CCNA TechLab: Switch Configuration Basics

In this CCNA TechLab we will cover several basic switch configuration tasks on a Cisco Catalyst 2950 switch. This includes configuring passwords, password encryption, assigning a host name and IP address configuration to the switch, and saving the configuration. This lab comes in three different versions, the one you are looguide at, a printer-friendly version with the commands, and a printer-friendly version without the commands that can be used as an assessment. The printer-friendly versions are for registered users only. Also note the commands in this lab often include the switch command prompt and never use the abbreviated form.

Lab equipment requirements

To perform this lab you need 1 Cisco Catalyst 2950 Switch and at least 1 PC. However, most of the commands will work on other switch models as well. We are going to use two different PCs but they can be one and the same physical PC. You will need to connect them as depicted in the following the network diagram:

Connect the console cable to the to the console port on the switch and the other end to the serial port of PC1. Connect PC2 to first FastEthernet port (i.e. FA0/1) using an UTP/STP cable. PC1 must have a terminal client (i.e. Windows HyperTerminal) installed, and PC2 must be able to setup a telnet connection. For more information on how to setup the terminal client, please read the Hardware TechLab.

Configuring the Switch

Before you start with the configuration of the switch, clear the switch configuration by using the erase startup-config command or the erase nvram: command in Privileged EXEC mode, and then use the reload command to reboot the switch. After the switch rebooted, the following message will be displayed:

% Please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]

Type no and press ENTER.

Press ENTER when the message Press RETURN to get started appears. Type enable at the Switch> command prompt to enter Privileged Exec mode, notice the prompt chances to Switch#.

STEP 1. Change the switch’s host name to TEswitch1

Enter configuration mode using the following command:
Switch#configure terminal

Change the host name of the switch to “TEswitch1″ using the following command:
Switch(config)#hostname TEswitch1
Notice how the prompt changes to TEswitch1(config)# to reflect the hostname.

STEP 2. Configure passwords

First set the enable secret to cisco123 using the following command:
TEswitch1(config)#enable secret cisco123

Next, set the password for all telnet lines to ‘cisco456′ using the following commands:
TEswitch1(config)#line vty 0 15
TEswitch1(config-line)#password cisco456
TEswitch1(config-line)#login

Although the enable secret is encrypted, other passwords stored in the switch’s configuration are still in clear text. You can see this by returning to Privileged EXEC mode and running the show running-config:
TEswitch1(config)#end (or press CTRL-Z)
TEswitch1#show running-config

Notice the enable secret is replaced by a hashed version, for example:
enable secret 5 $1$iUjJ$cDZ03KKGh7mHfX2RSbDq

When you log on with the enable secret, the switch calculates the hash value again and compares it with the hash value stored in the configuration. If they match, you typed in the correct secret and will enter Privileged EXEC mode. You can configure a password by using the enable password command instead, but in contrary to the enable secret, the enable password is not encrypted by default. If an enable password and an enable secret are configured, you will need to enter the enable secret to logon. In other words, there