NM-16ESW - adding a switch into a 3725 router slot - can i route traffic out of the switch ?

Question

Hi all,
I have added the above module (16 switch port) into my router.
R16#show ip int br
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
FastEthernet0/0 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet0/1 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/0 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/1 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/2 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/3 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/4 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/5 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/6 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/7 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/8 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/9 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/10 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/11 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/12 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/13 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/14 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
FastEthernet1/15 unassigned YES unset administratively down down
Vlan1 unassigned YES unset up down
R16(config-if)#int fa1/0
R16(config-if)#ip address 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
% IP addresses may not be configured on L2 links.
R16(config-if)#
q1) Not being able to set IP to the interface as shown above, I would believe it is really a switch port.  Is there anyway I can see what kind of port a interface is or can be ? (switch port, routed port etc ?)   or whether is it a L2 or L3 switch ?
q2) in that case, since the switch is already inside the router, how do i route L3 traffic out of the switch ? 
Assuming fe0/1 on the router is the interface connected to external network.
and 2 workstations attached to the switch ports fe1/1 and and fe1/2, how can i set their gateway to point to fe0/1's IP ? Can fe0/1 to be connected to fe1/0 internally ?
Regards,
Noob

Answer 1

Hi KOE SIZE JIE, 
q1) I tried the no switchport command on the 16switch port module and it works. I can set an IP on the switch port. But according to Liam, it is a L2 switch, how come we can assign no switchport command ?
As Bilal pointed out, I was mistaken you can issue the "no switchport" for a L3 routed port on that specific module. 
q2) it is said that on a L2 switch only 1 SVI can be connected (for management purpose only) and L2 switch is not able to do routing. With the L2 switch module inserted into the router, will the SVI be able to do routing then ?
I believe this goes back to what Bilal was saying about limited functionality on the EtherSwitch. I will have to play with one in GNS3 to give you a solid answer. 
But I think what it is trying to say is... You cannot use SVI's for inter-vlan routing. You can only have a single SVI for management purposes. 
q3)Liam, you mention earlier fa0/0 is pointing to some network. is fa0/0 in the same router as the 16 switchport module ?
ip route 10.10.10.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.254 -- this command seems to be saying to access the 10.10.10.0 network, please go to the next hop IP 192.168.1.254 (but again, you are setting this next hop IP on the current router interface itself) - did i get anything wrong ?
I have read back my post and this reads wrong. 
When i showed you the code snippet, 192.168.1.254 would be the interface on the next hop router. Not the router you are issuing the ip route command on. You would also need an IP address on the router interface directly connected to the next hop router. I.E 192.168.1.253
You will not then receive that error. Sorry about that, my sloppy config without a diagram!
HTHs,
Liam