Need to reset switches

[Sonic007]

So we've got plenty of switches (Cisco, Netgear, etc) round the building that all have static IP's but I've not been left with any logins or details about them.

 

I'm going to be re-doing our network and quite frankly don't believe they need to have static IP's.

Im going to be changing the IP scope and range anyway so really need to just flatten them.

 

Does anyone forsee any issues with master hard resets on the switches?

 

Thankyou.

[DalekSec]

Curious as to why you're not giving them static IPs,

 

If you're rebuilding the network don't see a problem in resetting them, just make sure you have putty up and running and know their mac addresses before you do so!

[AlanD]

Agh….

 

Be aware that if you have any VLANs or LAGs (or possibly layer 3 DHCP helper or router configurations) that your network won't work at all afterwards and there will be no access to the internet - assuming your router goes through the core....

 

Or at least it won't work until you have reconfigured those things....

 

I would say - save the configuration first...but clearly you can't get to that configuration.

 

Is it really not possible to get in touch with a previous incumbent and ask?

[FN-GM]

With Cisco there are methods of resting the passwords without wiping the configuration. - Reset Cisco Router Password Without Losing Configuration - ITAdminGuide.com

 

I am confused about the statement about them not needing static IP addresses.

[howartp]

Ditto with HP.

 

If you have physical access, you can wipe password with a paperclip then login.

[AlanD]

With Cisco there are methods of resting the passwords without wiping the configuration.

 

Ah yes; there is with netgear too I think. You need a serial connection lead - to the 9pin connector, or USB connector.

[jthompson]

Without static IPs, you may find that a powercut will leave you with switches assigning themselves funky IP addresses if they start up before DHCP becomes available. That may not impact their function, but it'll make managing and monitoring them unnecessarily cumbersome.

[Wave9_Matt]

Have you tried to use the console port on the front the cisco switches?

A lot of engineers will put passwords on VTY interfaces but not the console. It worth trying if you haven't yet.

[Davit2005]

+1 for giving the switches static IP addresses. Without it you will find managing remotely a PITA especially as you plan to make the network more complex. Label each switch and either put management on an non-client subnet and limit access to switches to certain IP addresses or subnets and do not use default passwords.

 

Even if you flaten the network having static IP addresses for the switches will allow you to access the switch remotely for basic troubleshooting, checking perfomance etc.

[Sonic007]

I dont know why I was thinking of not making them static. As you all mention it makes total sense so I'l make sure I do that.

 

I think I'l have to reset them and then set the new static IP's via Putty then.

[jthompson]

Maybe swap each one in turn, so that you can confirm your new config is working okay before you reset whatever it was replacing. Once you're happy, you can then reset that one to use as a replacement for the next one, and so on.