Connecting a Layer 2 Switch

Today I had the opportunity to team with Sean and program a layer 2 Alcatel Switch. Our first task was to find the appropriate documentation and to identify the key information within these resources. I appreciated Sean’s approach and learned a new strategy: to search within the document for a specific term. This enabled us to find information within a large document more efficiently. Another important strategy I learned today was to begin first by connecting the equipment, which included an Alcatel 6648 Omniswitch, a Keyspan USB to serial adapter, a USB extension cable and our computers.

To enable communication between the hardware devices I downloaded the USB serial adapter pl2303 (which allows the USB port to convert the serial signal) and Coolterm (a terminal emulation package that provides the software for the program to run).

Next it was important to ensure appropriate configurations were set through Coolterm. We checked the Terminal Options and selected Line mode and CR (carriage return). Then we checked the Serial Port Options (to locate the connection cable) and when this didn’t work, we re-scanned the serial port. We also checked the buadrate (bitrate), date bits, parity, and stop bits to ensure they matched those identified in the guide. This set up a communication agreement.

To login (and for problem solving) we referred to the guides and identified the default username (admin), and the password (switch). We assigned an IP address to the switch by typing: ip interface vlan-1 address 192.168.25.254 vlan 1. We had difficulty at first with the two operating systems (working and certified) until we realized that we needed to make the changes to the working copy first, and save these by commanding: write memory. Next we needed to copy the working memory to the certified memory with the command: copy memory certified. Then we needed to restart the system by typing the command: reload. After the switch rebooted, we typed the confirmation command: show ip interface and confirmed our changes by seeing the vlan 1 ip address at: 192.168.25.254 and the loopback address at: 127.0.0.1.

Problem solving and collaborating with other class members (especially my team partner) was invaluable!


Alcatel OmniSwitch 6600/6800 Series Reference Manuals

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2005, March). Alcatel OmniSwitch: CLI Reference Guide (Part No. 060158-10, Rev. G). Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/27892885/Omniswitch-CLI-Refernce-Guide

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2005, March). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Advanced Routing Configuration Guide (Part No. 060187-10, Rev D) Retrieved from http://wedophones.com/Manuals/Alcatel/OmniSwitch%206600%20Advanced%20Routing%20Configuration%20Guide%20R5-1.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2005, March). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Getting Started Guide (Part No. 060178-10, Rev. E). Retrieved from http://wedophones.com/Manuals/Alcatel/OmniSwitch%206600%20Getting%20Started%20Guide%20R5-1.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2005, March). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Switch Management Guide (Part No. 060180-10, Rev. E). Retrieved from https://service.esd.alcatel-lucent.com/search/query/display.jsp?type=file&f_url=new_search_docs%2Ftarget%2Fdocs%2Fomniswitch_6600%2Fmanuals%2FOS66_Switch_Management_Guide_Rev_E.pdf#search="ipv6"

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2005, October). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Design Notes Guide from http://www.alcatel-lucentbusinessportal.com/private/active_docs/OS_6600_Network_Design_Guide_5.1.6_v4.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2007, December). OmniSwitch 6800 Series, OmniSwitch 6850 Series, OmniSwitch 9000 Series: Advanced Routing Configuration Guide (Part No. 060216-10, Rev. E). Retrieved from http://www.alcatel-lucentbusinessportal.com/private/active_docs/os68-90_ar_631r01.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2007, December). OmniSwitch 6800 Series, OmniSwitch 6850 Series, OmniSwitch 9000 Series: Network Configuration Guide (Part No. 060198-10, Rev. B). Retrieved from http://ligf.cn/doc/6800/os68_net.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2007, December). OmniSwitch 6800 Series, OmniSwitch 6850 Series, OmniSwitch 9000 Series: Switch Management Guide (Part No. 060215-10, Rev. E). Retrieved http://dinf.ru/Doc_base/omniswitch_6850_user_guide_SW.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2007, June). OmniSwitch 6800 Series: Getting Started Guide (060195-10, Rev. D). Retrieved from http://wedophones.com/Manuals/Alcatel/OmniSwitch%206800%20Getting%20Started%20Guide%20R6.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2007, June). OmniSwitch 6800 Series: Hardware Users Guide (Part No. 060196-10, Rev. G). Retrieved from http://wedophones.com/Manuals/Alcatel/OmniSwitch%206800%20Hardware%20Users%20Guide%20R6.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2006, April). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Network Configuration Guide (Part No. 060179-10, Rev. F). Retrieved from http://wedophones.com/Manuals/Alcatel/OmniSwitch%206600%20Network%20Configuration%20Guide%20R5-1.pdf

Alcatel Internetworking Inc. (2006, September). OmniSwitch 6600 Family: Hardware Users Guide (Part No. 060181-10, Rev. G). Retrieved from http://www.alcatelbusinesspartner.com/private/active_docs/os6600_hdw_541.pdf?CFID=122707&CFTOKEN=98828638