The Interfaces tab configures the physical layer of every port on the device. Set a device-wide default profile once (applied to all connected ports), then add per-interface overrides only where a port differs — the generated configuration merges the two, and each vendor template renders its own CLI dialect.
Where to find itCanvas→Select a device→Interfaces tab→Port Defaults / per-interface override
Pick a fixed speed (10 Mbps – 100 Gbps) and duplex, or leave them onauto. Setting Negotiation to manual disables auto-negotiation entirely — required on some carrier hand-offs. MTU raises the frame size for jumbo traffic, and load-interval shortens the window used to compute the interface throughput counters.
Why
Fixing speed/duplex on both ends of a link prevents a duplex mismatch — the classic silent killer where auto on one side and fixed on the other negotiates half-duplex and causes late collisions and abysmal throughput. Jumbo MTU (9216) avoids fragmentation for VXLAN/overlay, storage, and vMotion traffic. A 30-second load-interval makes utilization graphs and show interface rates react ~10× faster than the 5-minute default, which matters when you are chasing microbursts.
interface GigabitEthernet0/0/1
description to access-sw-01
no negotiation auto
speed 1000
duplex full
mtu 9216
load-interval 30
Important
MTU ceilings differ per platform — NX-OS and IOS-XE accept up to 9216, Arista EOS up to 9214. Options a platform cannot render directly are omitted from its config, and the Validate drawer warns you (for example, negotiation control is not configurable on ArubaOS-CX).
Bind named objects from the Features tab per port — an ACL (aclIn/Out), a NetFlow monitor, a QoS service-policy or trust state — and control discovery protocols per interface. Storm control and port security round out access-port hardening.
Why
Per-port CDP/LLDP control matters at trust boundaries: keep discovery on inside the network for operations, disable it on internet- and partner-facing ports where it leaks device models and addressing. QoS trust dscp belongs on ports facing devices that mark correctly (APs, servers) — untrusted ports get re-marked.
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
description to user-port
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast
ip access-group EDGE-IN in
ip flow monitor NF input
mls qos trust dscp
no cdp enable
lldp transmit
lldp receive
Note
Validation cross-checks every binding: an interface referencing an ACL or flow monitor that is not defined in Features is flagged before generation.