Question : Problem: CISCO 4006 config. Necessary entries?

I am flattening out an 13 vlan network down to three vlans with a cisco 4006 as the core, I know it is eol but the client has purchased support from cisco.  As I look over the config I notice that every port that is connected to a workstation has the following entires

interface FastEthernet3/5
 description user
 switchport access vlan 2
 speed 100
 duplex full
 no snmp trap link-status
 spanning-tree portfast

  I understand all the configuration entires however, is it totally necessay for hard setting the speed to 100 and duplex to full?  I seem to have much better success with auto-neg on cisco switches.  Portfast enabeles the port to come online faster but is it extra processing that the switch does nt need to do considering that it is already the core with several other uplinks into to it from other floors.  I would like to take the basic port for each workstation down to the following.

interface FastEthernet5/5
 description user
 switchport access vlan 2

  Set the NICs on the PC's to auto and the the hardware devices get tot he best speed.  An thoughts?

Jim

Answer : Problem: CISCO 4006 config. Necessary entries?

Unless you are experiencing any problems negotiating, I would recommend leaving the switchports set to auto negotiate.  Sometimes, you may run into a problem where different equipment is having trouble negotiating speed/duplex and hardcoding the port can resolve the problem but unless that happens, I would leave it set to auto.  As far as portfast goes.  I would leave that setting "on" as long as whatever is connected to that port is not another switch.  "portfast" basically disables spanning tree which is used to prevent potential loops in the network.  If the port is attached to a computer then there is no need to test for loops and the port will come online much faster.