Real console on Linksys SRW2024 switch
- Originally published: 29th May 2008
- Updated: 6th April 2022
I’ve been meaning to put this up for a while, as I’ve been very critical in the past about Linksys and their very - challenging? useless? way to configure the SRW2024 switch - however there is a better way to configure the devices. There is however, a Cisco-like interface that you can use and ditch the useless default console. First, telnet (or SSH, or console) to your device and login
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$ telnet 10.1.1.2
Login Screen
============
User Name: admin
Password:
Then, when you get to the main menu, press Ctrl + Z on your terminal.
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Switch Main Menu
================
1. System Configuration Menu
2. Port Status
3. Port Configuration
4. System Mode (Layer 2 / Layer 3)
5. Help
0. logout
ArrowKey/TAB/BACK=Move SPACE=Toggle ENTER=Select ESC=Back
>
Now you should get to a prompt that has a couple of options.
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>?
Unknown parameter
May be one from the following list:
debug exit help lcli logout mcli menu
>
From here, we want to launch the lcli application. When we have done so, we will be asked to login.
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>lcli
User Name:admin
SRW2024#
Now we arrive at a VERY Cisco-ish console. It follows the Cisco command set (mainly). Using a ? to view available options, we get:
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SRW2024#
clear Reset functions
clock Manage the system clock
configure Enter configuration mode
copy Copy from one file to another
crypto Cryptographic commands
debug-mode Exit from the EXEC to debug mode
delete Delete a file from the flash file system
disable Disable privileged commands
dot1x 802.1x EXEC commands
exit Exit from the EXEC
help Description of the interactive help system
login Exit from the EXEC and Log in
no Negate command
ping Send echo messages
reload Halt and perform a cold restart
resume Resume telnet session.
set Set System Parameters
show Show running system information
telnet Open telnet session.
terminal Set current session functions
test diagnose
traceroute Discover the routes to destination
SRW2024#
You can use these commands to configure the switch, change port settings, and gather information about the switch configuration.
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SRW2024# show ver
SW version 1.2.2 ( date 28-Jan-2007 time 13:48:36 )
Boot version 1.0.1 ( date 11-Jun-2006 time 18:43:59 )
HW version 00.03.00
SRW2024#
SRW2024# show interfaces status
Flow Link Back Mdix
Port Type Duplex Speed Neg ctrl State Pressure Mode
-------- ------------ ------ ----- -------- ---- ----------- -------- -------
g1 1G-Copper Full 100 Enabled Off Up Disabled On
g2 1G-Copper Full 1000 Enabled Off Up Disabled On
g3 1G-Copper Full 1000 Enabled Off Up Disabled Off
g4 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g5 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g6 1G-Copper Full 1000 Enabled Off Up Disabled On
g7 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g8 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g9 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g10 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g11 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g12 1G-Combo-C -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g13 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g14 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g15 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g16 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g17 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g18 1G-Copper Full 100 Enabled Off Up Disabled On
g19 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g20 1G-Copper Half 10 Enabled Off Up Disabled Off
g21 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g22 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g23 1G-Copper -- -- -- -- Down -- --
g24 1G-Combo-C -- -- -- -- Down -- --
Flow Link
Ch Type Duplex Speed Neg control State
-------- ------- ------ ----- -------- ------- -----------
ch1 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch2 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch3 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch4 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch5 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch6 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch7 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
ch8 -- -- -- -- -- Not Present
SRW2024#
SRW2024# show vlan
Vlan Name Ports Type Authorization
---- ----------------- --------------------------- ------------ -------------
1 1 g(1-4,9-16,21-24),ch(1-8) other Required
10 LAN g(1-4,17-20) permanent Required
203 DMZ g(1-8) permanent Required
SRW2024#
You can go into configuration mode by simply using the configure command.
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SRW2024# configure
SRW2024(config)#
aaa Authentication, Authorization and Accounting is used
to manage user access to the system
arp Set a static ARP entry
bridge Global Bridge table configuration commands
class-map This command create class map and enter class map
configuration mode.
Use no form in order to delete the class.
clock Manage the system clock
crypto Global cryptographic features configuration subcommands
do execute an EXEC-level command
dot1x Global Configuration Commands for 802.1x
enable Modify enable password parameters.
end Exit from configure mode
exit Exit from configure mode
file-system File system configuration command
gvrp Global GVRP configuration commands
help Description of the interactive help system
hostname Set system's network name
interface Select an interface to configure
ip IP configuration
lacp Global IEEE 802.3 link aggregation commands
line To identify a specific line for configuration
lldp Configure LLDP protocol
logging Configure message logging facilities.
mac MAC access lists commands
management IP management
no Negate command
policy-map This command create policy map and enter policy map
configuration mode. Use no form to delete the policy
map.
port switch ports configuration
priority-queue Set priority queue parameters
qos Enable/Disable QoS on the device and enter the QoS
mode (advance/basic/service).
radius-server Modify RADIUS parameters
rmon Remote Monitoring (RMON) configuration subcommand
service Service commands.
snmp-server SNMP and system commands.
sntp Global Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP)
configuration subcommands
spanning-tree Configure Spanning Tree Subsystem
tacacs-server TACACS server command
username Establish User Name Authentication.
vlan Vlan commands
wrr-queue Configure queue drop mechanism on egress port.
SRW2024(config)#
As you can see, everything looks VERY Cisco. For those familiar with setting up Cisco switches, finding your way around this console mode in the SRW2024 will be fairly easy - with only a few variations on the “Cisco method” of configuration. So, enjoy your no longer useless serial, SSH, and telnet configuration of your SRW2024 switch and get the most out of this excellent piece of hardware! EDIT: Will add to this as I use the switch more via CLI.
Basic Reference Guide
Configure VLAN
1) Create the vlan in the database:
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# configure
(config)# vlan database
(config-vlan)# vlan 993 (enter your VLAN ID of choice here)
(config-vlan)# end
2) Add a switchport to the VLAN:
untagged
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# configure
(config)# interface ethernet g1
(config-if)# switchport access vlan 993
(config-if)# end
tagged (Repeat for each allowed vlan)
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# configure
(config)# interface ethernet g1
(config-if)# switchport general allowed vlan add 993
(config-if)# end
Show Port Config:
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# show interfaces configuration ethernet g1
Flow Admin Back Mdix
Port Type Duplex Speed Neg control State Pressure Mode
-------- ------------ ------ ----- -------- ------- ----- -------- ----
g1 1G-Copper Full 1000 Enabled Off Up Disabled Auto
Show port configuration
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# show interfaces switchport ethernet g1
Port : g1
Port Mode: General
Gvrp Status: disabled
Ingress Filtering: true
Acceptable Frame Type: admitOnlyVlanTagged
Ingress UnTagged VLAN ( NATIVE ): 1
Protected: Disabled
Port is member in:
Vlan Name Egress rule Port Membership Type
---- -------------------------------- ----------- --------------------
1 1 Untagged System
10 LAN Tagged Static
192 wifi Tagged Static
203 DMZ Tagged Static
Forbidden VLANS:
Vlan Name
---- --------------------------------
Classification rules:
SRW2024#
Show vlan config
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# show vlan
Vlan Name Ports Type Authorization
---- ----------------- --------------------------- ------------ -------------
1 1 g(1-4),ch(1-8) other Required
10 LAN g(1-4,13-24) permanent Required
192 wifi g(1,12) permanent Required
203 DMZ g(1-11) permanent Required
Additional info added 6th April 2022
So, there seems to be a sudden surge in interest in these switches - likely a whole heap of them have been sold off somewhere, and snapped up for cheap - as even when new, the feature set of this switch vs its price was amazing.
To make things a little more complete, I’ll add in the boot messages received via the serial console when booting:
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------ Performing the Power-On Self Test (POST) ------
UART Channel Loopback Test........................PASS
Testing the System SDRAM..........................PASS
Boot1 Checksum Test...............................PASS
Boot2 Checksum Test...............................PASS
Flash Image Validation Test.......................PASS
BOOT Software Version 1.0.1 Built 11-Jun-2006 18:43:59
:::
::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ::::: :::::::::: ::: ::: ::::::::::
::: ::: ::::: ::: ::: ::::: :::: ::: :::: :::: :::: :::
::: ::: ::: ::: ::: :::::::: :::: :::::::: ::::
::: ::: ::: :: ::: :::::::::: :::::::::: :::: ::::::::::
::: ::: ::: :::::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::
:::::::::: ::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::......::: :::: :::......:::
......... ... ... ... ... .... .......... .... ..........
Linksys SmartSwitch based on 88E6218 with ARM946E-S.
64 MByte SDRAM. I-Cache 8 KB. D-Cache 8 KB. Cache Enabled.
Autoboot in 2 seconds - press RETURN or Esc. to abort and enter prom.
Preparing to decompress...
100%
Decompressing SW from flash
100%
OK
Running from RAM...
*******************************************************************
*** Running SW Ver. 1.2.2b Date 28-Feb-2008 Time 16:47:37 ***
*******************************************************************
HW version is 00.03.00
Base Mac address is: 00:18:f8:9b:38:6a
Dram size is : 64M bytes
Dram first block size is : 40960K bytes
Dram first PTR is : 0x1800000
Flash size is: 8M
01-Jan-2000 01:01:07 %CDB-I-LOADCONFIG: Loading startup configuration.
Device configuration:
Slot 1 - LS-SRW2024 HW Rev. 15.15
Tapi Version: v1.3.3.1
Core Version: v1.3.3.1
01-Jan-2000 01:01:21 %INIT-I-InitCompleted: Initialization task is completed
Interestingly, we can break out into the bootloader with RETURN or ESC. This gives us the following options:
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Startup Menu
[1] Download Software
[2] Erase Flash File
[3] Password Recovery Procedure
[4] Set Terminal Baud-Rate
[5] Back
Enter your choice or press 'ESC' to exit:
Idling at this menu will eventually cause a timeout and the switch will boot as per normal.
The ‘Download Software’ option gives the ability to upload a firmware over the serial console using XMODEM.
The ‘Erase Flash File’ gives us this pretty unhelpful prompt:
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Warning! About to erase a Flash file.
Are you sure (Y/N) ? y
Write Flash file name (Up to 8 characters, Enter for none.):
Flash file will NOT be erased!
==== Press Enter To Continue ====
Annoyingly, I don’t know what files are actually on the flash - as I haven’t found a way as yet to list out the contents of the flash structure.
The other parts are self explanatory.
Firmware for the device
I grabbed the firmware from my device (SRW2024P - see the boot log above) via the lcli as follows:
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console# copy boot tftp://<tftp ip>/srw2024/boot-1.0.1.bin
01-Jan-2000 01:23:41 %COPY-I-FILECPY: Files Copy - source URL flash://BOOT destination URL tftp://<tftp ip>/srw2024/boot-1.0.1.bin
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
01-Jan-2000 01:23:44 %COPY-W-TRAP: The copy operation was completed successfully!
524304 bytes copied in 000003 [hh:mm:ss]
console# copy image tftp://<tftp ip>/srw2024/image-1.2.2b.bin
01-Jan-2000 01:24:05 %COPY-I-FILECPY: Files Copy - source URL flash://image destination URL tftp://<tftp ip>/srw2024/image-1.2.2b.bin
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
01-Jan-2000 01:24:26 %COPY-W-TRAP: The copy operation was completed successfully!
3475955 bytes copied in 000021 [hh:mm:ss]
console#
I’ve placed these files here in the file srw2024-1.2.2b.zip
If you extract these to your own TFTP server, you should be able to reverse the commands above and copy them to your boot and image files respectively to upgrade a switch to this firmware version.
I have also included SRW2024P_image_v1290.zip in this directory - as this may include an even newer firmware version for this device.
This file contains SRW2024P_image_v1290.bix. I couldn’t figure out how to load this file via the CLI - and it may require an active web connection (IE6 only?) to be able to use. I might try the exercise of creating a Windows XP VM to test this theory with :) If I can do that, then I should be able to back up the files as per the above procedure and add them as srw2024-1.2.9.zip. If this file exists in the firmware directory, chances are I succeeded with this :)
That being said, there are reports that in v1.2.9, the Control + Z trick to break out and use the lcli interface has been ‘fixed’. It may however have a usable web interface to be able to configure further though. Feedback would be welcome in the comments…