2 Problems on a ProCurve 2626

[Billy Cooter]

Okay....I really appreciate any help here...I know more about servers then I do switches and feel out of my league here.

I am setting up 2 new linux webservers behind a ProCurve 2626.

Let's say these servers were going to primarly be:
Network Drop: port 1
Server One on xxx.xx.xxx.10 port 3 and
Server Two on xxx.xx.xxx.100 port 5

For some reason Server One keeps grabbing the .100 IP and I need to remove it from /etc/ips restart networking and then do a restart networking on Server Two so it grabs it's IP back.

So I decdiced to put each of these servers in a VLAN so that they would be limited to what IP's could be used.

I have read the documentation and many online posts and am thoroughly confused...which led me to problem #2.

First I was trying to follow some advice on the forums and eneted the "ip routing" command and lost connectivity....I went to the DC were the switch is at and reset it to factory defaults (holding reset and clear button at the same time) but still cannot serial or telnet in....I am sure I will figure that out however.

Once I can connect again I would like to place Server One in a Vlan with the network uplink and only allow it to use ips xxx.xx.xxx.10 - xxx.xx.xxx.99

I would then like Server Two in a Vlan with the network uplink and only allow it to use the ips xxx.xx.xxx.100 - xxx.xx.xxx.128.

If anybody can step me through this I would greatly appreciate it!!!

-Thanks Billy

[Matt Hobbs]

First things first, to do the factory reset:

Using the Clear/Reset Buttons
To execute the factory default reset, perform these steps:
1.
Using pointed objects, simultaneously press both the Reset and Clear buttons on the front of the switch.
2.
Continue to press the Clear button while releasing the Reset button.
3.
When the Self Test LED begins to flash, release the Clear button.
The switch will then complete its self test and begin operating with the
configuration restored to the factory default settings.

For the second part of the problem, I'm assuming your using DHCP and you want these servers to always pickup the same IP address. The best way to do this is to set a DHCP reservation on the DHCP server. On the DHCP server you key in the mac-addresses of the clients that need a reserved IP address.

Alternatively, give them static IP addresses.

I think this would be an easier method than creating a new VLAN - you then have to deal with ip-helper addresses, routing configuration, etc.

[Matt Hobbs]

"I'm assuming _your_ using DHCP"... you're, you're... I just fell victim from my own pet peeve.

[Billy Cooter]

Hi Matt,

I actually am using static IP addresses on the servers that is what is so wierd...I am not using DHCP anywere.

That is why I thought I should go to a VLAN.

Also that is the process I followed to reset the serve but could still not Telnet in...I will try again in case my pen slipped off a button early or something.

-Billy

[Matt Hobbs]

That's way too weird. Setting up VLANs should not really help in this instance. I think you've got a problem somewhere else on the servers and by setting up VLANs you may just be masking it.

If you did want to try it though, you would enable ip routing on the 2600, create 2 vlans with IP addresses, and set a default route on the 2600 to your next hop router. The next hop router would also need to be configured with information about networks on the 2600. The servers default gateways would point the IP addresses of the 2600.(This is why I don't think you should bother with it).

Also after a factory reset there is no IP address by default, you need go in via serial console to set one. If there is a DHCP server it will pick on up from that though.

[Eirram_1]

Hello Billy,

If resetting the switch to factory defaults, then you would not be able to telnet in anymore as resetting removes all static IP addressing from the switch.

Regarding your problem description, you are not using a DHCP server on your network, yet a host that is statically configured to .10 keeps ending up with .100. Perhaps you should look into this first. Is there only one NIC per server? Is this a Network Load Balancing solution of any kind?

If the NICs are truly using static IP, then it does not make immediate sense.

If I understand you correctly, then ultimately you would like to have each server in its own VLAN. This is easily done. Just follow the manual on how to create VLANs. Should hosts from one VLAN (subnet-1 for example) need to reach the server on the other VLAN (subnet-2), then you will need to enable ip routing. Take note that once you enable IP routing, all hosts on directly connected subnets will be able to see eachother.

Example for layer 2 only:

switch (config)# vlan 10
switch (vlan-10)# ip addre 10.0.10.1/24
switch (vlan-10)# untag xxxx ports
switch (config)# vlan 20
switch (vlan-20)# ip addre 10.0.20.1/24
switch (vlan-20)# untag xxxx ports

For layer 3, enable ip routing as follows:

switch (config)# ip routing

and you're done.

If the servers do not need to be in their own VLAN, just leave swith as default (VLAN-1) and setup your ip default-gateway pointing to the nearest exit :)

Hope this helps you forward. When in doubt, read the manual. There is a lot of good info there.
Goodluck

[Billy Cooter]

Eirram...thanks for the reply.

I know it doesn't make any sense and that is why I am so frustrated.

The servers do have two nics, connected to different switches, and both using totall different IP ranges.

The first nic is the one I am having the problem with and uses public ip's. The seconds nic's connect to the backupswitch using 198.xxx.xxx.xxx ip's on a private backup network for transfering data in between the servers and a backup server.

This is not a load balancing solution of any kind.

I've read the manual on the Vlan's about 3 times and it isn't making much sense to me and that is why I started posting here and I thank you all so much for your help.

I realize that by resetting the switch I cannot telnet in any more but I can't even Serial in now....this is becoming very disconcerning as I am not sure what damage I have done.

-Billy

[Eirram_1]

Hello Billy,

0K, that makes the picture somewhat clearer. So there are two NICs per server, and one leg goes to a private network that is for backup purposes. It is the public IP NICs that is showing the erratic behaviour. At the moment it still mystifies me.

Regarding the serial cable. If not done so already, do as follows. Download TeraTerm at URL: http://www.ayera.com/teraterm/ install and start it (setup for COM1 connection). Connect the console cable to your computer and the switch. The reboot the switch. You should see characters starting to fly by on the screen. Hyperterm should give you the same result, but we have found TeraTerm to be the better choice for serial connections.

VLANs can be confusing and frustrative when starting out, but it will come to you. A good starting point would be:

http://www.3com.com/nsc/200374.html (direct url to the document is:

http://www.3com.com/other/pdfs/solutions/en_US/20037401.pdf


The first problem I would attack is the NIC issue. It puzzles me why a statically configured IP changes just like that. It is, as we say "unexpected behaviour" :-)

Goodluck