N-Tron® Series NT5000 Industrial Ethernet Switch System Settings Tech Note
Abstract
This tech note will explain the web user interface (UI) of the most important System settings of the NT5000 Industrial Ethernet switch. After reading this document, you will understand how to:
- Save system configuration to configuration file
- Add an IP interface to the switch
- Set switch time parameters
- Update firmware
- Use a few of the diagnostic tools of the switch
N-Tron® Series NT5000 (All Models)
System Settings
The System section of the NT5000 Ethernet switch’s web UI has several features to make installing the NT5000 into your industrial application easier.
After making any significant change to the switch, a user must save those changes. On the web UI, select System from the left menu on the screen. In the System section, select the Config option, and then select the Save option. From the Select Designation File dropdown menu, choose to save to the startup-conf or Create New File. Click on the Save icon in the upper-right corner of the screen to save to startup-conf.
Note: For quick navigation, click on the System warning badge to save changes.
The switch can be a part of various subnets by adding multiple IP interfaces to the switch. From the System section, select the IP Interfaces option, and then select the Interfaces option. Click the + icon to add a new IP interface.
To adjust time on the switch, the best practice is to set your switch to receive its time from a time server using a network time protocol (NTP). However, the NT5000 also allows for syncing time from computer time, adjusting manually, setting a time zone, and adjusting for daylight saving time (DST).
Update the firmware of the switch by selecting the Firmware option in the System section, and then selecting the Update FW option. From the Protocol dropdown menu, select either HTTPS to browse and upload or use a TFTP server. When TFTP is select, type the IP address of the server in the Server field. Select the firmware file using the Browse button to populate the File Name field. Update the firmware by clicking the Download icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Troubleshooting
The NT5000 has various diagnostic tools to help minimize downtime. The System section of the web UI contains a few of these diagnostic tools.
When a network switch is slow to respond, it may be because the central processing unit (CPU) is overburdened. To investigate, from the System section, select the Diagnostic option. Select the CPU Load option to view 100ms, 1sec, and 10sec samples.
When the link or links between the switch and other devices seems slow, users can select the Ping option to send a ping from the switch to verify the device is present and responding fast enough.
The Traceroute option is another tool used to diagnose connectivity. Traceroute pings each router along the way to its final intended destination to show the router path and identify any routers that fail to route properly.
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