Port Configuration

With the Port Configuration page, you can:

Disabling or Enabling a Port

All ports are enabled by default.

To administratively disable a port:

  1. From the Status drop-down list, select Disable.
    The Actual Port Settings section displays the actual status of the port. An enabled port could have an actual status of DOWN if no device is connected to it.
  2. Click OK.
    A "linkdown" trap is sent to the management station if you configured an SNMP manager.
  3. If you accessed this page through Cluster Manager, click Save Config to save the configuration change to nonvolatile memory.

To reenable a port, select Enable from the drop-down list, and click OK.

Changing the Duplex and Speed Settings

Fast Ethernet ports can automatically match the duplex capability and the transmission speed of an attached device. Gigabit Ethernet ports can automatically match the duplex capability of an attached device. ATM ports do not autonegotiate duplex or speed settings.

Note: Changing the port configuration can cause the Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) to check for a new loop. While STP reconfigures, the port LED is amber for about 30 seconds.

To change the duplex and transmission speed settings:

  1. From the Duplex drop-down list, select Full, Half, or Auto.
    Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and GigaStack GBIC ports are set to Auto by default. ATM ports are set to Full.
    Note: To connect to a remote Fast Ethernet device that does not autonegotiate, you should explicitly set the duplex on the local device to a value other than Auto. Speed negotiation will work even if the other device does not autonegotiate. To connect to a remote Gigabit Ethernet device that does not autonegotiate, you should disable autonegotiation on the local device, and set the duplex and flow control parameters to be compatible with the remote device. ATM ports are always set to full duplex and do not autonegotiate.
    Note: Point-to-point GigaStack GBIC ports connections operate in full-duplex mode. GigaStack GBIC stack connections operate in half-duplex mode.
  2. From the Speed drop-down list, select 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or Auto.
    By default, Fast Ethernet ports are set to Auto. For Gigabit Ethernet ports, the default is 1000 Mbps and not configurable. For ATM ports, the default is 155 Mbps and not configurable.
  3. Click OK.
    Note: While you can configure settings for mixed multiple ports, some settings may not apply to all ports. For example, you can select half duplex from the drop-down list for a mixture of Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and ATM ports, but the application applies the setting only to Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet ports.
  4. If you accessed this page from Cluster Manager, click Save Config to save the configuration change to nonvolatile memory.

Enabling or Disabling the Port Fast Feature

The Port Fast feature immediately brings a port from the blocking state into the forwarding state by eliminating the forwarding delay (the amount of time a port waits before changing from its Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) learning and listening states to the forwarding state.

To enable the Port Fast feature:

  1. From the Port Fast drop-down list, select Enable (if the port is connected to an end station).
    This feature is disabled by default.
    Note: The Port Fast feature does not apply to ATM ports.
  2. Click OK.
  3. If you accessed this page from Cluster Manager, click Save Config to save the configuration change to nonvolatile memory.

To disable the Port Fast feature, select Disable from the drop-down list, and click OK.

Displaying the Settings for a Single Port

If you select a single port, the Port Configuration page automatically displays the actual port settings in the Actual Port settings section.

Note: If you select multiple ports, the Actual Ports Settings section does not appear on the Port Configuration page.

Displaying VLAN Information for a Single Port

If you select a single port, the Port Configuration page automatically displays the VLAN mode (static, dynamic, trunk, and so forth) and the VLANs to which the port belongs.

Note: If you select multiple ports, the VLAN Information section does not appear on the Port Configuration page.