Dickstar :
You don't need to configure a switch. They're plug and play.
Yes, you can configure switches, but they have to be managed switches. Even a managed switch should work right out of the box however. A managed switch normally comes with a console cable to connect to the switch and do it's initial setup. Once the switch is assigned an IP address, you should be able to remotely manage it either via command line interface (CLI) or a web interface accessed by a browser.