When your stack is operational, one switch is the primary switch, responsible for running network protocols and managing the stack.
To provide recovery in case of a break in the stack connections, you can configure redundancy by designating a backup switch to take over as primary if the primary switch fails. When you perform the initial software configuration of the stack, the “easy setup” configuration option automatically configures redundancy, with slot 1 as the primary and slot 2 as the backup. You can also configure additional switches as “primary-capable,” meaning they can become a stack primary in case the initial backup switch fails.
When assigning the primary and backup roles in mixed stacks, consider the feature scalability and the speed of each switch model. The easy setup configuration process selects primary and backup switches based on capability and speed. The following list shows the capabilities based on the ability to cross stack with other switch families. The most capable switches are shown at the top of each list:
For example, in a stack that combines X460-G2 or X670-G2 switches with other switch models, an X460-G2 or X670-G2 switch might provide more memory and more features than other switches in the stack. Consider these differences when selecting a primary node, selecting a backup node, and configuring failover operation.
Note
Assign the primary and backup roles to switches from the same series. For example, if the primary node is an X460-G2 switch, the backup node should also be an X460-G2 switch. Similarly, if the primary node is an X670-G2 series switch, the backup node should also be an X670-G2 switch.
Important
The ExtremeSwitching 5320 series switches can be stacked with themselves, or with ExtremeSwitching 5420 and 5520 using Alternate stacking. The 5320 can only act as a Standby node in a 5420 or 5520 Primary configuration. The 5320 cannot act as a Backup node when the Primary node is either a 5420 or 5520.When easy setup compares two switches that have the same capability, the lower slot number takes precedence.
Follow the same ranking hierarchy when you plan the physical placement of the switches in the stack.