Since Cisco in their newer firmwares disabled access to the web interface before password is set on the switch I need an alternative way of configuring switches remotely.
I read up on the Cisco Smart Install process:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/smart_install/release_12.2_55_se/configuration/guide/tasks.html
Only problem is it requires a 35xx switch as a director, most of my networks have only 2960ies so I won't be able to do that all the time, I do however always have a linuxbox onsite that I could use as DHCP and TFTP.
Is it possible to give a new fresh switch a config served from the DHCP and TFTP ?
If i for example configure my DHCP with the file-server attribute and point at my tftp server.
And put a client_cfg.txt file on the tftp with a basic config giving it a login password.
Or is there a simpler way to do this ? (no console access is out of the question).
EDIT:
To elaborate, we have sites with 50 – 100 switches in separate locations we cannot use console servers, guys with laptops running around for us etc.
I'm starting to think my only option is upgrading the MDF Switch to a 3560 on all new sites (we do not have access to routers unfortunately)
Best Answer
I still say console access, who says you need to be there physically? You can use a console server which will allow you to access and control serial consoles at remote location.
For instance:
http://www.opengear.com/product-acm5000.html