3Com SuperStack 3 User Manual

Setting Up Overview 33
IP Configuration You can use one of the following methods to allocate IP information to
your Switch (essential if you wish to manage your Switch across the
network).
Manual IP Configuration
You can choose to configure the IP information yourself. The Switch
remembers the information that you enter until you change it again or
set the configuration method to Automatic.
You should use the Manual IP configuration method if:
■ you do not have a DHCP or BootP server on your network, or
■ you want to remove the risk of the IP address ever changing, or
■ your DHCP or BootP server does not allow you to allocate static IP
addresses. (Static IP addresses are necessary to ensure that the Switch
is always allocated the same IP information.)
For most installations, 3Com recommends that you configure the Switch
IP information manually. This makes management simpler and more
reliable as it is not dependent on a DHCP or BootP server, and eliminates
the risk of the IP address changing.
If you wish to manually enter IP information for your Switch, work
through the “Manually Configuring IP Information”
section on page 35.
Automatic IP Configuration
By default the Switch tries to configure itself with IP information without
requesting user intervention. It tries to obtain an IP address from a DHCP
or BootP server on the network.
If neither server is found, the Switch will configure itself with its default IP
address 169.254.100.100 if it is operating in a standalone mode, and/or
no other Switches on the network have this IP address. If this default IP
address is already in use on the network then the Switch detects this and
configures itself with an IP address in the range 169.254.1.0 to
169.254.254.255.
This process is known as Auto-IP and is the same mechanism used by
Windows 2000. IP addresses configured by Auto-IP are temporary as they
cannot be routed but are useful for small networks which are not
connected to other networks, or for initial configuration.
DUA1730-0AAA03.book Page 33 Thursday, November 17, 2005 12:17 PM

3Com SuperStack 3 Specifications

General

Model	SuperStack 3
Category	Switch
Form Factor	Rack-mountable
Ports	24 or 48
Layer	Layer 2
Management	Web-based, SNMP, CLI
Power Supply	Internal
Dimensions	Varies by model
Weight	Varies by model
Operating Temperature	0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
Operating Humidity	10% to 90% non-condensing
Uplink Ports	Varies by model (e.g., 2 Gigabit ports)