Initial Lab Switch Setup
Overview
The following switch models are subject to a common problem when used as a lab switch:
- Cisco Catalyst 2900 XL Series Switches
- Cisco Catalyst 2950 Series Switches
- Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Switches
By default, these switches will not respond to a console break signal the same way routers do. There are two "environment variables" which affect this: "Enable Break" and "BOOT path-list".
The following procedure explains how to check these variables and set them so that the console port will respond to a break signal.
Symptoms
If the environment variables are not set correctly, you may experience one of the following symptoms:
- Pod test fails with a message such as "unable to put the switch into monitor mode"
- Lab automation such as scrub fails
- Users cannot perform password recovery
When to Use
You must initialize the environment variables when:
- Installing a lab switch for the first time
- The Enable break environment variable is set to "no"
- The BOOT path-list environment variable is set
This procedure does not apply to control switches.
Determining the Boot Status
From the enable mode, issue the following IOS command.
Lab_Sw# show boot BOOT path-list: flash:c2950-i6q4l2-mz.121-22.EA4.bin Config file: flash:config.text Private Config file: flash:private-config.text Enable Break: no Manual Boot: no
Follow the following procedure Enable Break is set to yes, and/or the BOOT path-list is set to an image.
Setting Enable Break and BOOT path-list
Lab_Sw# configure terminal Lab_Sw(config)# boot enable-break Lab_Sw(config)# no boot system Lab_Sw(config)# end Lab_Sw# copy run start Lab_Sw# show boot BOOT path-list: Config file: flash:config.text Private Config file: flash:private-config.text Enable Break: yes Manual Boot: no
Verification
With Enable Break set to "yes" and removal of a BOOT path-list, a pod test should pass.