You are correct there is no command on the physical interface to set an ip address. When usinh the  PowerConnect series you will need to place the physical port (te1/0/2) in a switchport mode for a certain VLAN. (config-if-te1/0/2) # switchport mode access (config-if-te1/0/2) # switchport access vlan xx Then enter the VLAN xx interface and provide the needed IP address. console(config)#interface vlan xx console(config-if-vlanxx)#ip address 192.168.10.10 255.255.255.0 The VLAN you are setting up is the Network that spans between the 2 devices that you are connecting at layer 3. Here is a link to the manuals available for the 8100 model.   I hope this helps,
Good morning/afternoon everyone,  I'm coming from a Cisco World, but we decided to purchase Dell PowerConnect 8132 since they were cheaper. In Cisco, I can easily make a router port, for example:  
PowerConnect 8132 Routed Port