Initial Setup of a Dell Powerconnect 2724 switch on home network - Part I

With all the servers I've picked up recently I needed a way to network them all together.  Being outside of my normal work scope this took a bit of effort on my part to research.  Not only do I have an existing network currently running in my household, I have a goal to not interrupt others in the household from their own internet usage.  This is the process I needed to setup my surplus Dell PowerConnect 2724 switch using the web interface for use with an existing network.

The Dell PowerConnect 27xx/28xx series is one of the lower brackets of their enterprise level switches. The series is built to bridge the gap between more robust needs of an enterprise but ease of use with a web interface. The PowerConnect series loses the web interface and changes to a CLI (command line interface) configuration in I believe the 5xxx series and above.  This switch has the ability to be un-managed and managed.  Make sure your switch is in managed mode by finding a lit green Managed Mode light.

To put the switch into managed mode from un-managed mode, Turn on the switch and let it boot fully.  This process takes about 90 seconds and finishes with a quick wave of all the port lights, finishing by the Power light staying a solid green color and Managed Mode light being off (for now).

Note: If power is red, its failed the post check you've got bigger problems.
Bend open a paper clip after the switch has finished booting and find the pinhole on the switch on the right side between the 24 ethernet ports and the SFP+ ports.  It should be beneath Managed and above Mode.
Click the hidden button with the paperclip and let the switch reboot.
(NOTE:Clicking the managed mode button again will delete all previous Managed Mode settings )
When both the Managed mode and Power lights are both solid green we're ready to move on.

However, accessing the switch is not easily done with simply plugging in an ethernet wire and typing the switches IP.  The main reason for difficulty is the default IP address of the switch versus most home networks and by default the switch has DHCP turned off.

Before we go any further, make sure you know (write it down) the IP address of your router or modem.  This is listed as the gateway you're connected to.  Follow instructions below if you don't know how to confirm your IP and gateway with the window below

The default IP of a Powerconnect 2724 is 192.168.2.1.  This IP differs from most home routers/modems.  To access the switch you'll need to disconnect a computer from the normal network, directly plug into any port on the PowerConnect switch, and change the computer's IP address to find the switch.  The IP address of your computer is currently on a different subnet 192.168.0.xxx vs 192.168.2.xxx of the switch and neither device will see each other. To fix this, follow below:


In windows 10:
To do this, go to Windows settings by clicking the start button followed by clicking the small gear on the bottom left.
Then go to Network
Then go to Change adapter options.

After finding the network card you believe is connected to the switch, right click it and go to Properties.
Note:The connection will appear to have limited connectivity or no connectivity rather than saying unplugged.
Left Click TCP/IPv4
Click Properties beneath it.

Now Set the values to below.

The IP address is going to be the IP address of the computer you're on, the final 3 digits looks arbitrary but it isn't.  It has rules on what it CAN'T be.  As long as it's not the same as the gateway, not .0, not .255, and on the same subnet 192.168.2.xxx as the gateway(currently the switch), we're good. 

The gateway, is temporarily going to be assigned to the default IP address of the switch.  In general, the gateway should always be the DHCP router.  When we hook up the switch into the router, we'll need to change the switch's gateway to the router's IP and the computer's gateway to the router's IP(or revert back to Obtain an IP address automatically to use DHCP)

*****Click OK, and OK again to exit the properties windows and have the settings take effect.

Confirm the settings have taken effect by opening up the command prompt.

Hit Windows + R to open run box

Type cmd and hit enter

Type ipconfig and hit enter to verify computer's IP.

Now test we can find the switch by typing into the command Prompt

ping 192.168.2.1

note: Section added late, I'm pinging my router after a finished setup

You should see no packets lost and a confirmation you found your switch.

Next we'll go over the initial changes to the switch to make it work with your home network, and the obnoxious bug of your web browser's cache when configuring the switch.  Stay tuned for Part 2.