN only when you wish to route between VLANs, to fallback-bridge nonroutable protocols between VLANs, or to provide IP host connectivity to the switch.

Note SVIs are supported only on switches running the IP services image.

By default, an SVI is created for the default VLAN (VLAN 1) to permit remote switch administration. Additional SVIs must be explicitly configured.

Note You cannot delete interface VLAN 1.

SVIs provide IP host connectivity only to the system; in Layer 3 mode, you can configure routing across SVIs.

Although the switch supports a total or 1005 VLANs (and SVIs), the interrelationship between the number of SVIs and routed ports and the number of other features being configured might impact CPU performance because of hardware limitations. See the “Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces” section for information about what happens when hardware resource limitations are reached.

SVIs are created the first time that you enter the vlan interface configuration command for a VLAN interface. The VLAN corresponds to the VLAN tag associated with data frames on an ISL or IEEE 802.1Q encapsulated trunk or the VLAN ID configured for an access port. Configure a VLAN interface for each VLAN for which you want to route traffic, and assign it an IP address. For more information, see the “Manually Assigning IP Information” section.

Note When you create an SVI, it does not become active until it is associated with a physical port.

SVIs support routing protocols and bridging configurations. For more information about configuring IP routing, see “Configuring IP Unicast Routing,” Chapter 50, “Configuring Fallback Bridging” and the “IP Multicast Routing Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2)E (Industrial Ethernet 3000 Switch)”

Note The IP base image supports static routing and RIP; for more advanced routing or for fallback bridging, you must have the IP services image installed.

SVI Autostate Exclude

The line state of an SVI with multiple ports on a VLAN is in the up state when it meets these conditions:

• The VLAN exists and is active in the VLAN database on the switch.
• The VLAN interface exists and is not administratively down.
• At least one Layer 2 (access or trunk) port exists, has a link in the up state on this VLAN, and is in the spanning-tree forwarding state on the VLAN.

Note The protocol link state for VLAN interfaces come up when the first switchport belonging to the corresponding VLAN link comes up and is in STP forwarding state.

The default action, when a VLAN has multiple ports, is that the SVI goes down when all ports in the VLAN go down. You can use the SVI autostate exclude feature to configure a port so that it is not included in the SVI line-state up-an- down calculation. For example, if the only active port on the VLAN is a monitoring port, you might configure autostate exclude on that port so that the VLAN goes down when all other ports go down. When enabled on a port, autostate exclude applies to all VLANs that are enabled on that port.

The VLAN interface is brought up when one Layer 2 port in the VLAN has had time to converge (transition from STP listening-learning state to forwarding state). This prevents features such as routing protocols from using the VLAN interface as if it were fully operational and minimizes other problems, such as routing black holes. For information about configuring autostate exclude, see the “Configuring SVI Autostate Exclude” section.

EtherChannel Port Groups

EtherChannel port groups treat multiple switch ports as one switch port. These port groups act as a single logical port for high-bandwidth connections between switches or between switches and servers. An EtherChannel balances the traffic load across the links in the channel. If a link within the EtherChannel fails, traffic previously carried over the failed link changes to the remaining links. You can group multiple trunk ports into one logical trunk port, group multiple access ports into one logical access port, group multiple tunnel ports into one logical tunnel port, or group multiple routed ports into one logical routed port.

Most protocols operate over either single ports or aggregated switch ports and do not recognize the physical ports within the port group. Exceptions are the DTP, the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), and the Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), which operate only on physical ports.

When you configure an EtherChannel, you create a port-channel logical interface and assign an interface to the EtherChannel. Use the channel-group interface configuration command to dynamically create the port-channel logical interface. This command binds the physical and logical ports together.

For Layer 3 interfaces, you manually create the logical interface by using the interface port-channel global configuration command. Then you manually assign an interface to the EtherChannel by using the channel-group interface configuration command.

For more information, see Chapter40, “Configuring EtherChannels and Link-State Tracking”

Dual-Purpose Uplink Ports

Some switches support dual-purpose uplink ports. Each uplink port is considered as a single interface with dual front ends—an RJ-45 connector and a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module connector. The dual front ends are not redundant interfaces, and the switch activates only one connector of the pair.

By default, the switch dynamically selects the interface type that first links up. However, you can use the media-type interface configuration command to manually select the RJ-45 connector or the SFP module connector. For information about configuring speed and duplex settings for a dual-purpose uplink, see the “Setting the Interface Speed and Duplex Parameters” section.

Each uplink port has two LEDs: one shows the status of the RJ-45 port, and one shows the status of the SFP module port. The port LED is on for whichever connector is active. For more information about the LEDs, see the hardware installation guide.

Connecting Interfaces

Devices within a single VLAN can communicate directly through any switch. Ports in different VLANs cannot exchange data without going through a routing device.

With a standard Layer 2 switch, ports in different VLANs have to exchange information through a router. By using the switch with routing enabled, when you configure both VLAN 20 and VLAN 30 with an SVI to which an IP address is assigned, packets can be sent from Host A to Host B directly through the switch with no need for an external router (Figure 15-1).

Figure 15-1 Connecting VLANs with a Layer 3 Switch

With the IP services image, the switch supports two methods of forwarding traffic between interfaces: routing and fallback bridging. With the IP base image, only basic routing (static routing and RIP) is supported. Whenever possible, to maintain high performance, forwarding is done by the switch hardware. However, only IP Version 4 packets with Ethernet II encapsulation can be routed in hardware. Non-IP traffic and traffic with other encapsulation methods can be fallback-bridged by hardware.

• The routing function can be enabled on all SVIs and routed ports. The switch routes only IP traffic. When IP routing protocol parameters and address configuration are added to an SVI or routed port, any IP traffic received from these ports is routed.For more information, see “Configuring IP Unicast Routing,” Chapter 51, “Configuring MSDP” and the “IP Multicast Routing Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(2)E (Industrial Ethernet 3000 Switch)”
• Fallback bridging forwards traffic that the switch does not route or traffic belonging to a nonroutable protocol, such as DECnet. Fallback bridging connects multiple VLANs into one bridge domain by bridging between two or more SVIs or routed ports. When configuring fallback bridging, you assign SVIs or routed ports to bridge groups with each SVI or routed port assigned to only one bridge group. All interfaces in the same group belong to the same bridge domain. For more information, see Chapter50, “Configuring Fallback Bridging”

Procedures for Configuring Interfaces

These general instructions apply to all interface configuration processes.

Step 1 Enter the configure terminal command at the privileged EXEC prompt:

Step 2 Enter the interface global configuration command.

Identify the interface type and the interface number, Gigabit Ethernet port 1 in this example:

Note Entering a space between the interface type and interface number is optional

Step 3 Follow each interface command with the configuration commands that the interface requires. The commands that you enter define the protocols and applications that will run on the interface. The commands are collected and applied to the interface when you enter another interface command or enter end to return to privileged EXEC mode.

You can also configure a range of interfaces by using the interface range or interface range macro global configuration commands. Interfaces configured in a range must be the same type and must be configured with the same feature options.

Step 4 After you configure an interface, verify its status by using the show privileged EXEC commands listed in the “Monitoring and Maintaining the Interfaces” section.

Enter the show interfaces privileged EXEC command to see a list of all interfaces on or configured for the switch. A report is provided for each interface that the device supports or for the specified interface.

Configuring a Range of Interfaces

You can use the interface range global configuration command to configure multiple interfaces with the same configuration parameters. When you enter the interface-range configuration mode, all command parameters that you enter are attributed to all interfaces within that range until you exit this mode.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure a range of interfaces with the same parameters:

When using the interface range global configuration command, note these guidelines:

• Valid entries for port-range, depending on port types on the switch:

– vlan vlan-ID - vlan-ID , where the VLAN ID is 1 to 4094

– , where the module is always 0

– fastethernet module/{first port } - { last port }, where the module is always 0

– gigabitethernet module/{ first port } - { last port }, where the module is always 0

– port-channel port-channel-number - port-channel-number , where the port-channel-number is 1 to 6

Note When you use the interface range command with port channels, the first and last port-channel number must be active port channels.

• You must add a space between the first interface number and the hyphen when using the interface range command.

For example, interface range gigabitethernet1/1 - 2 is a valid range; interface range gigabit ethernet 1/1-2 is not.

• The interface range command only works with VLAN interfaces that have been configured with the interface vlan command. The show running-config privileged EXEC command displays the configured VLAN interfaces. VLAN interfaces not displayed by the show running-config command cannot be used with the interface range command.
• All interfaces defined in a range must be the same type (all Fast Ethernet ports, all Gigabit Ethernet ports, all EtherChannel ports, or all VLANs), but you can enter multiple ranges in a command.

This example shows how to use the interface range global configuration command to set the speed on ports 1 to 2 to 100 Mb/s:

This example shows how to use a comma to add different interface type strings to the range to enable Fast Ethernet ports 1 to 3 and Gigabit Ethernet ports 1 and 2 to receive flow-control pause frames:

If you enter multiple configuration commands while you are in interface-range mode, each command is executed as it is entered. The commands are not batched and executed after you exit interface-range mode. If you exit interface-range configuration mode while the commands are being executed, some commands might not be executed on all interfaces in the range. Wait until the command prompt reappears before exiting interface-range configuration mode.

Configuring and Using Interface Range Macros

You can create an interface range macro to automatically select a range of interfaces for configuration. Before you can use the macro keyword in the interface range macro global configuration command string, you must use the define interface-range global configuration command to define the macro.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to define an interface range macro:

Use the no define interface-range macro_name global configuration command to delete a macro.

When using the define interface-range global configuration command, note these guidelines:

• Valid entries for interface-range, depending on port types on the switch:

– vlan vlan-ID - vlan-ID , where the VLAN ID is 1 to 4094

– fastethernet module/{first port } - { last port }, where the module is always 0

– gigabitethernet module/{ first port } - { last port }, where the module is always 0

– port-channel port-channel-number - port-channel-number , where the port-channel-number is 1 to 6

Note When you use the interface range command with port channels, the first and last port-channel number must be active port channels.

• You must add a space between the first interface number and the hyphen when entering an interface-rang .

For example, gigabitethernet1/1 - 2 is a valid range; gigabit ethernet 1/1-2 is not.

• The VLAN interfaces must have been configured with the interface vlan command. The show running-config privileged EXEC command displays the configured VLAN interfaces. VLAN interfaces not displayed by the show running-config command cannot be used as interface-ranges .
• All interfaces defined as in a range must be the same type (all Fast Ethernet ports, all Gigabit Ethernet ports, all EtherChannel ports, or all VLANs), but you can combine multiple interface types in a macro.

This example shows how to define an interface-range named enet_list to include ports 1 and 2 and to verify the macro configuration:

This example shows how to create a multiple-interface macro named macro1 :

This example shows how to enter interface-range configuration mode for the interface-range macro enet_list :

This example shows how to delete the interface-range macro enet_list and to verify that it was deleted.

Default Ethernet Interface Configuration

Table 15-2 shows the Ethernet interface default configuration. For more details on the VLAN parameters listed in the table, see Chapter17, “Configuring VLANs” For details on controlling traffic to the port, see Chapter29, “Configuring Port-Based Traffic Control”

Note To configure Layer 2 parameters, if the interface is in Layer 3 mode, you must enter the switchport interface configuration command without any parameters to put the interface into Layer 2 mode. This shuts down the interface and then re-enables it, which might generate messages on the device to which the interface is connected. When you put an interface that is in Layer 3 mode into Layer 2 mode, the previous configuration information related to the affected interface might be lost, and the interface is returned to its default configuration.

Setting the Type of a Dual-Purpose Uplink Port

Some switches support dual-purpose uplink ports. By default, the switch dynamically selects the interface type that first links up. However, you can use the media-type interface configuration command to manually select the RJ-45 connector or the SFP module connector. For more information, see the “Dual-Purpose Uplink Ports” section.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to select which dual-purpose uplink to activate so that you can set the speed and duplex. This procedure is optional.

To return to the default setting, use the media-type auto interface or the no media-type interface configuration commands.

e switch configures both types to autonegotiate speed and duplex (the default). If you configure auto-select , you cannot configure the speed and duplex interface configuration commands.

When the switch powers on or when you enable a dual-purpose uplink port through the shutdown and the no shutdown interface configuration commands, the switch gives preference to the SFP module interface. In all other situations, the switch selects the active link based on which type first links up.

The switch operates with 100BASE- x (where - x is -BX, -FX-FE, -LX) SFP modules as follows:

• When the 100BASE - x SFP module is inserted into the module slot and there is no link on the RJ-45 side, the switch disables the RJ-45 interface and selects the SFP module interface. This is the behavior even if there is no cable connected and if there is no link on the SFP module side.
• When the 100BASE- x SFP module is inserted and there is a link on the RJ-45 side, the switch continues with that link. If the link goes down, the switch disables the RJ-45 side and selects the SFP module interface.
• When the 100BASE- x SFP module is removed, the switch again dynamically selects the type ( auto-select ) and re-enables the RJ-45 side.

The switch does not have this behavior with 100BASE-FX-GE SFP modules.

Configuring Interface Speed and Duplex Mode

Depending on the supported port types, Ethernet interfaces on the switch operate at 10, 100, or 1000 Mb/s, or 10,000 Mb/s and in either full- or half-duplex mode. In full-duplex mode, two stations can send and receive traffic at the same time. Normally, 10-Mb/s ports operate in half-duplex mode, which means that stations can either receive or send traffic.

Switch models can include combinations of Fast Ethernet (10/100-Mb/s) ports, Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000-Mb/s) ports, 10-Gigabit module ports, and small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module slots supporting SFP modules.

These sections describe how to configure the interface speed and duplex mode:

• Speed and Duplex Configuration Guidelines
• Setting the Interface Speed and Duplex Parameters

Speed and Duplex Configuration Guidelines

When configuring an interface speed and duplex mode, note these guidelines:

• Fast Ethernet (10/100-Mb/s) ports support all speed and duplex options.
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000-Mb/s) ports support all speed options and all duplex options (auto, half, and full). However, Gigabit Ethernet ports operating at 1000 Mb/s do not support half-duplex mode.
• For SFP module ports, the speed and duplex CLI options change depending on the SFP module type:

– The 1000BASE- x (where - x is -BX, -CWDM, -LX, -SX, and -ZX) SFP module ports support the nonegotiate keyword in the speed interface configuration command. Duplex options are not supported.

– The 1000BASE-T SFP module ports support the same speed and duplex options as the 10/100/1000-Mb/s ports.

– The 100BASE- x (where - x is -BX, -CWDM, -LX, -SX, and -ZX) SFP module ports support only 100 Mb/s. These modules support full- and half- duplex options but do not support autonegotiation.

For information about which SFP modules are supported on your switch, see the product release notes.

• If both ends of the line support autonegotiation, we highly recommend the default setting of auto negotiation.
• If one interface supports autonegotiation and the other end does not, configure duplex and speed on both interfaces; do not use the auto setting on the supported side.
• When STP is enabled and a port is reconfigured, the switch can take up to 30 seconds to check for loops. The port LED is amber while STP reconfigures.

Setting the Interface Speed and Duplex Parameters

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to set the speed and duplex mode for a physical interface:

Use the no speed and no duplex interface configuration commands to return the interface to the default speed and duplex settings (autonegotiate). To return all interface settings to the defaults, use the default interface interface-id interface configuration command.

This example shows how to set the interface speed to 10 Mb/s and the duplex mode to half on a 10/100 Mb/s port:

This example shows how to set the interface speed to 100 Mb/s on a 10/100/1000 Mb/s port:

Configuring IEEE 802.3x Flow Control

Flow control enables connected Ethernet ports to control traffic rates during congestion by allowing congested nodes to pause link operation at the other end. If one port experiences congestion and cannot receive any more traffic, it notifies the other port by sending a pause frame to stop sending until the condition clears. Upon receipt of a pause frame, the sending device stops sending any data packets, which prevents any loss of data packets during the congestion period.

Note Ports on the switch can receive, but not send, pause frames.

You use the flowcontrol interface configuration command to set the interface’s ability to receive pause frames to on , off , or desired . The default state is off .

When set to desired , an interface can operate with an attached device that is required to send flow-control packets or with an attached device that is not required to but can send flow-control packets.

These rules apply to flow control settings on the device:

• receive on (or desired ): The port cannot send pause frames but can operate with an attached device that is required to or can send pause frames; the port can receive pause frames.
• receive off : Flow control does not operate in either direction. In case of congestion, no indication is given to the link partner, and no pause frames are sent or received by either device.

Note For details on the command settings and the resulting flow control resolution on local and remote ports, see the flowcontrol interface configuration command in the command reference for this release.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure flow control on an interface:

To disable flow control, use the flowcontrol receive off interface configuration command.

This example shows how to turn on flow control on a port:

Configuring Auto-MDIX on an Interface

When automatic medium-dependent interface crossover (auto-MDIX) is enabled on an interface, the interface automatically detects the required cable connection type (straight through or crossover) and configures the connection appropriately. When connecting switches without the auto-MDIX feature, you must use straight-through cables to connect to devices such as servers, workstations, or routers and crossover cables to connect to other switches or repeaters. With auto-MDIX enabled, you can use either type of cable to connect to other devices, and the interface automatically corrects for any incorrect cabling. For more information about cabling requirements, see the hardware installation guide.

Auto-MDIX is enabled by default. When you enable auto-MDIX, you must also set the interface speed and duplex to auto so that the feature operates correctly.

Auto-MDIX is supported on all 10/100 and 10/100/1000-Mb/s interfaces. It is not supported on 1000BASE-SX or -LX SFP module interfaces.

Table 15-3 shows the link states that result from auto-MDIX settings and correct and incorrect cabling.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure auto-MDIX on an interface:

To disable auto-MDIX, use the no mdix auto interface configuration command.

This example shows how to enable auto-MDIX on a port:

Adding a Description for an Interface

You can add a description about an interface to help you remember its function. The description appears in the output of these privileged EXEC commands: show configuration , show running-config , and show interfaces .

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to add a description for an interface:

Use the no description interface configuration command to delete the description.

This example shows how to add a description on a port and how to verify the description:

Configuring SVI Autostate Exclude

Configuring SVI autostate exclude on an access or trunk port in an SVI excludes that port in the calculation of the status of the SVI (up or down line state) even if it belongs to the same VLAN. When the excluded port is in the up state, and all other ports in the VLAN are in the down state, the SVI state is changed to down.

At least one port in the VLAN should be up and not excluded to keep the SVI line state up. You can use this command to exclude the monitoring port status when determining the status of the SVI.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to exclude a port from SVI state-change calculations:

This example shows how to configure an access or trunk port in an SVI to be excluded from the status calculation:

Monitoring Interface Status

Commands entered at the privileged EXEC prompt display information about the interface, including the versions of the software and the hardware, the configuration, and statistics about the interfaces. Table 15-4 lists some of these interface monitoring commands. (You can display the full list of show commands by using the show ? command at the privileged EXEC prompt.) These commands are fully described in the Cisco IOS Interface Command Reference, Release 12.2 from the Cisco.com page under Documentation > Cisco IOS Software > 12.2 Mainline > Command References .

Clearing and Resetting Interfaces and Counters

Table 15-5 lists the privileged EXEC mode clear commands that you can use to clear counters and reset interfaces.

To clear the interface counters shown by the show interfaces privileged EXEC command, use the clear counters privileged EXEC command. The clear counters command clears all current interface counters from the interface unless you specify optional arguments that clear only a specific interface type from a specific interface number.

Note The clear counters privileged EXEC command does not clear counters retrieved by using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), but only those seen with the show interface privileged EXEC command.

Shutting Down and Restarting the Interface

Shutting down an interface disables all functions on the specified interface and marks the interface as unavailable on all monitoring command displays. This information is communicated to other network servers through all dynamic routing protocols. The interface is not mentioned in any routing updates.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to shut down an interface:

Use the no shutdown interface configuration command to restart the interface.

To verify that an interface is disabled, enter the show interfaces privileged EXEC command. A disabled interface is shown as administratively down in the display.