Switches: Cisco vs. HP | The Golden Debate!

[Mark]

I had the Dell 2724's and they didn't have the MAC table.  That was actually the MAIN reason I wanted managed in the first place.

[Billy Welsh]

As usual, you pros remind me of the amateur I am.  I was having some issues in the 6 months or so before I left, and the contract techs were never real interested in addressing it because there was either not-very-secure-IMHO wireless or another LAN drop to "fix."  I don't consider workarounds a fix.

I never went very far with it though because after 2 expansions, the 2nd of which involved relocating the patch panels, the wiring map was fried (and the new drops poorly labeled).  A MAC table from the switches would have been immensely helpful, assuming the Dell would have provided.  I had some others in the mix that were likely too old to provide this, but most PC's and printers ran through the Dell, do it would have helped a lot.

Never thought to check the switch!

[Jeff Golas]

From my Google-Fu...

You can get additional mac address information from running show arp.  If you know what IP address is connected to a certain interface you can match up the numbers.

Console#show arp

Here is a list of the mac address commands available on the 8024 switch.

show mac address-table multicast

show mac address-table filtering

show mac address-table

show mac address-table address

show mac address-table count

show mac address-table dynamic

show mac address-table interface

show mac address-table static

show mac address-table vlan

[Jeff Zylstra]

Yep.  Running a Dell 2024 daisy chained to the primary switch which is a Dell 2724.  I run all of the computers on the newer 2724, and all of the printers, phone and voice mail on the 2024.  Sounds like I should just leave the managed portion turned off like I have been.

[Mark]

Golas, is that Cisco or are you implying Dell? I did not have any CLI on my Dells - they were "web managed."

[Jeff Golas]

Thats Dell - I would think that all of them should have a CLI, even if you have to enable it via the web management somehow, unless thats a model thats only web managed?

[Jeff Golas]

Yep.  Running a Dell 2024 daisy chained to the primary switch which is a Dell 2724.  I run all of the computers on the newer 2724, and all of the printers, phone and voice mail on the 2024.  Sounds like I should just leave the managed portion turned off like I have been.

Jeff...next time you have a maint window - try turning on management - it shouldn't change anything. Most features are usually turned off or defaulted until you need them.

[Mark]

Correct. The 2724 was web only. Dirt cheap. Throw away prices. Any respectable switch will have CLI. This, my friend, was not a respectable switch. LOL