What’s Next for Basic Network Switch Configuration?

From what I've experienced lately, don't forget about backing up your configuration and knowing how to restore it! I had to figure out using TFTP to get backups off the switch. It's a handy skill, and learning about this will definitely help you down the road.

VLANs are super important for office setups! Make sure to learn about 802.1q tagging and inter-VLAN routing. To really understand your setup, aim for a clear project goal, like connecting two switches on either side of a router or connecting two PCs on different VLANs to see if they can communicate. This will give you practical experience with inter-VLAN routing.

I’m also working on a similar project! I set up a VLAN specifically for clients, which isolated their traffic while still providing internet access safely. Going forward, I'm planning to isolate departments, and it’s been a great learning curve.

First, you definitely need to set a management IP for the switch to access it remotely instead of just through the console. If your switch supports Layer 3, then you'll want to create a VLAN and set up a gateway for that VLAN. After that, consider configuring additional VLANs and tagging ports accordingly. If you can, get another switch and set up OSPF to easily share routes between your switches.

For security basics, check out Cisco’s configurations and related resources for HP. Focus on SSH only access, session timeouts, password encryption, and local configs on the switch. Move on to port security and storm control options, and you can even look into advanced stuff like 802.1x later on.