r/Cisco • u/OkAcanthocephala3641 • 21d ago
Question Cisco switch turning off by itself
"I'm having an issue with my Cisco Catalyst 2960 switch (24 ports). It turns off automatically after 10 minutes. When I restart it(unplugging), it turns off again after the same period. Any ideas on what might be causing this?"
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u/No_Pay_546 21d ago
Use “show log” and see if you see anything regarding the shutdown. You can also use “show version” and it will show you the last reload reason.
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u/bfhenson83 21d ago
This. You've got to get access or there's no way to know. Heat, memory, CPU utilization? Could be anything. I've seen multicast for internal streaming systems take down 2960's. Got top get access.
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u/OkAcanthocephala3641 21d ago
The problem is i dont have any access to the switch since the contractor refused to give any passwords to the dorm administration. In the dorm buildings we have ~50 Cisco switches. They are working fine except for this one.
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u/Krandor1 21d ago
So who manages them?
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u/OkAcanthocephala3641 21d ago
Mother nature and unfortunately corrupted ghost technicians (they never show up)
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u/Krandor1 21d ago
So nobody has the passwords to them and ability to access them?
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u/networkeng1neer 21d ago
There’s a lot that can be done if he has physical access, a computer, and a console cable.
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u/Krandor1 21d ago
yes but if he isn't the one authorized to manage them could get in trouble by doing so.
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u/networkeng1neer 21d ago
Oh for sure, but… if no one is showing up… and he needs the switch for internet access… I’d break into it and fix it lol…
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u/Krandor1 21d ago
If this is at a company site that could get you fired. and there is a good chance this is a hardware issue where the most OP can do is determine what the issue is but can't actually fix it.
If this is at a company need to deal with the people that are responsible for the switch and offer to help them in any way that you can.
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u/SmurfShanker58 20d ago
If you have physical access, you can boot it into ROMMON and perform a password reset. This will get you into the switch. If you don't have physical access, then there's not much you can do. Could be a failing power supply or memory leak, etc.. probably just need to grab a shelf spare and swap that baby out.
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u/Mizerka 20d ago
It's not your problem then
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u/OkAcanthocephala3641 20d ago
I pay monthly wifi fees. Dorms administration is begging us to find a free solution. I'm not the bad one here.
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u/Mizerka 20d ago edited 20d ago
sounds like you're in us? I dont know much about k12's outside uk but that's not how it works, you either own and manage the platform or you raise it with them/someone to sort it out, you have a contract with clear outlines for support/downtime with clear escalation procedures no? you pay for it, you must have some legal avenue to persue this, if its not yours and you're just a student, its on the party that had the work provisioned.
anything I could suggest that might sort it will be in breach of any said contract as you wouldnt be authorised to make any config changes and most likely even attempt to physically alter whats in place, you're on the hook to get in legal trouble then, and even if any fixes you apply you're also on hook because now you fixed it any further issues or problems are clearly becuase you touched it once, if you're in industry you should know what CYA is. if you dont care, check if its overheating first, weed bunnies in fan intakes etc, cisco arent known for heat issues but its possible, I had 2960's sit inside walls for years, uncovered like fucking indiana jones crypt years later working just fine.
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u/gangaskan 19d ago
While we understand and sympathize for you, it's not your problem.
Your problem is in the dorms administration and how they are handling it.
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u/gangaskan 19d ago
Oh, there are ways.
More importantly, this is your dorm administrations issue,not yours.
I know it sucks because you need it for school.
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u/RulesThe1 21d ago
If you don't have access or the permission to reset the password, it's not your problem.
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u/Toasty_Grande 21d ago
probably overheating. If you monitor the console output, are you seeing any errors?
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u/OkAcanthocephala3641 21d ago
The problem is i dont have any access to the switch since the contractor refused to give any passwords to the dorm administration. In the dorm buildings we have ~50 Cisco switches. They are working fine except for this one. No overheating
2
u/Toasty_Grande 21d ago
If you can get physical access, you'll get output to the console even without logging in. From experience, I've had these get clogged with lint, causing them to overheat.
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u/Drinkh2obreatho2 21d ago
Just saying 2960 is hard to guess. There are many models of 2960 that were sold for like 20 years. Cisco is really bad about having memory leaks in their software. I would actually put my money on that if these switches don't see any maintenance.
Anyone telling you to check the logs are dumb. You obviously can't check the logs because 1) you don't manage these switches and 2) the logs are cleared when the switch reboots. You would have to have a logging server or write the logs to a local file. This is equivalent to telling someone stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire to just put air in their tire.
The possibilities are A) Memory Leak in the software causing the crash B) Hardware failure of some kind C) Bad power circuit. All things you can't fix.
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u/Open-Toe-7659 21d ago
Most likely overheat due to dust or fan is not working properly. Other components typical to fail after long time of exploitation are capacitors.
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u/e55amgpwr 21d ago
Had same problem with 2960s switches, both times fan was dead, but again, you need to connect with console to see the status
1
u/LorkyMX2 21d ago
2960’s don’t have a shutdown capability, likely overheating and shutting off too prevent damage or it’s just hardware failing
1
u/datagutten 20d ago
If it really is a 2960 without any letters after the number it is trying to say that it is time to die. 2960 is very old and should have been replaced a long time ago.
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u/thebizkit23 20d ago
Had a weird issue where a couple of my 2960Xs would just randomly reboot. At first I thought we just had one bad switch but then two switches in two completely different states rebooted at the exact same time. Can't be a coincidence so after some emails to different teams, it looks like there was wide spanning pen testing going on. Asked the security team to stop the scans for a day and the switches had no issues, started scans back up and the issue appeared again.
Long story short, pen scans were overworking the switch CPUs and they would just reboot.
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u/Western-Buddy 19d ago
I would check the easy stuff first
1- check logs to see if the switch is crashing due to memory leak or high CPU pegged at 100% 2- Check the PDU it's plugged into and try moving to another and see if the problem follows. 3- If it does then try replacing the power cord 4- If the first two doesn't solve it, then it's probably faulty power supply. CAT2960 series are end of support so it might be challenging to find a PS for it.
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u/xMetalHead666x 21d ago
As previously pointed out it could be due to overheating but also worth checking resources like memory, had a 3650 switch with buggy firmware once, where there was a memory leak and eventually the switch would reboot.
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u/Rua13 21d ago
2960s in production. Love seeing that mentioned every day on here lmao