In this post I run through the basics of configuring an HP Procurve switch. While a lot of this information can be carried over to other platforms such as Cisco the commands will be different for most of the entries.

This is the name of the swtich. You are going to want to set this value even if it is a simple name since it will help immesenely when trying to figure out which switch it is exactly.
hostname “net-2610″

By default most HP switches have a low threshold for the number of VLAN’s that they can support. Entering in this command will allow you to break that maximum most of the time.
max-vlans 256

This one will let you set the timezone
time timezone -360

This one sets the daylight savings time information
time daylight-time-rule User-defined begin-date 3/11 end-date 11/4

If you want to be able to manage your switches from other subnets or if you want them to pick up their time from the Internet you will need the switch to have a gateway.
ip default-gateway 192.168.1.1

Set the IP of the time server
sntp server 192.168.1.10

Set the protocol for time synchronization
timesync sntp

Set the method of synchronization
sntp unicast

VLAN 1 is in the configuration by default so you don’t have to add this line
vlan 1

Default lines as well
name “DEFAULT_VLAN”
untagged 1-44,46-52

IP address of the VLAN. This IP is the one that you will be using when managing the switch remotely.
ip address 192.168.5.53 255.255.255.0

Default command that lets you exit this section
exit

This entry isn’t a default but I like to move the various devices off of VLAN 1 and into their VLAN if possible
vlan 10

Name the VLAN so you know why you created it.
name “Data”

Default command here
exit

If you are running a PoE switch I find that I usually need to run this command since a lot of devinces are running on a standard that is pre-standard for PoE.
power pre-std-detect

The next few lines turn on spanning-tree which you definitely want to use.
spanning-tree
spanning-tree legacy-path-cost
spanning-tree priority 2 force-version STP-compatible

These next two lines let you know that you will need a password for managing the device.
password manager
password operator

Links:
If you want more information on setting the time for an HP Procurve device check out my previous post here

Time synchronization on your network gear is very important. Logs, IPSec tunnels and other services rely on the correct time to make sure that they are doing their jobs properly and securely. In order to synchronize the time your network gear (routers and switches) will need to be manageable and have IP addresses that can reach the time synchronization sources that you are going to set.

To Start: Picking the service
There are lots of time sources that you can use that are outside of your internal network. You will need at least one device that is synchronizing with the outside world at the least if not more. Below are the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) list of time sources but any will work.

Windows:
Since it is likely that almost everyone will have Windows boxes is logical to start here first.

Step 1: Open a command prompt by going to Start → Run → cmd → ok
Step 2: Enter in the following commands in order to set the time service.

net time /setsntp:(Server)
For example net time /setsntp:time-a.nist.gov
Step 3: Stop and start the time service in order for the changes to take effect by running these commands.

net stop w32time
net start w32time

Cisco:
While the commands and methods for time synchronization for both Cisco and HP are similar there are some definite differences. After logging into the router here are the commands that you can run.

Step 1: Get into configuration mode
Router# conf t

Step 2: Tell the device which server to synchronization the time to
Router# ntp server 192.168.1.15

Step 3: Set the timezone
Router# clock timezone PST -8

Step 4: Set daylight savings
Router(config)# clock summer-time CDT recurring

HP Procurve:
After logging into the HP switch with manager rights.

Step 1: Get into configuration mode and enter these commands.
Router# conf t

Step 2: Set the server
Router# sntp server time-a.nist.gov

Step 3: Set the protocol for time synchronization to sntp since the default is timep for HP devices.
Router# timesync sntp

Step 4: Set the type of sntp to unicast since the default for HP devices is multi-cast.
Router # sntp unicast

Step 5: Set the daylight savings time information
Router# time daylight-time-rule User-defined begin-date 3/11 end-date 11/4

Links:
NIST How-to for serveral OS’s: http://tf.nist.gov/service/its.htm
David Davis gives the details for the Cisco devices: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6129454.html