Basic Setup Tips for Baystack 5510-48T

[Foxtrot1014]

I posted on here a while ago after I'd first got this switch about the absolute initial setup for my switch. I'd been having troubles connecting to it via serial to get it to connect to my existing network.

It's been months and the switch is working perfectly for me. A bit ashamed to admit I'm only using seven of the 48 ports considering it pulls over 100W, but they're slowly filling out.

However, with the myriads of settings available on the switch, I can't help but think there are a few things I should do. I've not noticed any network issues--my connection to the internet is solid and file transfers to NAS or the like are acceptably quick unless it's multiple files, but I think that may be because windows is connecting to my NAS via FTP.

So, are there any settings I should probably take a look at? I've legitimately done nothing more than set it's IP address and started plugging into it.

Also, a bit more specifically, I've been wondering about the physical setup of my network. As it exists, my PC connects to the internet like such: PC - Switch - Router - Modem - Internet. The router unfortunately only has 100MB ethernet and is a potential bottleneck other than my ISP connection is <100MB/s. Is it necessary to be setup this way, or could I just connect the switch to the modem? I don't use DHCP and would prefer disabling it altogether except that a couple of wireless devices in my home absolutely require DHCP. I'm definitely hoping to have my wireless router just be an access point as the network equipment will eventually be moving downstairs to the basement when the house is wired for ethernet--the wireless router will not service the whole house from down there and I'm uncertain as to whether I'll end up having to buy a replacement router to connect between the modem and switch so I don't have to run a line from the modem in the basement to the wireless modem upstairs then back down into the switch to serve the rest of the wired LAN.

Tips? Suggestions? If the "backbone" of your internet was an Asus RT-N53 Wireless router, an SB6121 modem (I own it, but comcast is the ISP) and a 5510-48T, how would you set it up?

 

[msheffer]

Just connect all equipment to different ports on the switch. Make sure the subnet mask and gateway are all correct on all statically assigned devices. Not sure why you would not want to use DHCP; it sure makes everything a lot more simple. Just use static on devices like switches, routers, and servers.

What version software is on the switch? The latest that I know for that model switch is v6.3. They are pretty descent switches. We have a few hundred of their new versions (5520) in use at my work. If you need any help with serial connections, software updates or anything else, PM me.

 

[Foxtrot1014]

Thanks for the reply!
It really is that simple then, eh? Like I mentioned, there haven't been any connectivity issues to my knowledge on anything, but I've been thinking of it like the '79 Chevy I bought--runs great, but I could advance the timing and make it run even better.

Here's what the switch has to say about itself:
HW:06 FW:6.0.0.15 SW:v6.2.4.010 BN:10 (c) Avaya Networks

I definitely could've used your experience when I was originally setting up the basics via serial. At the time, I didn't have a serial port on my computer and had to use a USB adapter and a serial cable with one end cut off so I could get the wires right. I haven't had to use telnet on it since, and I'm hoping if I do need to again, the new serial port on my computer will be a regular serial cable connection without any jerry rigging.

As for static: with the exception of two smartphones and a chromecast (less than a fifth of the devices on my network), everything else requires or is made much simpler using static IPs. Desktop is used like a server, switch, router, NAS, smarthome devices, media players... To me, having a logical system for assigning IPs (eg, router, switch and NAS are all x.x.x.1, ....2, ....3, etc, wireless devices are ....40, ....41) makes it so much easier for me to manage devices. Now, if I had a network with hundreds of switches, I'd probably have thousands of devices and there'd be no sense in trying to memorize the IP addresses and no sense in using static for things more than a switch or router. Also, this may be totally wrong and I have nothing to back this up, but using static seems to be a bit more secure when it comes to fending off script-kiddies and amateur hackers. To someone with the right tools, it probably won't matter that my SSID isn't broadcast or that there aren't any IP addresses to be assigned to additional devices on my network, but it'll certainly make things a bit more difficult for a neighbor to leech my wifi or worse. And at the end of the day, even if everything above is irrelevant, I'm a tinkerer and would rather make managing my network 1% more difficult by making it so I have to setup a few more things.

Any thoughts on physical setup? Is it necessary for me to have a wireless router between my modem and switch, or can I attach the modem to the switch, and the wireless router to the switch? It doesn't make much difference that I can foresee, other than the fact that my router uses fast ethernet while my modem and switch use gigabit. This will become a concern down the road when I dump comcast and get FiOS--if the router must remain between the switch and modem and I upgrade to FiOS, my router will become a bottleneck.

 

[msheffer]

Thanks for the reply!
It really is that simple then, eh? Like I mentioned, there haven't been any connectivity issues to my knowledge on anything, but I've been thinking of it like the '79 Chevy I bought--runs great, but I could advance the timing and make it run even better.

Here's what the switch has to say about itself:
HW:06 FW:6.0.0.15 SW:v6.2.4.010 BN:10 (c) Avaya Networks

I definitely could've used your experience when I was originally setting up the basics via serial. At the time, I didn't have a serial port on my computer and had to use a USB adapter and a serial cable with one end cut off so I could get the wires right. I haven't had to use telnet on it since, and I'm hoping if I do need to again, the new serial port on my computer will be a regular serial cable connection without any jerry rigging.

As for static: with the exception of two smartphones and a chromecast (less than a fifth of the devices on my network), everything else requires or is made much simpler using static IPs. Desktop is used like a server, switch, router, NAS, smarthome devices, media players... To me, having a logical system for assigning IPs (eg, router, switch and NAS are all x.x.x.1, ....2, ....3, etc, wireless devices are ....40, ....41) makes it so much easier for me to manage devices. Now, if I had a network with hundreds of switches, I'd probably have thousands of devices and there'd be no sense in trying to memorize the IP addresses and no sense in using static for things more than a switch or router. Also, this may be totally wrong and I have nothing to back this up, but using static seems to be a bit more secure when it comes to fending off script-kiddies and amateur hackers. To someone with the right tools, it probably won't matter that my SSID isn't broadcast or that there aren't any IP addresses to be assigned to additional devices on my network, but it'll certainly make things a bit more difficult for a neighbor to leech my wifi or worse. And at the end of the day, even if everything above is irrelevant, I'm a tinkerer and would rather make managing my network 1% more difficult by making it so I have to setup a few more things.

Any thoughts on physical setup? Is it necessary for me to have a wireless router between my modem and switch, or can I attach the modem to the switch, and the wireless router to the switch? It doesn't make much difference that I can foresee, other than the fact that my router uses fast ethernet while my modem and switch use gigabit. This will become a concern down the road when I dump comcast and get FiOS--if the router must remain between the switch and modem and I upgrade to FiOS, my router will become a bottleneck.

The software/firmware aren't the latest but should be fine. Now that you have an IP and if the rest of the network settings are correct, you should be able to get to the WebGUI unless you turned it off. As far as the physical setup of your network, you will want the modem plugged into the wireless router on the WAN side and then use a patch cable to connect the wireless router to the switch. I'd plug everything else into the switch.

For your wireless, hiding the SSID doesn't really do much any more. Just make sure you have WPA2 encryption set.