Lessons · Network switches · port descriptions
Label the port
description writes a line of free text onto one interface, and it appears in the configuration and in `show interfaces status`.
Hone is a place to practise programming. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
Six months later, nobody remembers what is on gi0/6. A description is the cheapest documentation there is and it lives on the device, where it cannot be lost with the spreadsheet.
How to think about it
Say what is on the other end of the cable, not what the port is. 'Uplink to CORE1 gi0/24' is useful. 'Port 6' is not.
Worked example
enableThe # prompt.
configure terminalInto configuration mode.
interface gi0/6Into that one port.
description Reception phone and PCThe whole rest of the line is the description; no quotes needed.
endOut.
show interfaces statusThe description now sits in the Name column, next to the port it belongs to.
Your turn
Label this port as the uplink to CORE1.
Uplink to CORE1
Console into a switch
The trap
Writing the description while in global configuration instead of inside the interface. In (config)# it is not a command at all; it only exists inside (config-if)#.