Introduction

This is the second book in the Cisco Field Manual series, focusing on the Cisco Catalyst switch product lines. Of the many sources of information and documentation about Cisco Catalyst switches, very few provide a quick and portable solution for networking professionals.

Cisco Field Manual: Catalyst Switch Configuration is designed to provide a quick and easy reference guide for all the features that can be configured on Cisco Catalyst switches. In essence, the subject matter from an entire bookshelf of Catalyst software documentation, along with other networking reference material, has been "squashed" into one handy volume that you can take with you. This is also the only book available that presents switch feature configuration with all the different variations of Catalyst operating system commands (COS and IOS).

The idea for this book began as a follow-on to our router configuration book, with the twist that the different Catalyst operating systems be shown together for comparison. In larger switched network environments, it is common to see many different Catalyst platforms in useeach might have a different feature set and different operating system commands. We have found it difficult to remember the configuration steps and commands when moving from one Catalyst platform to another. Perhaps you have too.

As with router configuration, the commands for switch configuration went into a notebook of handwritten notes. This notebook began to travel with me into the field as a network consultant and engineer. When you're on the job and someone requires you to configure a feature that you're not too familiar with, it's nice to have your handy reference notebook in your bag! Hopefully, this book will be that handy reference for you as well.

NOTE

This book is based on the most current Cisco Catalyst software releases at press time. COS-based switches are presented according to Release 7.2, and IOS-based switches according to the 12.2 major release. If you are using an earlier version of either software, you may find that the configuration commands differ slightly.