Switch Reference Guide

Switches serve as the hub which provide data and power to all of the access points in each network.

CadetNet primarily uses Juniper EX2200-48T-4G switches, which are 48-port Power over Ethernet (PoE) gigabit switches.  There are also some EX2200-24T-4G models in use, which are identical with the exception of having 24 ports instead of 48.

Each living area (i.e. squadron) generally has one or two switches.  One switch is almost always colocated with the area's modem, with a second switch located some distance away if necessary to extend coverage to a larger area (based on the 300 ft cable length restriction on ethernet cables).  Usually, switches are located either at the squadron's CQ desk or in the SAR, although occasionally they are placed in TV rooms or nearby closets.  Tracing the cables back from an access point in the hallway should lead to the nearest switch.

Each switch has a single power cable, and a number of ethernet cables connected to it.  The power cable is inserted into the ICE power port on the rear of the switch chassis (the far left port in the picture directly above), and all ethernet cables are inserted firmly into the ports across the front of the chassis (shown in the top picture in this article).

Note: All ethernet ports on the front of the switch are identical.  The specific order or layout in which the cables are connected does not matter - there is no specific "uplink" port that must be connected to the modem.

Important: No ethernet cables should be plugged into the back of the switch chassis.  There are two ethernet ports on the back - one labeled CON and one labeled MGMT.  Both of these must be empty - the switch will not function if an ethernet cable is plugged into either of these ports.

On the far right side of the front panel of the switch, there is a column of LED mode indicators and a single mode selector button.  This button does not change any settings related to the operation of the switch - it simply cycles through which mode the LED lights next to each port are displaying.  Each port has two lights associated with it - one to the left and one to the right.