Introduction to the Device Manager Print  

The device manager is for basic configuration and monitoring of the switch. Use this introduction to familiarize yourself with its features.

The device manager is a graphical device management tool that provides real-time views of the configuration and performance conditions for a single switch. It provides features such as Express Setup and Smartports to simplify switch management tasks. It also uses graphical, color-coded displays such as a front panel view of the switch, graphs, and animated indicators to simplify switch monitoring tasks.

You can launch the device manager from anywhere in your network through a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. See the switch release notes for the system requirements for running the device manager. The Support window provides a link to the switch documentation.

Note: If your switch is running the cryptographic software image, we recommend that you use the option to run a secured session with the switch. See Secured Sessions for information on how to ensure that your device manager session is protected from unauthorized access.

To use the device manager, you do need some basic knowledge about networking. For an overview of networking fundamentals, see "Networking Essentials for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses."

The device manager features are

For comprehensive configuration and monitoring features, use Network Assistant or the switch command-line interface (CLI).

Using the Front Panel View

The Front Panel view is a graphical display of the switch front panel. The display shows all the switch components color-coded according to their status. The colors can help you to quickly see if a faulty condition or an error condition exists. See the Legend for the meanings of the colors.

The Uptime field shows how long the switch has been operating since it was last powered on or was restarted. Status is automatically refreshed every 60 seconds or when you click Refresh on the toolbar. The refresh counter shows the number of seconds left before the next refresh cycle.

Move the pointer over a port to display the port number, description, status, speed, and duplex mode. Note that the speed and duplex mode for a port only appear in the pop-up window when a device is connected to the port.

The system, RPS, and port LEDs on the display match the LEDs on the physical switch. To change the type of information displayed through the port LEDs, you can choose a mode from the View list or click the Mode button.

This list summarizes all the LEDs on the switch front panel. For more information about the LEDs, see the Legend or the switch hardware installation guide.

LED Explanation
SYST

The status of the switch (system).

RPS The status of the redundant power supply (RPS) if one is connected to the switch.
STAT

The status of the ports. This is the default mode.

DUPLX

The duplex mode (full duplex or half duplex) of the ports.
Note: The 10/100/1000 ports operate only in full-duplex mode.

SPEED

The operating speed (10, 100, or 1000 Mbps) of the ports.

Using the Dashboard

The Dashboard provides information about the switch and is the main window for monitoring the switch status and the performance. For more information about the gauges, indicators, and graphs, see Dashboard.

Using the Toolbar Icons

Refresh

Click Refresh to update the information displayed on the Front Panel view, the graphs, and the configuration and monitoring windows.

Print

Click Print to print a device manager window, such as the Dashboard or the Port Statistics window.

Note: The menu or the Front Panel view cannot be printed. To print an online help page, click Print from the online help title bar.

Smartports Click Smartports to display the Smartports window from which you can enable Cisco-recommended system and port-to-device settings. You can also display the Smartports window from Configure > Smartports. For information, see Smartports.
Software Upgrade Click Software Upgrade to upgrade the switch software. You can also display the Software Upgrade window from Maintenance > Software Upgrade. For more information, see Software Upgrade. The software upgrade feature is available only on the Cisco IOS Release 12.2 switch software image.
Legend

Click Legend to display a color-coded explanation of the icons and colors used on the Front Panel, Port Status, and Port Settings windows. You can also display the Legend from Help.

Help

Click Help for a description of the device manager features and for procedures on how to use the features. The Help also provides links to the Legend and to support resources (such as the switch documentation and technical assistance).

Using the Menus

The device manager has options under the Configure, Monitor, and Maintenance menus to help you monitor and configure the switch:

  • The device manager receives, collects, and displays status and detailed, run-time statistics every 60 seconds or when you manually refresh the system by clicking Refresh on the toolbar. The Monitor menu options display this data in graphs and tables. For more information, see Trends, Port Status, and Port Statistics.
  • The device manager can execute basic configuration tasks at the switch and port levels. The Configure menu options provide some simplified configuration tools to set up the switch and its ports. The menu also provides an option to restart and reset the switch. To save any changes that you make on the configuration windows, you must click Submit. For more information, see Smartports, Port Settings, Express Setup, and Restart / Reset.

    Note: The information on the configuration windows is not automatically refreshed. Click Refresh on the toolbar to update the information displayed on these windows.

  • The Maintenance menu provides the Telnet option to display the switch CLI and the Software Upgrade option to upgrade the switch software. For more information, see Telnet and Software Upgrade. The software upgrade feature is available only on the Cisco IOS Release 12.2 switch software image.

Using Secured Sessions

The switch uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol to secure the HTTP communications between the switch and your network management station. When you attempt to display the device manager, this protocol:

  • Authenticates the web-based connection between the switch and your network management station
  • Encrypts and decrypts the information exchanged between the switch and your network management station to protect the information from unauthorized access over the Internet

SSL is enabled by default on the switch. It is available only on the cryptographic version of the Cisco IOS Release 12.2 switch software image.

When the device manager is first launched, it displays a message that asks if you want a secured session with the switch. If you choose Yes, the switch launches the device manager in secure mode. You can also start a secured connection by entering https:\\ before the switch IP address. (HTTP over SSL is abbreviated as HTTPS.)

You can also click the Session: Standard | Secured link at the top right corner of the device manager window. Click Standard to launch an unsecured session. Click Secured to launch a secured session.

There are several ways to determine if your device manager session is secured:

  • Look at the URL in the browser Address field. A URL that starts with https:\\ means that the session is secured through SSL. A URL that starts with http:\\ means that the session is not secured.
  • Look at the Session: Standard | Secured link at the top right corner of the device manager window. If Standard appears as Standard and is an active link, the switch is running a secured session. If Secured appears as Secured and is an active link, the switch is not running a secured session.
  • Look for a locked padlock image at the bottom of your browser window. The padlock does not appear if the session is not secured.

Note: SSL is not supported on Telnet connections with the switch. As a result, when you open a Telnet session from the device manager, the transmission to and from the switch is not secure even though the device manager might be running in secured mode. Be careful with the information that you send through your Telnet sessions.