Manage Switch Stacks

Create a switch stack template. See About Switch Stacks.

After you create a template for a stack, you can edit each stack member switch template to reconfigure the ports. If you change your physical stack, add or remove switches, you must create a new stack template to match the new physical stack.

When you create a new stack template, you must also perform a configuration update. If the template does not match the physical stack exactly, the configuration update will fail. The following are examples of common changes that can occur to a stack, with the actions you need to take for each example.

  1. When the primary and standby switches reverse roles:
    If the primary and standby switches change their roles (for example, as the result of a CLI command), after a delay of approximately 3 minutes, the Devices List updates to show the new primary and standby switches. To display the Devices List, navigate to Manage > Devices. See Devices for more information.
  2. If you remove the primary switch from a stack, the stack retains the MAC address of the removed primary, resulting in duplicate MAC addresses for the stack and the standalone former primary switch.
    If you need to remove the primary switch from a stack, you must perform the following steps to prevent duplicate MAC addresses:
    1. Delete the entire stack from ExtremeCloud IQ.
    2. Perform the following CLI command:
      no member {n} where n is the unit number of the primary switch.
    3. Enter the serial numbers of the stack members and the standalone switch in ExtremeCloud IQ.
    4. Recreate the stack template to reflect the change.
  3. Add a new switch to an existing stack:
    To add a new switch to an existing stack, you must create a new stack template that matches the number of switches in the new physical stack.
  4. Add an existing switch to a stack:
    Use the previous procedure to add an existing switch to a stack. You must cable the switch to the physical stack, and then create a stack template matching the new stack.
  5. Remove a switch from one stack and add it to another stack:
    To move a switch from one stack to another stack, you must disconnect the switch from the original stack, then re-cable it in the new stack. Create two new stack templates, one to match the diminished stack configuration, and one to match the new stack configuration.
  6. When a stack member goes offline:
    If a stack member is offline (is powered down but remains a member of the stack), ExtremeCloud IQ updates the Devices List to show that member as Disconnected. When the offline stack member comes back online, the Devices List is updated to show it as Connected. To display the Devices List, navigate to Manage > Devices.
  7. Manage a switch that has been uncabled from a stack:
    If a stack member is uncabled, ExtremeCloud IQ updates the Devices List to show that member as Disconnected. This action alerts you that there might be a problem with this switch. If this switch has been accidentally or inadvertently uncabled, you can then re-cable it. ExtremeCloud IQ updates the Devices List to show the switch is working correctly.
  8. Remove a switch from a stack in ExtremeCloud IQ:
    1. To remove stack members from the ExtremeCloud IQ database (but not from the actual physical stack), select Remove Stack Members from the Actions drop-down list in the Devices List window.
    2. Select the check box for the stack member or members that you want to remove and then select Remove.
      See Devices for more information.
      Note

      Note

      If you accidentally remove a primary stack member, you have only removed it from ExtremeCloud IQ. It remains as the operational physical primary of the stack, and you can onboard it again.
  9. Split stacks:
    When you reconfigure a physical stack so that some of the switches become independent stacks, you create a split stack. If no CLI commands are issued to explain the change, the stack still reports having the original number of switches, with the removed switches showing as not connected. For example, Stack A has Switches 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Then someone creates a split stack by cabling Switches 5 and 6 into their stack, Stack B. At this point, both Stack A and Stack B think that all six switches belong to them. A show switch command on Switch 1 shows six members (two with a management status of Disconnected). A show switch command on Switch 5 shows six members (four with a management status of Disconnected).

    If the primary of the new smaller 2-member stack tries to communicate with ExtremeCloud IQ as an independent stack, ExtremeCloud IQ ignores this communication because it still recognizes the service tag for this switch as belonging to the original stack. Any communication from this switch is ignored because this new primary switch has a different MAC Address. If the 3rd and 4th stack members rejoin the original stack, they again display as valid and healthy stack members in the Devices List. .

    1. If you want the stacks to remain split, in the Devices List, select Remove Stack Members from the Actions drop-down list.
    2. Select the check boxes for the stack members to remove from the stack, and select Remove.
      The switches you removed display in the Devices List as a separate stack. See Devices for more information.

If necessary, create a new switch stack template to reflect any of the above changes.

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