Dell PowerConnect 54 Series User manual

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Dell™ PowerConnect™
54xx Systems
User Guide

Notes, Notices, and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2007 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, Dell OpenManage, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, PowerConnect,
PowerApp, PowerVault, Axim, DellNet, and Latitude are trademarks of Dell Inc. Microsoft and Windows are either trademarks or registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products.
Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
September 2007 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PowerConnect 54xx Series Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
General Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
MAC Address Supported Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Layer 2 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
VLAN Supported Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Spanning Tree Protocol Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Link Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Layer 3 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Quality of Service Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Device Management Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Security Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Locked Port Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Additional CLI Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2 Hardware Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Device Port Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
PowerConnect 54xx Series Systems Front Panel Port Description . . . . 23
PowerConnect Back Panel Port Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Device Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Physical Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
LED Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Port LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
System LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Hardware Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Reset Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Ventilation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4Contents
3 Installing the PowerConnect Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Installation Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Site Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Package Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Unpacking the Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Mounting the Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Mounting the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Installing the Device without a Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Connecting the Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Connecting a Device to a Terminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Connecting a Device to a Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Port Connections, Cables, and Pinout Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
RJ-45 Connections for 10/100/1000BaseT Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Port Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Auto-Negotiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
MDI/MDIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Flow Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Back Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Switching Port Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4 Starting and Configuring the Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Configure the Terminal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Booting the Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Retrieving an IP Address From a DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Receiving an IP Address From a BOOTP Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Security Management and Password Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Contents 5
Configuring Security Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring an Initial Terminal Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring an Initial Telnet Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring an Initial SSH Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Configuring an Initial HTTP Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Configuring an Initial HTTPS Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Startup Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Startup Menu Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Software Download. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Erase FLASH File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Erasing the Device Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Password Recovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Software Download Through TFTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5 Using Dell OpenManage Switch Administrator . . . . . . . . . 55
Understanding the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Device Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Using the Switch Administrator Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Information Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Device Management Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Starting the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Accessing the Device Through the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Console Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Telnet Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Using the CLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Command Mode Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
User EXEC Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Privileged EXEC Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Global Configuration Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Interface Configuration Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
CLI Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6 Configuring System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Defining General Device Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Viewing Device Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Defining System Time Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

6Contents
Viewing System Health Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Viewing the Versions Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Resetting the Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Configuring SNTP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Defining SNTP Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Defining SNTP Authentication Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Defining SNTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Defining SNTP Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Managing Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Defining Global Log Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Displaying RAM Log Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Displaying the Log File Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Viewing the Device Login History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Configuring the Remote Log Server Settings Page. . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Defining Device IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Defining Default Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Defining IP Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Defining DHCP IP Interface Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Configuring Domain Name Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Defining Default Domains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Mapping Domain Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Configuring ARP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Running Cable Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Viewing Copper Cable Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Viewing Optical Transceiver Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Managing Device Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Defining Access Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Adding an Access Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Defining Authentication Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Assigning Authentication Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Managing Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Viewing Active Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Defining the Local User Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Defining Line Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Defining Enable Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Defining TACACS+ Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Configuring RADIUS Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Contents 7
Configuring LLDP and LLDP-MED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Defining LLDP Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Configuring LLDP Using CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Defining LLDP Port Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Defining LLDP MED Network Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Defining LLDP MED Port Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Viewing the LLDP Neighbors Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Defining SNMP Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Defining SNMP Global Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Enabling SNMP Notifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Enabling Authentication Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Enabling SNMP Notifications Using CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Defining SNMP View Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Adding a View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Defining SNMP Views Using CLI Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Defining SNMP Access Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Defining SNMP Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Displaying the Access Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Removing SNMP Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Defining SNMP Access Control Using CLI Commands. . . . . . . . . . 181
Assigning SNMP User Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Adding Users to a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Displaying the User Security Model Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Deleting an User Security Model Table Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Defining Communities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Defining Notification Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Adding SNMP Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Displaying the Filter Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Removing a Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Defining SNMP Notification Recipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Adding a new Trap Recipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Displaying Notification Recipients Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Deleting Notification Recipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Managing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
File Management Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Downloading Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Uploading Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Copying Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Managing Device Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

8Contents
Defining Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Configuring General Device Tuning Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Optimizing iSCSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Configuring iSCSI Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Defining iSCSI Global Parameters Using CLI Commands . . . . . . . . 208
Managing iSCSI Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Defining iSCSI Targets Using CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Monitoring iSCSI Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Defining iSCSI Sessions Using CLI Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
7 Configuring Device Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Configuring Network Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Configuring Advanced Port Based Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Authenticating Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Configuring Port Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
ACL Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Defining MAC Based Access Control Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Defining ACL Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Configuring DHCP Snooping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Defining DHCP Snooping on VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Defining Trusted Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Adding Interfaces to the DHCP Snooping Database . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Configuring Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Defining Port Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Configuring Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Enabling Storm Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Defining Port Mirroring Sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Configuring Address Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Viewing Dynamic Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Configuring GARP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Configuring the Spanning Tree Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Defining STP Port Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Defining STP LAG Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Configuring Rapid Spanning Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Contents 9
Configuring Multiple Spanning Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Defining MSTP Interface Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Configuring VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Defining VLAN Ports Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Defining VLAN LAG Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Defining VLAN Protocol Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Adding Protocol Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Configuring GVRP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Configuring Voice VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Defining Voice VLAN Port Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Defining OUIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Aggregating Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Defining LAG Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Multicast Forwarding Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Adding Bridge Multicast Address Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Assigning Multicast Forward All Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
IGMP Snooping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
8 Viewing Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Viewing Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Viewing Utilization Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Viewing Counter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Viewing Interface Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Viewing Etherlike Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Viewing GVRP Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Viewing EAP Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Viewing RMON Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Viewing RMON Statistics Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Viewing RMON History Control Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Viewing the RMON History Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Defining Device RMON Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Viewing the RMON Events Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Defining RMON Device Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

10 Contents
Viewing Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Viewing Port Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Viewing LAG Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Viewing the CPU Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Viewing CPU Utilization Using CLI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
9 Configuring Quality of Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Defining CoS Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Defining QoS Interface Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Defining Bandwidth Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Defining Queue Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Mapping CoS Values to Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Mapping DSCP Values to Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
10 Device Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Port and Cable Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Port Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Physical Device Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Device Memory Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Feature Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Quality of Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Layer 2 Multicast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Device Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Additional Switching Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Device Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
System Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Introduction 11
1
Introduction
NOTICE: Before proceeding, read the release notes for this product. The release notes can be downloaded
from support.dell.com.
This User Guide contains the information needed for installing, configuring and maintaining the
PowerConnect device.
PowerConnect 54xx Series Systems
The PowerConnect 54xx series systems have two versions: 5424 has 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and
5448 has 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports. There are also four SFP fiber ports that are designated as combo
port alternatives to the last four Ethernet ports. The combo ports are single ports with two physical
connections. When one is connected the other is disabled.
The following figures illustrate the PowerConnect 54xx series systems front and back panels.
Figure 1-1. PowerConnect 5424 Front Panel
Figure 1-2. PowerConnect 5448 Front Panel
Figure 1-3. PowerConnect 5424 and 5428 Back Panel

12 Introduction
Features
This section describes the device user-configured features. For a complete list of all updated device features,
refer to the latest software version Release Notes.
General Features
Head of Line Blocking
Head of Line (HOL) blocking results in traffic delays and frame loss caused by traffic competing for the
same egress port resources. HOL blocking queues packets, and the packets at the head of the queue are
forwarded before packets at the end of the queue.
Virtual Cable Testing (VCT)
VCT detects and reports copper link cabling occurrences, such as open cables and cable shorts.
Jumbo Frames Support
Jumbo frames enables transporting the identical data in fewer frames. Ensuring less overhead, lower
processing time, and fewer interrupts.
For information on enabling Jumbo Frames, see "Defining General Device Information" on page 65.
MDI/MDIX Support
The device supports auto-detection between crossed and straight-through cables.
Standard wiring for end stations is Media-Dependent Interface (MDI) and the standard wiring for hubs and
switches is known as Media-Dependent Interface with Crossover (MDIX).
For information on configuring MDI/MDI for ports or Link Aggregate Groups (LAGs), see "Defining Port
Parameters" on page 250 or "Configuring Load Balancing" on page 256.
Flow Control Support (IEEE 802.3X)
Flow control enables lower speed devices to communicate with higher speed devices, by requesting that the
higher speed device refrains from sending packets. Transmissions are temporarily halted to prevent buffer
overflows.
For information on configuring Flow Control for ports or LAGs, see "Defining Port Parameters" on
page 250 or "Configuring Load Balancing" on page 256.
Back Pressure Support
On half-duplex links, the receiving port prevents buffer overflows by occupying the link so that it is
unavailable for additional traffic.
For information on configuring Back Pressure for ports or LAGs, see "Defining Port Parameters" on
page 250 or "Configuring Load Balancing" on page 256.

Introduction 13
iSCSI Optimization
iSCSI is a communication protocol used for sending data between file servers and storage disks. The file
servers are called initiators and the disks are called targets. You can optimize iSCSI flow by setting Quality
of Service frame priority parameters in the device. The device can also intercept iSCSI frames and provide
information about iSCSI communications (called sessions).
For more information, see "Optimizing iSCSI" on page 207.
Voice VLAN
Voice VLAN allows network administrators to enhance VoIP service by configuring ports to carry IP voice
traffic from IP phones on a specific VLAN. VoIP traffic has a preconfigured OUI prefix in the source MAC
address. Network Administrators can configure VLANs from which voice IP traffic is forwarded. Non-VoIP
traffic is dropped from the Voice VLAN in auto Voice VLAN secure mode. Voice VLAN also provides QoS
to VoIP, ensuring that the quality of voice does not deteriorate if the IP traffic is received unevenly.
For more information, see "Configuring Voice VLANs" on page 316.
Guest VLAN
Guest VLAN provides limited network access to unauthorized ports. If a port is denied network access via
port-based authorization, but the Guest VLAN is enabled, the port receives limited network access.
MAC Address Supported Features
MAC Address Capacity Support
The device supports up to eight thousand MAC addresses. The device reserves specific MAC addresses for
system use.
Self-Learning MAC Addresses
The device enables automatic MAC address learning from incoming packets. The MAC addresses are stored
in the Bridging Table.
Automatic Aging for MAC Addresses
MAC addresses from which no traffic is received for a given period are aged out. This prevents the Bridging
Table from overflowing.
For more information on configuring the MAC Address Age Out Time, see "Configuring Address Tables"
on page 267.
Static MAC Entries
User defined static MAC entries are stored in the Bridging Table.
For more information, see "Configuring Address Tables" on page 267.

14 Introduction
VLAN-aware MAC-based Switching
Packets arriving from an unknown source address are sent to the microprocessor, where the source addresses
are added to the Hardware Table. Packets addressed to or from this address are more efficiently forwarded
using the Hardware Table.
MAC Multicast Support
Multicast service is a limited broadcast service, which allows one-to-many and many-to-many connections
for information distribution. Layer 2 Multicast service is where a single frame is addressed to a specific
Multicast address, from where copies of the frame are transmitted to the relevant ports. IGMP Snooping is
supported, including IGMP Querier which simulates the behavior of a multicast router, allowing snooping of
the layer 2 multicast domain even though there is no multicast router.
For more information, see "Multicast Forwarding Support" on page 328.
Layer 2 Features
IGMP Snooping
Internet Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) Snooping examines IGMP frame contents, when they are
forwarded by the device from work stations to an upstream Multicast router. From the frame, the device
identifies work stations configured for Multicast sessions, and which Multicast routers are sending Multicast
frames.
For more information, see "IGMP Snooping" on page 339.
Port Mirroring
Port mirroring monitors and mirrors network traffic by forwarding copies of incoming and outgoing packets
from a monitored port to a monitoring port. Users specify which target port receives copies of all traffic
passing through a specified source port.
For more information, see "Defining Port Mirroring Sessions" on page 264.
Broadcast Storm Control
Storm Control enables limiting the amount of Multicast and Broadcast frames accepted and forwarded by
the device.
When Layer 2 frames are forwarded, Broadcast and Multicast frames are flooded to all ports on the relevant
VLAN. This occupies bandwidth, and loads all nodes connected on all ports.
For more information, see "Enabling Storm Control" on page 261.

Introduction 15
VLAN Supported Features
VLAN Support
VLANs are collections of switching ports that comprise a single broadcast domain. Packets are classified as
belonging to a VLAN based on either the VLAN tag or based on a combination of the ingress port and
packet contents. Packets sharing common attributes can be grouped in the same VLAN.
For more information, see "Configuring Multiple Spanning Tree" on page 290.
Port Based Virtual LANs (VLANs)
Port-based VLANs classify incoming packets to VLANs based on their ingress port.
For more information, see "Defining VLAN Ports Settings" on page 304.
IEEE802.1V Protocol Based Virtual LANs (VLANs)
VLAN classification rules are defined on data-link layer (Layer 2) protocol identification. Protocol-based
VLANs isolate Layer 2 traffic for differing Layer 3 protocols.
For more information, see "Defining VLAN Protocol Groups" on page 310.
Full 802.1Q VLAN Tagging Compliance
IEEE 802.1Q defines an architecture for virtual bridged LANs, the services provided in VLANs and the
protocols and algorithms involved in the provision of these services. An important requirement included in
this standard is the ability to mark frames with a desired Class of Service (CoS) tag value (0-7).
QinQ
QinQ tagging allows network managers to add an additional tag to previously tagged packets. Customer
VLANs are configured using QinQ. Adding additional tags to the packets helps create more VLAN space.
The added tag provides an VLAN ID to each customer, this ensures private and segregated network traffic.
The VLAN ID tag is assigned to a customer port in the service providers network. The designated port then
provides additional services to the packets with the double-tags. This allows administrators to expand
service to VLAN users.
GVRP Support
GARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP) provides IEEE 802.1Q-compliant VLAN pruning and dynamic
VLAN creation on 802.1Q trunk ports. When GVRP is enabled, the device registers and propagates VLAN
membership on all ports that are part of the active underlying "Spanning Tree Protocol Features" on page 16
topology.
For more information, see "Configuring GVRP" on page 313.

16 Introduction
Spanning Tree Protocol Features
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
802.1d Spanning tree is a standard Layer 2 switch requirement that allows bridges to automatically prevent
and resolve L2 forwarding loops. Switches exchange configuration messages using specifically formatted
frames and selectively enable and disable forwarding on ports.
For more information, see "Configuring the Spanning Tree Protocol" on page 275.
Fast Link
STP can take up to 30-60 seconds to converge. During this time, STP detects possible loops, allowing time
for status changes to propagate and for relevant devices to respond. 30-60 seconds is considered too long of
a response time for many applications. The Fast Link option bypasses this delay, and can be used in network
topologies where forwarding loops do not occur.
For more information enabling Fast Link for ports and LAGs, see "Defining STP Port Settings" on page 280
or "Defining STP LAG Settings" on page 285.
IEEE 802.1w Rapid Spanning Tree
Spanning Tree can take 30-60 seconds for each host to decide whether its ports are actively forwarding
traffic. Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP) detects uses of network topologies to enable faster convergence,
without creating forwarding loops.
For more information, see "Configuring Rapid Spanning Tree" on page 287.
STP Root Guard
Root guard restricts the interface from functioning as the root port for the switch
Multiple Spanning Tree (MSTP)
MTSP operation maps VLAN into STP instances. Multiple spanning tree provides differing load balancing
scenario. Packet assigned to various VLANs are transmitted along different paths within Multiple Spanning
Tree Regions(MST Regions). Regions are one or more Multiple Spanning Tree Bridges by which frames can
be transmitted.
Link Aggregation
For more information, see "Aggregating Ports" on page 324.
Link Aggregation
Up to eight Aggregated Links may be defined, each with up to eight member ports, to form a single Link
Aggregated Group (LAG). This enables:
• Fault tolerance protection from physical link disruption
• Higher bandwidth connections

Introduction 17
• Improved bandwidth granularity
• High bandwidth server connectivity
LAG is composed of ports with the same speed, set to full-duplex operation.
For more information, see "Defining LAG Membership" on page 327.
Link Aggregation and LACP
LACP uses peer exchanges across links to determine, on an ongoing basis, the aggregation capability of
various links, and continuously provides the maximum level of aggregation capability achievable between a
given pair of systems. LACP automatically determines, configures, binds and monitors the port binding to
aggregators within the system.
For more information, see "Defining LACP Parameters" on page 325.
Layer 3 Features
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
ARP is a TCP/IP protocol that converts IP addresses into physical addresses. ARP automatically determines
Device Next-Hop MAC addresses of systems, including directly attached end systems. Users can override
and supplement this by defining additional ARP Table entries.
For more information, see "Mapping Domain Host" on page 115.
TCP
Transport Control Protocol (TCP) connections are defined between 2 ports by an initial synchronization
exchange. TCP ports are identified by an IP address and a 16-bit port number. Octets streams are divided
into TCP packets, each carrying a sequence number.
BootP and DHCP Clients
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enables additional setup parameters to be received from a
network server upon system startup. DHCP service is an on-going process. DHCP is an extension to BootP.
For more information on DHCP, see "Defining DHCP IP Interface Parameters" on page 109.
Quality of Service Features
Class Of Service 802.1p Support
The IEEE 802.1p signaling technique is an OSI Layer 2 standard for marking and prioritizing network traffic
at the data link/MAC sub-layer. 802.1p traffic is classified and sent to the destination. No bandwidth
reservations or limits are established or enforced. 802.1p is a spin-off of the 802.1Q (VLANs) standard.
802.1p establishes eight levels of priority, similar to the IP Precedence IP Header bit-field.
For more information, see "Configuring Quality of Service" on page 383.

18 Introduction
Device Management Features
SNMP Alarms and Trap Logs
The system logs events with severity codes and timestamps. Events are sent as Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) traps to a Trap Recipient List.
For more information on SNMP Alarms and Traps, see "Configuring LLDP and LLDP-MED" on page 159.
SNMP Version 1 and Version 2
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) over the UDP/IP protocol. To control access to the system,
a list of community entries is defined, each of which consists of a community string and its access privileges.
There are 3 levels of SNMP security; read-only, read-write, and super. Only a super user can access the
community table.
SNMP Version 3
Access to the switch using SNMPv3 provides additional security features that cover message integrity,
authentication, and encryption; as well as controlling user access to specific areas of the MIB tree. The
SNMPv3 security structure consists of security models, with each model having it’s own security levels.
Web Based Management
With web based management, the system can be managed from any web browser. The system contains an
Embedded Web Server (EWS), which serves HTML pages, through which the system can be monitored and
configured. The system internally converts web-based input into configuration commands, MIB variable
settings and other management-related settings.
Configuration File Download and Upload
PowerConnect device configuration is stored in a configuration file. The Configuration file includes both
system wide and port specific device configuration. The system can display configuration files in the form
of a collection of CLI commands, which are stored and manipulated as text files.
For more information, see "Managing Files" on page 196.
Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
The device supports boot image, software and configuration upload/download via TFTP.
Remote Monitoring
Remote Monitoring (RMON) is an extension to SNMP, which provides comprehensive network traffic
monitoring capabilities with support for 64 bit counters (as opposed to SNMP which allows network device
management and monitoring). RMON is a standard MIB that defines current and historical MAC-layer
statistics and control objects, allowing real-time information to be captured across the entire network.
For more information, see "Viewing RMON Statistics" on page 360.

Introduction 19
Command Line Interface
Command Line Interface (CLI) syntax and semantics conform as much as possible to common industry
practice. CLI is composed of mandatory and optional elements. The CLI interpreter provides command and
keyword completion to assist user and shorten typing.
Syslog
Syslog is a protocol that allows event notifications to be sent to a set of remote servers, where they can be
stored, examined and acted upon. Multiple mechanisms are implemented to send notification of significant
events in real time, and keep a record of these events for after-the-fact usage.
For more information on Syslog, see "Managing Logs" on page 91.
SNTP
The Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) assures accurate network device clock time synchronization up-
to the millisecond. Time synchronization is performed by a network SNTP server. Time sources are
established by Stratums. Stratums define the distance from the reference clock. The higher the stratum
(where zero is the highest), the more accurate the clock.
For more information, see "Configuring SNTP Settings" on page 79.
Traceroute
Traceroute enables discovering IP routes that packets were forwarded along during the forwarding process.
The CLI Traceroute utility can be executed from either the user-exec or privileged modes.
802.1ab (LLDP-MED)
The Link Layer Discovery Protocol allows network managers to troubleshoot and enhance network
management by discovering and maintaining network topologies over multi-vendor environments. LLDP
discovers network neighbors by standardizing methods for network devices to advertise themselves to other
systems, and to store discovered information. The multiple advertisement sets are sent in the packet Type
Length Value (TLV) field. LLDP devices must support chassis and port ID advertisement, as well as system
name, system ID, system description, and system capability advertisements.
LLDP Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED) increases network flexibility by allowing different IP
systems to co-exist on a single network LLDP. It provides detailed network topology information,
emergency call service via IP Phone location information, and troubleshooting information.
Security Features
SSL
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is an application-level protocol that enables secure transactions of data through
privacy, authentication, and data integrity. It relies upon certificates and public and private keys.

20 Introduction
Port Based Authentication (802.1x)
Port based authentication enables authenticating system users on a per-port basis via an external server. Only
authenticated and approved system users can transmit and receive data. Ports are authenticated via the
Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server using the Extensible Authentication Protocol
(EAP).
For more information, see "Configuring Port Based Authentication" on page 216.
Locked Port Support
Locked Port increases network security by limiting access on a specific port only to users with specific
MAC addresses. These addresses are either manually defined or learned on that port. When a frame is seen
on a locked port, and the frame source MAC address is not tied to that port, the protection mechanism is
invoked.
For more information, see "Configuring Port Security" on page 224.
RADIUS Client
RADIUS is a client/server-based protocol. A RADIUS server maintains a user database, which contains per-
user authentication information, such as user name, password and accounting information.
For more information, see "Configuring RADIUS Global Parameters" on page 155.
SSH
Secure Shell (SSH) is a protocol that provides a secure, remote connection to a device. SSH version 1 is
currently available. The SSH server feature enables an SSH client to establish a secure, encrypted
connection with a device. This connection provides functionality that is similar to an inbound telnet
connection. SSH uses RSA Public Key cryptography for device connections and authentication.
TACACS+
TACACS+ provides centralized security for validation of users accessing the device. TACACS+ provides a
centralized user management system, while still retaining consistency with RADIUS and other
authentication processes.
For more information, see "Defining TACACS+ Settings" on page 150.
Access Control Lists (ACL)
Access Control Lists (ACL) allow network managers to define classification actions and rules for specific
ingress ports. Packets entering an ingress port, with an active ACL, are either admitted or denied entry and
the ingress port is disabled. If they are denied entry, the user can disable the port.
For more information, see "ACL Overview" on page 227.