Ethernet Interface Naming

An Ethernet interface, or port, is identified by three pieces of information:

• The type (FastEthernet, GigabitEthernet, 2.5GigabitEthernet, 5GigabitEthernet, 10GigabitEthernet)

• The switch it belongs to (for non-stacking systems, this value is always 1)

• The port number within the type and switch (numbering starts with 1 for each type, so a switch may have both GigabitEthernet 1/1 and 2.5GigabitEthernet 1/1)

Many ICLI commands accept a list of interfaces. In its simplest form, such a list is a sequence of (type, switch ID, port) information separated by whitespace. For example: GigabitEthernet 1/3 10GigabitEthernet 1/2. This allows a single list to mix different types. The switch ID and the port numbers can be listed either as single numbers, as lists, or as sequences. A list is a comma-separated set of single port numbers or sequences, whereas a sequence is of the form: from—to.

The switch ID and the port numbers can be listed either as single numbers, as lists, or as sequences. A list is a comma-separated set of single port numbers or sequences, whereas a sequence is of the form: from—to. Some examples:

• GigabitEthernet 1/5 for the single gigabit port number 5 on switch 1 •

• GigabitEthernet 1/2,4,10-12 for gigabit ports 2, 4, 10, 11, 12 on switch 1 •

• GigabitEthernet 1-3/2 for gigabit port 2 on switches 1, 2 and 3

It is possible to wildcard the type and/or switch ID and/or ports to mean “all types,” “all switch IDs,” and “all ports,” respectively. A wildcard is written with an asterisk instead of type, switch ID, or port, and some further abbreviations are possible:

• ‘’ means “all ports of all types on all switches”

• type ‘’ means “all ports of the specified type on all switches”