Administrator Guide

Table Of Contents
Type of Interface Possible Modes Requires Creation Default State
Management N/A No Shutdown (disabled)
Loopback Layer 3 Yes No shutdown (enabled)
Null interface N/A No Enabled
Port Channel
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes Shutdown (disabled)
VLAN
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes, except for the default
VLAN.
No shutdown (disabled for
Layer 2)
Shutdown (active for Layer
3 )
Configuring Layer 2 (Data Link) Mode
Do not configure switching or Layer 2 protocols such as spanning tree protocol (STP) on an interface unless the interface has
been set to Layer 2 mode.
To set Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface, use the following command.
Enable Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface.
INTERFACE mode
switchport
Dell(conf-if)#show config
!
interface Port-channel 1
no ip address
switchport
no shutdown
Dell(conf-if)#
Configuring Layer 2 (Interface) Mode
To configure an interface in Layer 2 mode, use the following commands.
Enable the interface.
INTERFACE mode
no shutdown
Place the interface in Layer 2 (switching) mode.
INTERFACE mode
switchport
To view the interfaces in Layer 2 mode, use the show interfaces switchport command in EXEC mode.
Configuring Layer 3 (Network) Mode
When you assign an IP address to a physical interface, you place it in Layer 3 mode.
To enable Layer 3 mode on an individual interface, use the following commands. In all interface types except VLANs, the
shutdown command prevents all traffic from passing through the interface. In VLANs, the shutdown command prevents
Layer 3 traffic from passing through the interface. Layer 2 traffic is unaffected by the shutdown command. One of the
interfaces in the system must be in Layer 3 mode before you configure or enter a Layer 3 protocol mode (for example, OSPF).
Enable Layer 3 on an individual interface
INTERFACE mode
ip address
266
Interfaces