CISCO 2900 Series XL setup ??

Post your router config without passwords and we can help.

You probably need to set the gateway on the router.

Is the router's interface in the same IP subnet as the PCs? Do you have 2 interfaces on it, one to the internet and one to the PCs? A diagram of what you're trying to accomplish in the end would help.

A Cisco 2924XL will need you to purchase a $1.00 cross-over cable.  Money well spent!

RDadams.... I was under the impression that the gateway on the router is the gateway from my ISP.  All my computers are set to use the router as my gateway which is the standard 192.168.2.1   Please elaborate more on what you mean by set the gateway on the router.  Thank you

I will try the cross-over cable.  The only problem is that my router and modem are upstairs (second floor) of my house, and my server room is in my basement. So the cable would need to be long and would be a hassel to feed throughout my house. Can i get a short cross over and put the straight through to my hub and then the cross over from the hub to the switch.

On the Cisco2924 XL there is no clearly marked port for uplink. There is one port on the back for "console", which is pretty self explanatory. and then 24 ports on the front all numbered 1 to 24. Thats it.

Mikebernhardt.... My IP subnet for the router is on the same one as my PCs. Here is a simple diagram hope it helps

ISP --->  Modem --> SMC Router --> Switch ---> 5 PCs
                                     |              ___________________
                                     |                            |
                                2 PCs                    These 5 pcs don't get internet connection this way but can communicate amongst themselves. , but if you replace the Cisco Switch with the 3com Hub Every Pc gets access to the internet and communicate amongst themselves.  

When i connect the router to the switch i get no internet access on the 5 pcs, but the other 2 that are directly connected to the router still have access. I will try the Cross over, but do you guys think it will work if I connect it from the hub to the switch with the straight through going from the router to the hub or will i have to connect it directly from the router to the switch.  Hope that wasnt' too confusing.  Thanks for all your help, i really appreciate it.

Hauie

Hauie,
Yes you can "get a short cross over and put the straight through to my hub and then the cross over from the hub to the switch".  You could even get just a connector (eg at Radio Shack) to connect the straight-thru to the crossover, so that the hub would not be in the picture.  Or, if you have a phone line in the basement you could just move everything down there: modem, router, switch and PCs.

But make sure that the crossover cable you buy has all eight wires - some cheaper crossover cables only have two wires in them.  That will not support higher network speeds.
CB

CajunBill

  Thanks for the info, I will try the connector at radio shack, or i think its called the source now. As for moving the modem, its not a phone line its high speed cable internet and for the cable modem is upstairs.  I'll try the crossover next week when I get more time.  Thanks for all you help.
Just one final comment, i thought cross-overs for like devices ie.  PC-to-PC, Switch-to-Switch, Hub-to-Hub.  Isnt a hub or router different than a switch. I was under the impression a Hub was simply a repeater with multiple ports whereas a switch was a bridge with multiple ports, one being a layer one device and the other being a layer two device. Anyways, maybe i'm mistaken on the cross-over cable usage. Can some please correct me. Thanks again for all your help

PS:  I'd bet a month's pay that the reason the cisco switch will not link up with the SMC ethernet , is due to a forced speed or forced duplex on the cisco switch port being used (perhaps multiples). Simply having the correct cable is not going to be enough if there is a situation where  the SMC and 2924 are unable to negotiate a mutually agreed-upon speed and duplex.

So, i reiterate, find the 'console' port on the switch, IF it's rj45 go ahead and make the cable i described, and then track down an rd45 to DB9 adapter. We can change the pinouts if necessary, i'll be able to deduce remotely which pin is which using process of elimination.

Hmmm......
That last poster says some good things, he obviously does know some things about Cisco boxes, but ...
Cisco recommends starting at layer one when debugging network problems.
And it is a lot easier to try out a crossover cable than to make a Cisco console cable ("rollover" cable), and get into the Cisco IOS software.

Before getting to the console/IOS, you would likely find it easier to try the suggestion first given by Joesmail (that is, crossover cable).
If it doesn't work in one port of the switch, try it in the other available ports, before trying the Cisco console port route.

But if the crossover does not work then the method from sonick808/Jayson is indeed the way to go, he does have a valid point that there may be a configuration on the switch that prevents it from working.

Of course, it is up to you, Hauie, to choose what to do.
CB

Well seeing that this is for test and learning purposes, I would like to go into the console of the switch to troubleshoot from there.

I will make the 'roll-over cable' on tuesday at work (I'm in Canada and its our thanksgiving so things are a little hectic with all the family here  right now)

Sonick808, I did find the console port on the back and it is an RJ45 port. I guess I need a rollover cable before i can access the console, do i need to install any type of terminal software on the computer that I intend to use to access the switch??  

does the rollover cable simply go from the switch into the nic card of my computer or do I need some type of Rj45 to DB-9 adapter.

Thanks again for all your help


Hauie

You can use Hyperterminal to access the switch.

Mikebernhardt

  There is no light that comes on when the straight through cable from the router is connected into the switch.  I will be getting a cross over cable tomorrow along with a roll-over cable too.  HOwever, you mentioned if I go through the hub i would need two cross over cables. Right Now as it stands, I can connect the Router to the hub using the straight thorugh cable and all computers connected to the hub can get internet access. I figured if I go from the hub to the switch now I would only need the one cross over cable.  

  And just to clarify, I can use Hyperterminal with just the roll-over cable going from the switches console port to my workstations NIC Card??

Thanks

Forgot to mention that the 3com hum I have is a 12 port with the 12th port being an uplink port, so i assume that the 12th port would handle the crossing over.  If i plug the cable into any other port besides port, no link light comes up.  

Hauie,
Should have asked this earlier, your most recent posts triggered this thought:
A picture is worth a thousand words - let's draw a diagram.
Please let me know if the following diagram is correct:

Internet-----[DSL-or-cable-modem]------"Router"-----[3com-hub]-------computer1
                                                                                    |      |----computer2
                                                                                    |
                                                                                    |----computer3 (and so on)

That's the configuration that worked, is that correct?
The reason I have "Router" in quotes is that I'm guessing it is a DSL/Cable router.
Those of us trying to help you have been thinking that it was a Cisco router, but it isn't, and that makes a difference.
The ports on it are really SWITCH ports, NOT router ports! There is a difference.
Regards
CajunBill

CajunBill,

  That diagram is pretty much how it is. The  router is an SMC. The exact model I believe is "SMC7004" I'll check when i get home. IT is a wireless router. THe diagram you drew is exactly how it is set up except that there are two computers connected directly to the router. Those computers are not part of my test network.  They have always worked and aren't really any concern. The reason I didn't think that the SMC router was switch ports was because the router isn't the greatest or most expensive router out there, in fact it is a pretty cheap one.  In the 8th post of this thread, I drew a simple diagram that somewhat explains my setup here.  

Thanks
Hauie

Hauie,
Yep, you did draw that diagram earlier. Missed that in a quick look back before my own post.
The significance of "SMC router" didn't hit me until yesterday, because I am teaching networking classes using Cisco routers.
I believe you will find that the ports on the SMC are switch ports.
CB

CajunBill,

   Got my hands on a cross over cable today. I'm still looking for the crimping tools to make myself a rollover cable. I was told though that even with a rollover that I would need a rj45 to db-9 converter because I can't just connect the rj45 on the console port of the switch directly to the rj45 on my nic card, i have to actually connect the console port to the serial on the computer.

Thanks
Hauie

That's right, the console port goes to your serial port. And you need to set your com port to 9600 baud.

If the router is working with the hub, then you shouldn't need a crossover at all to get from the same port on the router to the switch. You do need a crossover between the hub and the switch of course.

Correction on my crossover comment: You don't need the crosover AS LONG AS the port you're plugging into on the hub isn't set to crossover already...

So hauie, now that you have a crossover, you can easily try hooking "router" to hub to switch, to see if it works.
Just to enumerate the details, it is
"router", then straight-thru cable, connecting to the uplink port on the hub, then a crossover cable from any regular hub port to the switch.
You could easily do that before continuing on the effort to create a rollover cable and get the rj45 to db9 converter.

Just a thought.
CB

OKAY Everyone...

  First off, thanks for all the help, After all that, The crossover cable did Work. And My internet connection is working through the switch now. So here is a summary of my network

ISP --> Modem ---> SMC Router  --- (straight Through) --> Uplink port on HUB --- (Cross Over) ---> Cisco Switch ---> Computers 1-5
                                    |
 

Sorry sent that by mistake,

 Anyways... the 5 computers get internet access now. I am having problems with communicating between the computers now.. Some can communicate other can't but I think the problem lies in my Windows 2000 and 2003 server settings. I will experiment with that issue later, and i'm sure i'll have plenty of questions in the future, I'm still learning alot.

  Sonic808 - I ordered a cisco RJ45 to DB-9 rollover cable and once i get that i'm gonna test out the console port. Try not to bug you unless I run into serious problems (which i'm sure I will) but i'm sure there is plenty in the Expert-exchange database that I can read first.

Thanks again for everyones help, I'm sorry that i can only split the points so many ways, i wish i could give you all 500 points. I will try to split them up accordingly.  

I can see that i have a long way to go before I can even be considered in your guys league.

Thanks you

Hauie

Hauie,
It is possible that the reason the 5 computers cannot communicate with each other is possibly due to a left-over configuration on the Cisco switch.  For example, if the 5 computers are plugged into the first 5 ports, and those ports are divided between two VLANs, then this could account for what you are seeing.
To find out if this is the case and to fix it you will need that console cable.
CB

CajunBill:  You are 10000% correct, Layer1 is without a doubt the first place that network troubleshooting must begin. Even with the largest of production circuits, say for example a trans-atlantic OC-12 headed to Sussex; the first thing i'll do is call out a technician on either side of the link where the terminations first arrive, to do a "wiggle test" (TM) while watching/debugging the fiber interface/SONET/SDH/POS/etc. on either side for state changes. Of course,  while i'm waiting for the technicians to arrive onsite i'll begin looking at the config (l7 interface but affecting only l2-l3 (packet over sonet signalling + IP as the highest layered transport). Which is the same confusion i caused when i said to get access to the IOS to get this switch configured correctly here as well. You're right, L1+l2 needed the primary attentioin and turned out to be the fix here, and the part i was referring to (which needs to happen whether the fix occured via crossover or not) was that the switch still needs to be verified to have an optimal config for hauie's LAN environment.  Effectively meaning we're using a layer7 interface or contex (IOS) to affect Layer2-3 and perhaps some L4 even as well dependiong on the image capability on the switch.  So, we're both right, just that dabbling in other layers prior to the fundamental L1 being verified does occur as a matter of context /interface (ios/eyes, unless humans can signal CSMA/CD with their fingers ;) and as a matter of doing as much troubleshooting as possible prior to the needed toools to assure whether L1 is or is not working (in this case the cable, but could have easily have been a config option in L7 affecting L1 such as "conf t ; int Ethernet0/2 ; disable" or  perhaps L2 with 'int E0/2 ; duplex full (or full-duplex depending on IOS) and so forth. So, it's a good thing that the L1 was resolvable without access to the IOS to get the fundamental connectiovity working, i'm glad that hauie was wise enough to continue and go ahead and order the needed cable, so that we can verify that the more granular (but not show-stopping as we can see ) nuances of the L2-L3 (and maybe L4) are configured both 1) optimally in a function sense, and 2) conforming to best-practice, as a matter of several operational parameters; all boiling down  to speed, stability, throughput, logging, reporting, environmental, etcetc.   hauie you did a good job workign with both of our inputs simultaneously, good job. I would be glad to help you configure the switch once your cable arrives, there is a plethora of config that can assure the mentionables above and much more should you decide to get into network management, traffic reporting, etc.  Drop me a message and i'll help ya out, don't hesitate aite ?

Peace CajunB, peace Hauie.......
Jayson
sonick@sonick.com

Sonick,

  Thanks for the input, The cross-over cable just solved the immediate problem, I still want to configure the network properly, thats why i ordered the cisco roll over cable. I'm sure once I get into the console, i'm not gonna know left from right or up from down, but I guess thats what makes it fun. The cable is just the beginning of what i imagine is a long long journey.  Once again Thanks for your help (I'm sure that won't be the last time i'll be saying that)   I think i'm gonna have to enroll in some of those online Cisco courses ( i think they're the CCNA courses).  Are they worth it??

Hauie