2950-24 switch and trunking

Does anyone know if the 2950-24 switch with ios 12.1 supports trunking? When i connect a crossover cable to both fa0/1 ports i get no lights before doing anything. I have followed instructions on cisco's site for the 2950 model but vlan 1 and the ports never come up. If i do switchport mode trunk on both switches I get no response, Is it possible it is just the IOS version? On cisco's website it shows how to set up trunking for this switch as if it supports trunking?

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your CISCO Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View CISCO Boot Camps

Comments

martell1000

did you do the

switchport mode trunk

command on the interface(s)?

CodeBlox

I have 2950s and am able to trunk them. No link lights huh? You sure thats a crossover cable you have there (My 2950s dont have the auto-mdix feature)? Did you make this cable yourself? May want to try other ports on your switches too as there could be bad ports. I know on one of mine, there are two ports that do not work.

ChickenNuggetz

The 2950s support trunking. Sounds like it might be a cable issue (are you using crossovers?) or the ports might be dead. Also, make sure the ports arent administratively down; that both ends are using the same trunking protocol; and you've manually set speed and duplex.

jamesp1983

ChickenNuggetz wrote: »

The 2950s support trunking. Sounds like it might be a cable issue (are you using crossovers?) or the ports might be dead. Also, make sure the ports arent administratively down; that both ends are using the same trunking protocol; and you've manually set speed and duplex.

x2. I'm betting its a cable issue.

nkillgore

get a new cable
try different ports

no shut command?

JeanM

What they said. Works fine even on the 2950-12, probably cable or config.

joshmadakor

jamesp1983 wrote: »

x2. I'm betting its a cable issue.

x3. I'm voting cable. The first time I connected my switches together, it was with a crossover I made myself

I learned how to properly make crossovers after that. Try it on different ports too, just in case!

Corndork2

My bet is on Layer 1 as well

Have you tested the ports with a known good device and cable to make sure the port itself isnt bad?

dani3l

I have used a straight through cable to comp and ports work fine. I have used crossover I made myself as well as premaid I don't think it's a cable issue I have set up trunking on packet tracer before and works fine it has to be something I'm doing wrong. Should I have lights with crossover cable with nothing done to config? Also ports show as down when I switch interface to trunk they never show up after I run command. Are there diff types of crossover I can make another one but the ones I have I have double checked I'm kind of lost at this point and need some direction thanks for your help

Ramair2k

can you run these commands on both switches and post the output?

sh int fa0/1 switchport (for both switches)
sh int trunk (for both switches)
sh ip int brief (for both switches)

Just probing for a bit more info from your config

martell1000

dani3l wrote: »

I have used a straight through cable to comp and ports work fine. I have used crossover I made myself as well as premaid I don't think it's a cable issue I have set up trunking on packet tracer before and works fine it has to be something I'm doing wrong. Should I have lights with crossover cable with nothing done to config? Also ports show as down when I switch interface to trunk they never show up after I run command. Are there diff types of crossover I can make another one but the ones I have I have double checked I'm kind of lost at this point and need some direction thanks for your help

ok so the port works fine and the config is good

test the same cable on other ports, if the lights stay out you know where the mistake is. if other ports are working with the cable paste you config here.

dani3l

Ok...So half of you will laugh at me and thats understandable, but I put my pride aside and remade yet ANOTHER Crossover cable and BAM lit right up, but I guess this is part of learning and is also why I went the buy the hardware route when studying my CCNA. Packet tracer can NEVER prepare you for a cabling failure...But thanks again to all for responding it was the overwhelming amount of people who said check my cable that I decided to Check again.

joshmadakor

dani3l wrote: »

Ok...So half of you will laugh at me and thats understandable, but I put my pride aside and remade yet ANOTHER Crossover cable and BAM lit right up, but I guess this is part of learning and is also why I went the buy the hardware route when studying my CCNA. Packet tracer can NEVER prepare you for a cabling failure...But thanks again to all for responding it was the overwhelming amount of people who said check my cable that I decided to Check again.

Awesome! Yeah nothing beats the real thing.

martell1000

dani3l wrote: »

Ok...So half of you will laugh at me and thats understandable, but I put my pride aside and remade yet ANOTHER Crossover cable and BAM lit right up, but I guess this is part of learning and is also why I went the buy the hardware route when studying my CCNA. Packet tracer can NEVER prepare you for a cabling failure...But thanks again to all for responding it was the overwhelming amount of people who said check my cable that I decided to Check again.

selfmade cables ... what i learned from 15 years in IT - DO NOT USE EM!!!!

lantech

martell1000 wrote: »

selfmade cables ... what i learned from 15 years in IT - DO NOT USE EM!!!!

Or that you should test them before you use them.

MAC_Addy

martell1000 wrote: »

selfmade cables ... what i learned from 15 years in IT - DO NOT USE EM!!!!

Every cable I make works, 98% of the time - always good to test your cables. Though, if I'm setting up a new building I always order them from monoprice.com

martell1000

MAC_Addy wrote: »

Every cable I make works, 98% of the time - always good to test your cables. Though, if I'm setting up a new building I always order them from monoprice.com

i was never good in making cables and it was always a pain in the a.. to make them

specially if you are deploying cisco equipment which costs thousends of $s i dont see the point to risk errors like that to save 10 bucks in cables...

CodeBlox

With the cables I've made at home, I've never had a problem with them. You may need this skill though in the event of some emergency where there are no"pre-made" cables lying around. I do not have any actual work experience in networking so that could just be the newbie in me talking

lantech

CodeBlox wrote: »

With the cables I've made at home, I've never had a problem with them. You may need this skill though in the event of some emergency where there are no"pre-made" cables lying around. I do not have any actual work experience in networking so that could just be the newbie in me talking

I worked for a company where the network engineers made every ethernet cable that was used inside the cabinets. So as a network engineer you might be asked to make them.

MAC_Addy

The easiest way to make a cable:

If you're making a T568B straight-thru. Cut off about 1 1/2 inch of plastic. Go from lightest to darkest. Untwist the pairs and swap the solid Green and Solid Blue. Cut and put in RJ-45 end.

If you're making a cross-over cable, repeat above and swap pins 1 and 3, then 2 and 6. Remember to do T568B on the other end.

Easy.

If anyone needs a youtube video for reference, let me know and I'll make one.

martell1000

CodeBlox wrote: »

With the cables I've made at home, I've never had a problem with them. You may need this skill though in the event of some emergency where there are no"pre-made" cables lying around. I do not have any actual work experience in networking so that could just be the newbie in me talking

HOW TO CRIMP RJ45 / Ethernet / Internet CABLE - YouTube

i guess in 99% of the cases it is more likely you will have a box of pre made cables standing around somewhere then connectors,cable,crimping tools and an engineer with the time to make his own cables...

MAC_Addy

Very true. I usually carry around 1', 3', 7' and 10' cables and a box of 1000' spool. I've had to make custom length cables quite a bit.

Patel128

I used EZ-RJ 45 when I was building my last cables. Its defiantly alot easier but the ends cost quite a bit more. When I re cable my lab im gonna just order them from monoprice for the convince of having different colors for the different types of cables. When I wasn't using ez-rj 45 and the normal ends I would make 20 cables and maybe only 1 would be bad

Ramair2k

Working for a MSO, we custom make every single CAT6 cable, never buy pre-made. It allows us to keep the clutter to a minimum and nicely "dress in" each connection. My suggestion would be to use a cable tester prior to assuming that your cable is working properly. Cable testers do not lie!:D