The reason why should every switch have a MOTD banner
The right answer to this question is that every switch does not have an MOTD banner however it’s a good practice to have a correct MOTD banner on all Cisco devices.
MOTD banner is not compulsory or required on Cisco switch or any other Cisco device however network admins usually configure the banner on the device.
The MOTD banner is shown to the user when the user logs in to the Cisco device. Below we can see the banner configured as Welcome to ABC network.
If we have secured our device using the password then the banner will be shown after the successful login or if the password is not configured then the MOTD message will be shown before the login.
The Banner configured in the above image may seem good however this is not the correct banner as this banner will also be shown to everyone who uses the Cisco device.
There is a story behind the use of the correct banner where network intruders getaway after breaking into the network. The company filed a lawsuit against the intruder in the USA however intruder defended himself by saying that when he broke into the network then he received the welcome message and this was enough to save him from wrong and the court gave the judgment in favor of the intruder.
Since then, network administrators are configuring the MOTD banner carefully. Usually, we see warning messages for intruders like unauthorized access is prohibited) or unauthorized access is not allowed. This message is a warning for the intruder and in case someone does break into the network then that guy can be made accountable for it.
MOTD banner is not required at all on the test network or home network however on the production network; it’s a must to have a warning message that prohibits the unauthorized login.
The MOTD banner should be short and clear
We can use the same command to the Cisco router to configure the MOTD banner. The command can be used from the global configuration mode.
The MOTD banner can be disabled or changed anytime as per our requirement.
If you are a student and using the switch for only learning purposes then you can practice the command however MOTD banner is not required and if you are using network simulators or emulators then it just does not make sense to have a MOTD banner.
