Rockwell Automation Publication 1783-UM003G-EN-P - December 2012 29
Switch Software Features Chapter 2
Avoid Smartports Mismatches
A Smartports mismatch occurs when an attached device does not match the
Smartports role applied to the switch port. Mismatches can have adverse effects
on devices and your network.
Mismatches can result in the following conditions:
• Affect the behavior of the attached device
• Lower network performance (reduce the level of quality of service [QoS])
on CIP, voice, wireless, switch, and router traffic
• Reduce restrictions on guest access to the network
• Reduce protection from denial of service (DoS) attacks on the network
• Disable or shut down the port
We recommend that you always verify which Smartports role is applied to a port
before attaching a device to the port or reconnecting devices that have been
moved.
VLANs
A virtual local-area network (VLAN) is a logical segment of network users and
resources grouped by function, team, or application. This segmentation is
without regard to the physical location of the users and resources. For example,
VLANs can be based on the departments in your company or by sets of users who
communicate mostly with each other.
The switch ships with a default VLAN to which each switch port initially
belongs. The switch supports a maximum of 255 VLANs, including the default
VLAN.
Every VLAN is identified by its name and ID number. The default VLAN is
named default. The ID can be from 1...1001 and 1005...4094, where 1 is the
default ID.
You can assign switch ports to either the default VLAN or to VLANs that you
have created. The default VLAN alone might be sufficient based on the size and
requirements of your network. We recommend that you first determine your
VLAN needs before creating VLANs.
The default VLAN is also the management VLAN. After the initial setup, you
can create VLANs and designate any VLAN on the switch as the management
VLAN. The management VLAN ensures administrative access to the switch. You
must assign one of the switch ports to the management VLAN; otherwise, you
will not have administrative access to the switch. Initially all ports are assigned to
the management VLAN.
You can assign all ports, regardless of their Smartports role, to the default VLAN
(default).