Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports screen

Use Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch screen to allow or to disallow traffic through an Ethernet switch port that is controlled by the Avaya media servers (connected to the servers over a private LAN). Use this screen to:

• Display the existing state (enabled/disabled) of the ports on an Ethernet switch

• Disable an enabled port if:

• A new system is being installed, and not all the ports on the Ethernet switch are used by the system components (the media servers, port networks, and UPS). Unused ports should be disabled as a security measure.

• A new Ethernet switch is installed, and all its ports are not required for system components.

Caution:
If a port is disabled, devices connected to it can not communicate on that network. Disabling the Ethernet switch port to which an Avaya media server is connected prevents the server from communicating with the port networks, and the server is not able to receive SNMP traps (alarm notifications) from the UPS or Ethernet switch. If all switch ports to the media servers in a configuration are disabled, the Ethernet switch must be administered through its serial port.

Enable a disabled port if:

• New hardware is added, such as a new port network, UPS, or another Ethernet switch in a ladder configuration, that requires connection to an Ethernet switch port.

• Another port fails on the Ethernet switch, and a device needs to be moved from the failed port to a previously unused port on the Ethernet switch.

Prerequisites

This screen applies only to Ethernet switches that are controlled by the Avaya media servers (connected to the servers over a private LAN). This includes:

• All multi-connect configurations

• IP-connect configurations that use a private LAN for their control network

Each private LAN is called a control network and is made up of one or more layer 2 Ethernet switches. Each of these switches supports multiple Ethernet ports. All configurations that use a private LAN have control network A. Multi-connect high- or critical-reliability configurations also have a redundant private LAN called control network B.  See Configuration overview for details on different configurations.

To use this screen:

• The Ethernet switch must already be configured using the Configure Ethernet Adjuncts screen in the Configure Server wizard.

• Know which Ethernet switch to configure, including its control network (A or B) and the switch number on the control network (1 or 2). These are listed on the Configure Switches and Adjuncts screen.

• Know the numbers of the Ethernet switch ports to be administered. The number of ports varies depending on the model of Ethernet switch used. Ports can be verified  by a visual inspection of the Ethernet switch itself. Ports that are not being used for a physical connection should be disabled.

Enable/disable switch ports procedure

To allow or disallow traffic through an Ethernet switch port on the server's control network:

1. In the main menu of the web administration interface under Miscellaneous, click the Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports link.
2. The Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports screen appears, showing either:
3. the list of Ethernet switches and their respective control networks as specified on the Configure Ethernet Adjuncts screen. Go to step 3.
4. a message that no Ethernet switches are in the configuration file. See Solving enable/disable switch port errors below.
5. Select the control network and Ethernet switch that you want to administer, and click Submit.

6. The screen shows a table of the ports for the Ethernet switch you selected (for example, control network A, switch 1). All ports are initially enabled unless you disable them.

7. To disable a port: Locate the port(s), click Disable.
8. To enable a port: Locate the port(s), click Enable.

7. When you finish, click Submit Changes.
8. The screen lists every port whose status is successfully changed (for example, "disabled port 22).
9. If a problem occurred, see Solving enable/disable switch port errors below.

10. To display the table again to verify your changes, click the Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports link on the main menu again, and repeat step 3.

Solving enable/disable switch port errors

The following error messages may appear when you attempt to use the Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports screen:

• No switches listed in configuration file. This message may appear when you first access the Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports screen. Take the appropriate action based on your switch configuration:
• For all multi-connect configurations, or IP-connect configurations that use a private LAN, the Ethernet switches have not yet been configured. See Configuration at a glance for this procedure.
• For an IP-connect configuration that sends its control signals over the corporate LAN, the Ethernet switches are not under Avaya media server control and cannot be administered using this screen.

• Error getting (or setting) current port states. This error may occur after you click Submit Changes on the Enable/Disable Ethernet Switch Ports screen.

To solve this:

• Verify that the IP address and SNMP GET (or SET) community string on the Configure Ethernet Adjuncts screen are correct for selected Ethernet switch. If not, run the Configure Server wizard again to correct them.
• If the error occurs after some ports are set, the SNMP command may have timed-out, for example, due to high server load or high traffic load.  Access this page again from the main menu and change the port status.