Help, I can't "find" my switch

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nbstl68

Getting comfortable
Dec 15, 2015
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No, not like I physically lost it...
I bought a nice used 48 port POE managed switch, ( a Linksys branded Cisco switch).
So far, it works great...I can basically just plug stuff into it and it works.

I have never used a switch before and know the switch has a lot of other capabilities Id like to check out like QPS prioritization and I think VPN iff I can co nect to it but I can't.
Supposedto be able to log in o 192.168.1.254 to a web GUI but it fails.
It was supposed to be reset to factory defaults as I know the default IPs can be changed.
I have tried numerous IP find type softwares but no luck finding the correct IP.

I tried ONVIF device manager and a few others and some basic commands to list active IPs like ipconfig but none of the IPs showing are the switch, so I am confused.
It has a console port, but I have no cable nor a computer with a console cable port to connect.

Supposedly if I could, I cou.d reset from there.

Any thoughts on how I can identify the correct IP for the GUI?
 
It will likely have a somewhat hidden reset button, which if pressed according to the requirements as stated in the user manual (What - you haven't downloaded it yet??) will reset to factory defaults.
At which point you will know the default IP address, and admin password.
Or you could just fire up Wireshark in promiscuous mode and look for any unrecognised broadcasts.
 
Thx
Im reading places now a switch may not even have an IP address?

So sounds like he inly way to get in is via a consile cable.
 
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Linksys \ Cisco SWR248G4P
48 port switch with POE on all 48.

Never used a switch before so learning as I go....reading a lot of manuals and forums specific to such switches.

This model is sup to have a nice GUI interface for non=networking types like me I assume.
Can't get to it at what is sup t be the default IP of 192.168.1.254. Can't find an IP for the switch using various scanner apps or dos commands suggested in other forums.

Been reading it could be changed to anything or not even have an IP assigned depending on how the previous owner used it...did not know that was possible but may be the case. I bought got it from eBay supposedly was factory reset but clearly not.
Either way, after wasting a lot of time, it sounds like going in through the console connection is the only way to do anything to it. It is old enough that it ha only the DB9 pin connector for console access.

The upside is, so far I plug stuff in and it just works. Only have 2 cams connected so far and then have to scan nd guess the IP assignment but that has not been too bad so far.
Also have my IP phone, 2 computers, 2 TV android boxes on it and my internet provider's ap\router of course now.
 
Can you log into the router, and see what's connected to the router?
I am guessing the router is setup for dhcp, and hands out addresses unless things are setup for static addresses.
 
Can you tell if it's using DHCP or not? You could use ipscan24 to scan your entire subnet. If you're trying the factory default address, my experience is you have to set your computer to be on the same subnet (i.e. 192.168.1.xxx), unless of course that's already your subnet affress.
 
I can log into my router and see what's connected. I believe it is doing DHCP assignment.
It lists everything connected but none of the IPs have anything to do with the switch.
For example I can tell which IP is my computer, but none of the IPs are associated with the switch which the computer is connected.

My setup is, everything connects to the switch including the router\ap.
So, for example, for my computer to get to the internet, it goes through the switch to the router\AP then to the internet. That is why I'd thought a basi ping or traceroute command would have to show the switch hop, but it does not. I first see the router (192.168.0.1).

Is subnet the 3rd set of numbers in an IP address? The switch's default IP is supposed to be 192.168.1.254. Whereas the router and anything connected through gets 192.168.0.xxx.

I would not know how to change my to a different subnet, nor would I want to for fear of messing everything up if I did.
I'm going to order that cable for I thin $18 to see what I can figure out from there.
 
Honestly you might want to consider a newer, basic un-managed switch with fewer ports.
 
If you take your computer and connect it to the switch, and disconnect everything else from the switch, so you "network" is just the computer and switch, then you can turn off dhcp and set the computer address to 192.168.1.2 (2 can be anything you want really), then you should be able to talk to the switch. Then you need to change the switch address to 192.168.0.xxx, and you'll be able to see it. Just remember, after you're done, to set the computer back to enable dhcp so it will work again on your network.
 
randytsuch said:
If you take your computer and connect it to the switch, and disconnect everything else from the switch, so you "network" is just the computer and switch, then you can turn off dhcp and set the computer address to 192.168.1.2 (2 can be anything you want really), then you should be able to talk to the switch. Then you need to change the switch address to 192.168.0.xxx, and you'll be able to see it. Just remember, after you're done, to set the computer back to enable dhcp so it will work again on your network.
Click to expand...
Your instructions would place the switch and computer in different subnets. That wouldn't work.

The OP is dealing with hardware that's a bit beyond your typical consumer grade stuff. If you aren't familiar with stuff like this, please don't confuse the OP.
 
True, this is def not consumer grade stuff and way beyond my skillset to ever utilize all it can do, nor do I need it. I got it basically because it was affordable and had plenty of POE ports as I plan on eventually having maybe around 12-15 cameras along with the other home stuff I mentioned.
As it is now I could use it fine as a dumbed down basic POE switch and it is working well. My geek side though would like to be able to dig into it more and at least be able to log into it. A good learning experience that suits my basic needs cheap.
These are like 4 grand new I think...Mine was $60 bucks, so although it is def overkill for my needs it was way cheaper and has a lot of expandability if I ever have the need.

Anyway,
My suspicion is that it is setup as a non managed dumbed down basic POE switch with no IP assignment.

The more I read\google about it,I'm guessing there is nothing more I can really do until I get the console cable and get logged into it.
Too bad these things just don't have a physical reset button on them somewhere.
 
They are on different subnets now. I told him to put the computer and switch on the same net so you can configure the switch. Once the computer is talking to the switch, you can setup the switch to put it on the same subnet as the router. Its really not that hard.
 
Just to make it clear, I'm pretty sure your problem is what you already figured out, router is on 192.168.0.x and switch is on 192.168.1.x

Once you have the console connection, you can change the ip address of the switch to match the rest of your network.

Good luck
 
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tangent said:
Your instructions would place the switch and computer in different subnets. That wouldn't work.

The OP is dealing with hardware that's a bit beyond your typical consumer grade stuff. If you aren't familiar with stuff like this, please don't confuse the OP.
Click to expand...
You and I must be reading the referenced instructions differently, because that's exactly what I would have recommended as the next step. The instructions temporarily place the computer on the switch's default address subnet, then place them both on the home network subnet. To the OP, if you don't know how to change the computer's IP address in windows, from administrator mode find the network connection's status window, click properties, then select tcp/ip, and properties again. On that window you can tell it to use a fixed ip address, and use 255.255.255.0 as the subnet mask. The other settings don't matter. The change won't take affect until you close both properties windows. As a previous post said, make sure you change it back to DHCP after communicating with the switch, or you won't be able to get on your home network. The sequence might be somewhat different for different windows versions.

I did a similar thing switch-wise, with a used 28 port Cisco switch. I've spent a bunch of hours "beating my head on the wall" getting it configured. In the end, the learning will be worth it the first time you have to troubleshoot a network problem.
 
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