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.

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 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 Front Panel view indicates in which chassis slot the switch is installed.

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 Configuration > Smartports. For information, see Smartports.
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 Monitor, Configure, and Tools 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 Configuration 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.

    Note: We recommend that you use the management module to set basic switch information, instead of using the Express Setup window.

  • The Tools menu provides the Telnet option to display the switch CLI. For more information, see Telnet.