PowerConnect 5424

Question

Hi, We've just purchased a PowerConnect 5424 to become the centre of our network (we have a star topology). I used hyper-terminal to access the switch and completed the set-up wizard. I did this without the switch being plugged in. I then connected the switch to the network and attempted to access the web interface. It was at this point I noticed a lot of activity on the ports LED. The web interface failed to appear. Then the phone started ringing. The network appeared to have gone down. After a couple of minutes investigating the problem I unplugged the switch and the network started to recover. After about 20 minutes all was well again. With the switch isolated from the network, I connected a laptop and successfully connetected to the web interface. I reviewed all the settings and nothing looked out of place, although I rarely play with switches so I'm not overly sure what all the features do. First thing this morning, I retried the switch and the problem reoccurred. Have I done anything incorrectly? What could be wrong? Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Cheers Ian

bh1633 · Answer

Sounds like a spanning-tree issue. Please post your configuration (output of "show running-config") and a description of your network topology.

What other switches do you have in your network? Any Ciscos?

Is there a chance you accidentally created a loop?

Are you relying on spanning-tree to remove loops in your network?

Ian Young · Answer

Hi,Thanks for the response and my apologies for not getting back sooner.The problem has been resolved.  It turned out to be a IPv6/dhcp issue. We had to create an IPv6 interface on VLAN1 and disable the autoconfiguration.I have one more question. The activity LEDs on each of the used points are flashing rapidly. I don't know if this is the switch or network but I don't remember seeing it with the old switch. How can I diagnose what is happening?You asked about our topology. We have a star configuration with this 5424 at the center. All the listed switches below connect to the 5424 or via another switch, (if cable length or the number of wired sockets are a problem). All our servers connect to this switch. Having reviewed the layout I can't find a loop but STP is on for the switch connections.Dell        PowerConnect 5424Dell        PowerConnect 3324 (x7)Baynetworks    350T-HD3com        Office Connect Dual Speed16 PlusDell        PowerConnect 5212 (backup network)We have approximately 150 devices connected to the network, including PCs, clocking machines, drilling machines, inspection equipment. The OSs used include DOS, Win95, Win98, Win2000, XP, Win 7, Linux  (SUSE, Redhat), HP UX.Below is the switch config.C0474# show running-config                         voice vlan oui-table add 0001e3 Siemens_AG_phone________                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 00036b Cisco_phone_____________                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 00096e Avaya___________________                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 000fe2 H3C_Aolynk______________                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 0060b9 Philips_and_NEC_AG_phone                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 00d01e Pingtel_phone___________                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 00e075 Polycom/Veritel_phone___                                                       voice vlan oui-table add 00e0bb 3Com_phone______________                                                       iscsi target port 860 address 0.0.0.0                                    iscsi target port 3260 address 0.0.0.0                                     interface vlan 1                ipv6 enable no-autoconfig                         exit   interface vlan 1               ip address AAA.BBB.CCC.25 255.255.255.0                                   exit   no qos     hostname C0474username admin password *********** level 15 encrypted                                                                          snmp-server location 'Gray Cabinet'                                  snmp-server community Dell_Network_Manager rw view DefaultSuper                                                              sntp client enable vlan 1                        clock source sntp                sntp unicast client poll                       sntp server AAA.BBB.CCC.10 poll                           asset-tag ' C0474'                 Default settings:Service tag: ********SW version 2.0.0.35 (date  27-Jan-2009 time  18:13:34)Gigabit Ethernet Ports=============================no shutdownspeed 1000duplex fullnegotiationflow-control offmdix autono back-pressureinterface vlan 1interface port-channel 1 - 8spanning-treespanning-tree mode STPqos basicqos trust cosThanks again for your help.Ian

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