Managed switches

Looks like more changes are afoot. According to the email that hit my inbox, the church is assessing if individual STS are capable of setting up managed switches or if FM is going to have to do this task.

All switches that connect to a AP will have to be changed out.

I'm not sure what's behind it, but my guess is that the WiFi is going to be separated from the wired network.

russellhltn wrote:All switches that connect to a AP will have to be changed out.

Not really. Add the new managed switch. Plug all of the wireless access points into the new managed switch. Leave everything else plugged into the old switch.

You still need the firewall, but as I read the instructions the new managed switch is going to take care of the zone assignments that the firewall used to do.

Ok, let me rephrase: all APs will have to connect to a managed switch. Other devices can connect though a unmanaged switch if needed.

The switches will come in two sizes: 8 port and 24 port. (This is not counting the "feed" going back to the firewall.) I'm not sure how they'll determine what size to send out.

If whatever you received covers all the needs, then there's no reason to keep the old switch. I think that's going to be the majority of the cases I have.

Note that you'll no longer be able to use any ports on the firewall. Everything has to go to the switch. Including FHC, FM zones, etc.

If they are going to send 24-port switches to all of the buildings, then the old switches can go away. Most of my buildings will overrun an 8-port switch, and so the old switch will not go away.

The stake center could use three new 24-port switches, but it would be better just to add an 8-port switch between the firewall and the existing rack of multiple switches, I would think.

In my case, if they send me an 8-port, then I'll have to change out the old 10/100 unmanaged switch for a GigE version so it's not a bottleneck in the system. Fortunately, unmanaged GigE switches are pretty cheap nowadays.

Mikerowaved wrote:In my case, if they send me an 8-port, then I'll have to change out the old 10/100 unmanaged switch for a GigE version so it's not a bottleneck in the system. Fortunately, unmanaged GigE switches are pretty cheap nowadays.

How is it not a bottleneck now?

Edit: is it because some devices are going direct to the firewall?

russellhltn wrote:How is it not a bottleneck now?

It is - rather, they are - in all 3 of our buildings. Been contemplating changing them out, but I'm glad now I waited. I'm crossing my fingers 24-port gear shows up. I don't really know how the line will be drawn to determine who gets 8-port and who gets 24-port.

I managed 1,800 Meraki networks with my previous employer and when the church installed Meraki in the meetinghouses I wondered why they didn't also do the switches. I am glad to hear they are doing it. It will surely simplify troubleshooting and loads of other issues that the GSD deals with.

I know that many STS's aren't networking experts so if I wanted to volunteer to help with the changes in my area anyone know how I could get on a list?

jacobstimpson wrote:I know that many STS's aren't networking experts so if I wanted to volunteer to help with the changes in my area anyone know how I could get on a list?

I'd contact the FM group and let them know. Whatever the STS can't/doesn't do falls into their lap.

Unfortunately the FM group people seem not to be network experts either. Bishops in one of my buildings started complaining that the internet wasn't working... Went to investigate and discovered they have installed one of these new 8 port switches but didn't bother testing to see if any connected clerk computers or access points worked.

I was able to revert to the old switch and get everything working again but now what? I can see that nothing lights up when plugged into the new switch. Looks like it's cloud managed and as STS we don't have access to manage it? Kind of at a loss as to how to troubleshoot a cloud managed switch that I don't manage.

mitchrichie wrote:Looks like it's cloud managed and as STS we don't have access to manage it? Kind of at a loss as to how to troubleshoot a cloud managed switch that I don't manage.

It's all set up and configured via Technology Manager. Yes, STS does have access to that.

mitchrichie wrote:I was able to revert to the old switch and get everything working again but now what?

As STS, you should be able to install the new managed switch. Instructions are at the Help Center. Go to this page and scroll down to Meetinghouse Switches. The Meetinghouse Meraki Managed Switch Installation Guide link takes you to a PDF file with instructions.

If you are interested, the Meetinghouse Technology folks are providing online training through Microsoft Teams on Friday, September 18, and Monday, September 21. If you send me your email in a Private Message, I will forward the information to you. If you were able to reconfigure back to the old network, you probably will not need the online training but will be able to do it from the printed instructions. I have read them, and even some of our less technically-minded assistant STS folks think they can do it. I will let them, but I will also be there with them.

As an STS, I was given the opportunity to accept the assignment to install the new switches at meetinghouses in my stake, or to let the FM Group do it. I accepted the assignment. My switches are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Monday) and the fun will begin for me. Based on information I have received, 579 of us in the United States agreed to do it.

I just received my heads-up on this change today, along with the Teams meeting schedule. We don't have a rack -- just a little table. I need to check to see if we have an open power socket for the managed switch. We don't have many power outlets there, and I don't really want to daisy-chain surge protectors.

I just did a network inventory. We currently have:
- One old Meraki firewall.
- One 16-port unmanaged switch, connected to port #1 of the Meraki firewall.
- Four POE power injectors connected to four Meraki Wireless Access Points (and to the unmanaged switch).
- One CAT 5 for the clerk's office, connected to the unmanaged switch.
- One CAT 5 for the podium, connected to the unmanaged switch.
- Three unlabeled CAT 5 cables connected to the unmanaged switch.
- One CAT 5 for the HVAC (I think), connected to port #2 of the Meraki firewall.
- One CAT 5 cable without an RJ-45 connector, dangling from the ceiling.

drepouille wrote:I just did a network inventory. We currently have:
- One old Meraki firewall.

You will keep the firewall. You will add the managed switch in line right after the firewall.

The WAPS will plug directly into the new managed switch, along with the HVAC or other facility cable. The old unmanaged switch also can plug into the managed switch, if needed.

You will program the ports on the new managed switch for the proper function of the cable plugged into each port.

That is my simple solution. Be sure to follow the instructions or none of it will work.

drepouille wrote:Four POE power injectors connected to four Meraki Wireless Access Points (and to the unmanaged switch).

You can keep them, or let the switch supply the power. That will free up some outlets and space, not to mention simplifying the cabling.

russellhltn wrote:You can keep them, or let the switch supply the power.

Does the managed switch supply power to the WAPS? I must have missed that somewhere. That is good news, since all of the WAPS are required to be plugged into the managed switch after the reconfiguration.

It sure looks like we can get rid of the power injectors:
MS120-8 LP includes 67W PoE/PoE+
MS120-8 FP includes 124W PoE/PoE+
Up to 30W per port
https://meraki.cisco.com/product/switch ... s/ms120-8/

Does anyone know how the criteria, for the type of switch(s) to be installed, is arrived at?
Does someone (STS?) carry out a pre delivery survey?

Biggles wrote:Does anyone know how the criteria, for the type of switch(s) to be installed, is arrived at?
Does someone (STS?) carry out a pre delivery survey?

I was sent an email asking if I would be willing to install it. It included install instructions. I immediately responded with concerns about some buildings, backed by network diagrams.

Some basic planning rules:
- Nothing but the first managed switch will connect to the firewall.
- Each AP should be a Meraki and has to be connected directly to a managed switch
- Each workforce user should be directly connected to a manged switch.
- The feed to the switch will be on port 9, so it doesn't count against the 8 ports.
- All other users can be connected to a unmanned switch. It is not expected that all connections will be accommodated by the new switches. In many cases old switches will remain to service "Public" zone users.

Thank you for the quick reply russellhltn!

Having read the installation guide, in my own building we have 5 AP's. In the first place before the switches are delivered, I'm concerned that without some form of feedback, we might not be sent the correct number of devices for installation.

Biggles wrote:Having read the installation guide, in my own building we have 5 AP's. In the first place before the switches are delivered, I'm concerned that without some form of feedback, we might not be sent the correct number of devices for installation.

Ok, so 5 ports will be used for the APs, and one port used to feed your existing switches of public zone users (clerk computer, podium jacks, etc.)

Seems like a 8-port switch will do the job. I'm sure the starting point is every building gets one 8-port switch.

You still have two ports left over to feed other switches to support FM zone and "Special" zone (FHC).

What I understand from reading the various guides/manuals is the maximum number of POE ports available is 4. The Church's guide indicates that an additional managed switch is required, if you have more than 4 AP's. Or have I misunderstood what I've read?

Biggles wrote:What I understand from reading the various guides/manuals is the maximum number of POE ports available is 4. The Church's guide indicates that an additional managed switch is required, if you have more than 4 AP's. Or have I misunderstood what I've read?

I don't remember reading anything like that. Is this from the manuals applying to the managed switches, or were they for older switches?

Either way, I'm sure you can put a POE power supply between the managed switch and the AP. As I understand it, the instruction to go "direct" mean you can't put them behind another (unmanaged) switch. If you have a AP connecting to a remote switch, then that's an argument for getting another switch. Otherwise, you'd have to run that cable back to the main switch.

I'm guessing you haven't read the installation guide, in the Help Centre>Meeting House Technology>Internet>Meetinghouse Switches.
Paraphrasing it mentions no POE injectors to be used after the managed switch. The installation diagrams show connecting an additional managed switch to accommodate additional AP's.

That's ... odd. I wonder where that comes from? They haven't exhausted all the ports in the first example, even with Special (FHC) and FM zones in use. It looks to me like they could have had 5 APs and still accommodated all functions. Maybe they wanted to keep a port open for Workforce??

And in the two switch example, the first switch has 8 APs on it's so it's not a POE issue.

I'd reply to the mht email and ask them. I'm thinking this isn't a technical issue, but the desire to keep open all functions for future dates. But that's only going to happen if you've got both a FHC and a employee working out of that building.

Perhaps the switch itself has a 4 POE limit. I am not aware of the specifications. I totally missed the fact that POE was in the managed switch at all.

As for how it was decided who gets what, Headquarters made that decision on their own. In my case, I do not have more than 4 WAPs in any building and will probably just plant the managed switch after the firewall, connect the WAPs and FM Stuff to it, along with a cable to the current unmanaged switch that will continue to handle everything else that is "ordinary".

Even with the FHC meetinghouse, that is 4 WAPs, 1 FM line, and 1 FHC line to the separate unmanaged switch that feeds the center now.

lajackson wrote:Perhaps the switch itself has a 4 POE limit.

My first thought is perhaps only the first 4 ports are PoE. But then on the next page, they show an example of a switch powering 8 APs.

If I had more than 4 WAPs, I would pull the online instructions from the manufacturer and figure out the POE issue. I have not done that because (1) it is not an issue for me, and (2) I have seen four different 8-port model numbers in various instructions and other communications I have received.

My managed switches arrived today, but I will not even look at them until sometime next week. I have a Virtual Sacrament Meeting problem in four locations to resolve from scratch this week.

lajackson wrote:I have a Virtual Sacrament Meeting problem in four locations to resolve from scratch this week.

Understood. Cell phone on a selfie stick duck-tapped to a microphone stand placed right by the podium. You can probably do more, but that will put you in the game.

All ports on the Meraki Managed switch are POE. Use as many ports as needed on the first Meraki switch for APs. If you have more than 4 APs and 2 Vlans in a building then a second 8 port switch is being provided for growth purposes. But if you can fit all APs and various VLAN devices on the first switch then you may not need the second Meraki Switch. The eventual goal is to Merakify the entire building so use the 2nd switch if you have one.

[Moderator note: NormanKR is a church employee.]

Thanks for the clarification. The Church installation guide gives conflicting information about connecting AP's!

Has anyone successfully installed the new switches yet? I tried, but the switches do not work with the supplied SFP modules. The switch status light stays orange. I can connect to one of the rj45 ports- they the switch status turns green. The sfp modules I received are Approved Networks, model GLC-TE-A. After I spent an hour on the phone with global services, they suggested I contact FM for replacement modules. Our FM is not in the loop, so they don't know what to do.

dcburnett wrote:Has anyone successfully installed the new switches yet?

Mine are due to arrive today. I'll try my first building this evening.

dcburnett wrote:Has anyone successfully installed the new switches yet? I tried, but the switches do not work with the supplied SFP modules. The switch status light stays orange. I can connect to one of the rj45 ports- they the switch status turns green. The sfp modules I received are Approved Networks, model GLC-TE-A. After I spent an hour on the phone with global services, they suggested I contact FM for replacement modules. Our FM is not in the loop, so they don't know what to do.

I have installed two buildings with 2x8 port switches in each. The additional SFP modules sent with our units worked just fine. (Did you plug them in far enough?) F/W Internet to first switch (SFP) then cross-connect the switches together from second SFP (on switch 1) to SFP on switch 2. Configuration of the switch ports was absolutely trivial and easy to do through TM. I have submitted an RFE to add a logical name to the switches in the TM interface similar to APs so you don't have to remember the switch serial number for managing them.

You can get SFP modules from Amazon which work in these switches. Try this one.

Carlton
Lewisville Texas Stake

dbaresrc wrote:

dcburnett wrote:Has anyone successfully installed the new switches yet? I tried, but the switches do not work with the supplied SFP modules. The switch status light stays orange. I can connect to one of the rj45 ports- they the switch status turns green. The sfp modules I received are Approved Networks, model GLC-TE-A. After I spent an hour on the phone with global services, they suggested I contact FM for replacement modules. Our FM is not in the loop, so they don't know what to do.

I have installed two buildings with 2x8 port switches in each. The additional SFP modules sent with our units worked just fine. (Did you plug them in far enough?) F/W Internet to first switch (SFP) then cross-connect the switches together from second SFP (on switch 1) to SFP on switch 2. Configuration of the switch ports was absolutely trivial and easy to do through TM. I have submitted an RFE to add a logical name to the switches in the TM interface similar to APs so you don't have to remember the switch serial number for managing them.

You can get SFP modules from Amazon which work in these switches. Try this one.

Carlton
Lewisville Texas Stake

I used the pre-installed modules, and also tried the spare modules. I'm pretty sure it was pushed in far enough. Can you tell me which modules you have? Is it the Approved Networks GLC-TE-A? Apparently there are some issues with compatibility. The instructions show F/W internet to SFP-9, then use sfp-10 to connect to a second switch. Is that what you did?

dcburnett wrote:The sfp modules I received are Approved Networks, model GLC-TE-A.

From the shipment I got:

The units that shipped already installed in the switch are MA-SFP-1GB-TX-A and SPF-T (1 GB)

The additional ones that are for use in adding another managed switch are GLC-TE-A (100MB)

I wonder if it makes a different what port they're installed in?

dcburnett wrote:I used the pre-installed modules, and also tried the spare modules. I'm pretty sure it was pushed in far enough. Can you tell me which modules you have? Is it the Approved Networks GLC-TE-A? Apparently there are some issues with compatibility. The instructions show F/W internet to SFP-9, then use sfp-10 to connect to a second switch. Is that what you did?

Correct, that's the wiring I did.

The SPFs in my box were the GLC-TE-A. They weren't labeled as Cisco or Meraki though. They looked like third-party.

There are differences between SPF models / versions. If you are looking on Amazon, you can search for GLC-TE and get results. If you add the "A" suffix, there aren't any models listed. At least I couldn't find any. I was not able to find any documentation that explained the difference between the "A" and non-"A" models. The unit I linked to in my earlier post is a GLC-TE.

Carlton

russellhltn wrote: The additional ones that are for use in adding another managed switch are GLC-TE-A (100MB)

According to their website specs, these SPFs are 1 GB/Sec not 100MB.

I stand corrected. It says "1000BaseT", not "100". I missed a zero.

Bottom line, it seems one model is being used for "in" and one for "out" - at least according to my shipment. I don't know if there's a technical reason or if it was just availability. But when new things don't work, that's the kind of questions I start asking.

Thanks all for your help. According to https://community.meraki.com/t5/Switchi ... td-p/36459, there are few/no compatibility issues for these SFP's. However, I am unable to get past the orange light with the sfp port, whereas it boots fine through one of the 8 rj45 ports. Guess I'll buy a different module and see if that works.

I did my first switch last night. The main light stayed orange for a long time, then suddenly went white. It may have been 5 minutes.

russellhltn wrote:I did my first switch last night. The main light stayed orange for a long time, then suddenly went white. It may have been 5 minutes.

Could this be because firmware/configuration updates are happening?
I ask because I will be involved in installing these switches, in my own Stake next year. Forewarned is forearmed!

Biggles wrote:Could this be because firmware/configuration updates are happening?

Yes. I attended some online training recently, and was told that these switches have been in the box for several months now. When they first connect to the Internet, they phone home for all of the updates they are missing. Depending on your Internet connection speed, this sometimes happens quickly, and sometimes takes much longer.

Thanks for the information!

lajackson wrote:

mitchrichie wrote:I was able to revert to the old switch and get everything working again but now what?

As STS, you should be able to install the new managed switch. Instructions are at the Help Center. Go to this page and scroll down to Meetinghouse Switches. The Meetinghouse Meraki Managed Switch Installation Guide link takes you to a PDF file with instructions.

If you are interested, the Meetinghouse Technology folks are providing online training through Microsoft Teams on Friday, September 18, and Monday, September 21. If you send me your email in a Private Message, I will forward the information to you. If you were able to reconfigure back to the old network, you probably will not need the online training but will be able to do it from the printed instructions. I have read them, and even some of our less technically-minded assistant STS folks think they can do it. I will let them, but I will also be there with them.

As an STS, I was given the opportunity to accept the assignment to install the new switches at meetinghouses in my stake, or to let the FM Group do it. I accepted the assignment. My switches are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Monday) and the fun will begin for me. Based on information I have received, 579 of us in the United States agreed to do it.

Thanks for the info. When I click on the pdf link I get an error - failed to load the pdf document. Is this just me or is the link down?

mitchrichie wrote:Thanks for the info. When I click on the pdf link I get an error - failed to load the pdf document. Is this just me or is the link down?

I don't see any issues. There may have been a temporary server issue. If you still have problems there could be a problem on your end. Check that you have an operating PDF file viewer and you can open another PDF document from another source.

jdlessley wrote:

mitchrichie wrote:Thanks for the info. When I click on the pdf link I get an error - failed to load the pdf document. Is this just me or is the link down?

I don't see any issues. There may have been a temporary server issue. If you still have problems there could be a problem on your end. Check that you have an operating PDF file viewer and you can open another PDF document from another source.

After reviewing the PDF instructions I see that we are supposed to connect all of the building access points directly to the new managed switch. This is a bit of a problem in our older buildings where wifi was added as a retrofit. The current setup has cat5e runs from the current unmanaged switch to the clerk(s) offices where we connect to another smaller unmanaged switch so that we can feed the clerk computer, printer, and wifi access points. Must these new managed switches be used? If so, it will require running new data cables to each of the access points - which is probably a good upgrade to do but will require quite a bit of attic crawling.

mitchrichie wrote:After reviewing the PDF instructions I see that we are supposed to connect all of the building access points directly to the new managed switch. This is a bit of a problem in our older buildings where wifi was added as a retrofit. The current setup has cat5e runs from the current unmanaged switch to the clerk(s) offices where we connect to another smaller unmanaged switch so that we can feed the clerk computer, printer, and wifi access points.

Send an email to mht. This probably qualifies to get additional switches for each location that has an AP connecting to it.

In my case I sent a diagram of the layout.

russellhltn wrote:

mitchrichie wrote:After reviewing the PDF instructions I see that we are supposed to connect all of the building access points directly to the new managed switch. This is a bit of a problem in our older buildings where wifi was added as a retrofit. The current setup has cat5e runs from the current unmanaged switch to the clerk(s) offices where we connect to another smaller unmanaged switch so that we can feed the clerk computer, printer, and wifi access points.

Send an email to mht. This probably qualifies to get additional switches for each location that has an AP connecting to it.

In my case I sent a diagram of the layout.

mht? Sorry not sure who that is haha.

mitchrichie wrote:mht? Sorry not sure who that is haha.

Assuming you're the STS, you'd have received an email from them alerting you to the plans and shipment. That's when you'd point out your needs.

mitchrichie wrote:I see that we are supposed to connect all of the building access points directly to the new managed switch. ...

Meetinghouse Technology (mht) conducted some training recently. In that training, they suggested that they were willing to send additional switches rather than going through the expense of rewiring the meetinghouse. Although rewiring might be less expensive that a bunch of managed switches.

The goal is eventually to replace all unmanaged switches in meetinghouses. The budget right now only allows for one or two to get the APs onto managed switches. But the way they described the switches, it sounded as if they did not want more than two managed switches daisy chained on the same path. As russellhltn said, your best bet is to contact mht for guidance.

lajackson wrote:But the way they described the switches, it sounded as if they did not want more than two managed switches daisy chained on the same path.

True, but that doesn't limit you to just two switches. Switches after the second one would be connected to a regular port set to "Link".

Installing the last of the switches, I've run into a discrepancy between the instructions and TM. The instructions say to put full-time employees in the "Workforce zone". But there's no such choice in TM. I've tried contacting MHT, but the responses didn't make sense.

Anyone else run into this?

russellhltn wrote:Installing the last of the switches, I've run into a discrepancy between the instructions and TM. The instructions say to put full-time employees in the "Workforce zone". But there's no such choice in TM. I've tried contacting MHT, but the responses didn't make sense.

Anyone else run into this?

If there are church employees that would use this network, a Workforce zone can be added to the network by the GSD, much like a Special Purpose zone. Once added, ports on the switch can then be designated as Workforce and employee equipment connected to that port.

nmecantwin73 wrote:If there are church employees that would use this network, a Workforce zone can be added to the network by the GSD, much like a Special Purpose zone.

Thanks! Now I know what I'm asking for.

Let's hope my 4th try contacting GSD works. Based on my experience in the last two days, it's taken a drop in quality

So quick question.. We have a building where we have a Access Point under the podium in the chapel. On the managed switch, we have set that port to Access Point. At times, we do use that cable at the podium lets say for Sacrament Broadcasts, so we would unplug the Access Point and plug in a computer to do the broadcast. Will this work with the switch still configured for Access point? or would we need to change it to Public?

Thanks

sdespain wrote:So quick question.. We have a building where we have a Access Point under the podium in the chapel. On the managed switch, we have set that port to Access Point. At times, we do use that cable at the podium lets say for Sacrament Broadcasts, so we would unplug the Access Point and plug in a computer to do the broadcast. Will this work with the switch still configured for Access point? or would we need to change it to Public?

I'm not sure what the difference is, but you probably should change it to public.

You might want to talk to FM about installing an Access Point so you don't have to do that.

We were upgraded this week and lots of things stopped working. From the instructions I saw every AP is supposed to be directly connected to the switch... We have a few unmanaged switches with POE injectors in our building because that is how "someone" wired it to get the number of AP's needed. They also took the unmanaged facility switch and created a loop between it and the new switch because they didn't pay attention to what cable was doing what... It was also my understanding that the facility switch was to be powered down... I work on Meraki networks all the time and so I know the capabilities of these devices and the native dashboard. I was impressed at what I found presented via TM and quickly changed VLAN's swapped and labeled Voice Port to make it a Data Port and got everything wired correctly... (I mean my way... LOL) If anyone knows who to provide feedback to on TM enhancements I think that a feature to help identify issues around unmanaged switches would be to add how many devices are sending data through a single port. If someone noticed that 5 devices were behind a port not labeled as a "wap" it would hopefully help the installers to identify where they may need to walk around the building to learn about current config before they create loops and bring wi-fi etc to its knees... (especially during tithing settlement when the meetinghouse is getting used nearly every day for zoom and network printing)

I think attribute "client count" from (https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api/ ... t-statuses) should do the trick.

russellhltn wrote:

sdespain wrote:So quick question.. We have a building where we have a Access Point under the podium in the chapel. On the managed switch, we have set that port to Access Point. At times, we do use that cable at the podium lets say for Sacrament Broadcasts, so we would unplug the Access Point and plug in a computer to do the broadcast. Will this work with the switch still configured for Access point? or would we need to change it to Public?

I'm not sure what the difference is, but you probably should change it to public.

You might want to talk to FM about installing an Access Point so you don't have to do that.

From my experience this week it appears the difference is in the subnet you get. So if the device plugged in at the podium needs to so other network devices you would need to change it to public, if not it "should" work.. I assume part of the programming on the back end would change it from a trunk to an access port and maybe a few other settings but nothing too "drastic"

however... The church thinks globally... I think locally... So there might be a lot more to it.

also... I can't find one of my access points.. Guess I need to take my sniffer to church so I can play hot and cold with signal strength.

I have a question... I am often called as a contractor to install new firewalls and switches in our meeting houses, and Institutes. I also go back to buildings in order to fix issues created by others who may not know how to install things correctly. These buildings are not part of my Stake, so access to Firewall or Managed Switch is a bit different. Installing a new Firewall or Switch is not an issue. I can program them just fine. The issue arises when I need to go back into a previously installed managed switch outside of my Stake. Here's the question... If I need to modify the managed switch setting (AP, FM, Special, etc...) is there a way for me to get back in there to make the modification, or do I need to contact the Global Service Center? Again, this is in a building where I am not the STS in that Stake.

Thank you,

pfiori wrote:Installing a new Firewall or Switch is not an issue. I can program them just fine. The issue arises when I need to go back into a previously installed managed switch outside of my Stake.

The same tools you use to install a new firewall or switch are the same tools you would use to change an existing setup. If you are able to install without calling the Global Services Department, you should be able to make any necessary changes without calling them.

Inside my own Stake, I can make any adjustments necessary because I'm an Assistant STS. However, outside of my own Stake, I don't have those options... Outside of my Stake, Technology Manager only gives me the ability to add a new Firewall or Switch. If I add a new switch, it allows me to do whatever programming I need. However, once I finish the programming and log out of the system, I can't get back in to make any changes. So, that being said, that same issue applies to other buildings. I currently need to go back into a previously installed switch and change the port assignment. Outside of calling the Global Service Department, I'm not sure how to get back in there.

I think understand what pfiori is asking. Outside of one’s own Stake, without access to the firewall (via TM) it wouldn’t be possible to set up, or reconfigure the switch.There are ways, but I won’t publish them here. Please correct me, if my assumption, is wrong.

pfiori wrote:Here's the question... If I need to modify the managed switch setting (AP, FM, Special, etc...) is there a way for me to get back in there to make the modification, or do I need to contact the Global Service Center? Again, this is in a building where I am not the STS in that Stake.

It sounds like you have "installer access" - something designed to allow hired contractors to install the equipment. This forum is primarily user-to-user support, so all we know is the kind of access an STS or other members of the stake would have.

I'd contact Global Service. They can find out if there's a way back in. I'm pretty sure FM has access, so you could also work though them.

pfiori wrote:However, once I finish the programming and log out of the system, I can't get back in to make any changes. . . . I currently need to go back into a previously installed switch and change the port assignment. Outside of calling the Global Service Department, I'm not sure how to get back in there.

In that case, you have three options. Ask the stake technology specialist to help you, ask the FM Group to help you, or ask the Global Services Department to help you. Any of the three can change the port assignments as needed.