Example: Merging Two Stacks

This example demonstrates how to join two stacks, named StackA and StackB. Each stack contains two switches (nodes), and the joined stack contains four nodes.

In the steps that follow, the nodes are referred to as A1, A2, B1, and B2, as shown in this table:
Table 1. Example Node Names in Stacks Being Merged
Node Name Original Stack Original Slot MAC Address
A1 StackA 1 00:04:96:9c:e4:39
A2 StackA 2 00:04:96:9b:c1:34
B1 StackB 1 00:04:96:9e:5c:76
B2 StackB 2 00:04:96:9c:53:b6

Here are displays taken from the original StackA:

Slot-1 Stack.1 # show stacking
Stack Topology is a Ring
Active Topology is a Ring
Node MAC Address    Slot  Stack State  Role     Flags
------------------  ----  -----------  -------  ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39  1     Active       Master   CA-
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34  2     Active       Backup   CA-
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Candidate for this active topology, (A) Active Node
        (O) node may be in Other active topology
		
Slot-1 Stack.2 # show stacking configuration
Stack MAC in use: 02:04:96:9c:e4:39
Node               Slot         Alternate          Alternate
MAC Address        Cfg Cur Prio Mgmt IP / Mask     Gateway         Flags     Lic
------------------ --- --- ---- ------------------ --------------- --------- ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39 1   1   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34 2   2   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) master-Capable in use, (c) master-capable is configured,
        (E) Stacking is currently Enabled, (e) Stacking is configured Enabled,
        (M) Stack MAC in use, (m) Stack MACs configured and in use are the same,
        (i) Stack MACs configured and in use are not the same or unknown,
        (N) Enhanced protocol is in use, (n) Enhanced protocol is configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
License level restrictions: (C) Core, (A) Advanced edge, or (E) Edge in use,
        (c) Core, (a) Advanced edge, or (e) Edge configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
		
Slot-1 Stack.3 # show stacking stack-ports
Stack Topology is a Ring
Slot Port Select Node MAC Address  Port State  Flags Speed
---- ---- ------ ----------------- ----------- ----- -----
*1   1    27     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Operational C-      10G
*1   2    28     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Operational CB      10G
 2   1    27     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Operational CB      10G
 2   2    28     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Operational C-      10G
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Control path is active, (B) Port is Blocked

Slot-1 Stack.4 # show slot
Slots    Type                 Configured           State       Ports
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Slot-1   switch_model                              Operational   28
Slot-2   switch_model                              Operational   28
Slot-3                                             Empty          0
Slot-4                                             Empty          0
Slot-5                                             Empty          0
Slot-6                                             Empty          0
Slot-7                                             Empty          0
Slot-8                                             Empty          0

Here are displays taken from StackB:

Slot-1 Stack.1 # show stacking
Stack Topology is a Ring
Active Topology is a Ring
Node MAC Address    Slot  Stack State  Role     Flags
------------------  ----  -----------  -------  ---
*00:04:96:9e:5c:76  1     Active       Master   CA-
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6  2     Active       Backup   CA-
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Candidate for this active topology, (A) Active Node
        (O) node may be in Other active topology
		
Slot-1 Stack.2 # show stacking configuration
Stack MAC in use: 02:04:96:9e:5c:76
Node               Slot         Alternate          Alternate
MAC Address        Cfg Cur Prio Mgmt IP / Mask     Gateway         Flags     Lic
------------------ --- --- ---- ------------------ --------------- --------- ---
*00:04:96:9e:5c:76 1   1   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6 2   2   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) master-Capable in use, (c) master-capable is configured,
        (E) Stacking is currently Enabled, (e) Stacking is configured Enabled,
        (M) Stack MAC in use, (m) Stack MACs configured and in use are the same,
        (i) Stack MACs configured and in use are not the same or unknown,
        (N) Enhanced protocol is in use, (n) Enhanced protocol is configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
License level restrictions: (C) Core, (A) Advanced edge, or (E) Edge in use,
        (c) Core, (a) Advanced edge, or (e) Edge configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
		
Slot-1 Stack.3 # show stacking stack-ports
Stack Topology is a Ring
Slot Port Select Node MAC Address  Port State  Flags Speed
---- ---- ------ ----------------- ----------- ----- -----
*1   1    15     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Operational C-      10G
*1   2    16     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Operational CB      10G
 2   1    15     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Operational CB      10G
 2   2    16     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Operational C-      10G
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Control path is active, (B) Port is Blocked

Slot-1 Stack.4 # show slot
Slots    Type                 Configured           State       Ports
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Slot-1   switch_model                              Operational   16
Slot-2   switch_model                              Operational   16
Slot-3                                             Empty          0
Slot-4                                             Empty          0
Slot-5                                             Empty          0
Slot-6                                             Empty          0
Slot-7                                             Empty          0
Slot-8                                             Empty          0
  1. Form the new stack. Assuming both stacks are rings, break one link in each stack as follows:
    Note

    Note

    Refer to Example Node Names in Stacks Being Merged for a guide to the switch (node) names used in the following steps.
    1. For StackA, break the link between node A1 port 1 and node A2 port 2.
    2. For StackB, break the link between node B1 port 1 and node B2 port 2.
  2. Connect the broken links between the two stacks to form a ring as follows:
    1. Connect node A2 port 2 to node B1 port 1.
    2. Connect node B2 port 2 to node A1 port 1.
      Because both stacks are active stacks and have duplicate slot numbers, the links between the two stacks are in Inhibited state.
  3. Assume that the master node of stackA is to be the master node of the joined stack. Log into the intended master node. (This is node A1.)
  4. Verify the details of the new stack using the following commands:
    • show stacking
    • show stacking configuration
    • show stacking stack-ports
    Slot-1 Stack.1 # show stacking
Stack Topology is a Ring
Active Topology is a Daisy-Chain
Node MAC Address    Slot  Stack State  Role     Flags
------------------  ----  -----------  -------  ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39  1     Active       Master   CA-
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34  2     Active       Backup   CA-
 00:04:96:9e:5c:76  1     Active       Master   --O
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6  2     Active       Backup   --O
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Candidate for this active topology, (A) Active Node
        (O) node may be in Other active topology
		
Slot-1 Stack.2 # show stacking configuration
Stack MAC in use: 02:04:96:9c:e4:39
Node               Slot         Alternate          Alternate
MAC Address        Cfg Cur Prio Mgmt IP / Mask     Gateway         Flags     Lic
------------------ --- --- ---- ------------------ --------------- --------- ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39 1   1   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34 2   2   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9e:5c:76 1   1   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEe--iNn --
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6 2   2   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEe--iNn --
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) master-Capable in use, (c) master-capable is configured,
        (E) Stacking is currently Enabled, (e) Stacking is configured Enabled,
        (M) Stack MAC in use, (m) Stack MACs configured and in use are the same,
        (i) Stack MACs configured and in use are not the same or unknown,
        (N) Enhanced protocol is in use, (n) Enhanced protocol is configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
License level restrictions: (C) Core, (A) Advanced edge, or (E) Edge in use,
        (c) Core, (a) Advanced edge, or (e) Edge configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
		
Slot-1 Stack.3 # show stacking stack-ports
Stack Topology is a Ring
Slot Port Select Node MAC Address  Port State  Flags Speed
---- ---- ------ ----------------- ----------- ----- -----
*1   1    27     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Inhibited   --      10G
*1   2    28     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Operational C-      10G
 2   1    27     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Operational C-      10G
 2   2    28     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Inhibited   --      10G
 1   1    15     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Inhibited   --      10G
 1   2    16     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Operational C-      10G
 2   1    15     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Operational C-      10G
 2   2    16     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Inhibited   --      10G
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Control path is active, (B) Port is Blocked                                            Empty          0
  5. Configure the nodes so that they all have unique slot numbers.
    See Configuring Slot Numbers.
  6. Configure the stack MAC address using the configure stacking mac-address command.
    See Assigning a MAC Address to a Stack.
  7. Optionally, use the configure stacking redundancy minimal command to ensure that only slots 1 and 2 are master-capable.
  8. Optionally, configure new alternate IP addresses for nodes from the original StackB.
    See Configuring an Alternate IP Address and Gateway.
  9. For master-capable nodes, configure a license restriction to be the minimum of the two original values on all master-capable nodes.
    Alternatively, you may purchase license upgrades from Extreme if necessary. In this case, use the command: configure stacking license-level edge
  10. Either reboot the entire stack topology using the reboot stack-topology command, or individually reboot the two nodes that formerly were in StackB.
    Using the nodes in this example, the latter requires the following commands:
    reboot node 00:04:96:9e:5c:76
reboot node 00:04:96:9c:53:b6
    Reboot the nodes in this order: standby nodes first, backup node next, and master node last. Because none of these nodes is master-capable, there is no temporary dual master situation as a result of these separate node reboots.
  11. When the rebooted nodes come back up, run the following commands to see the resulting stack.

    You can verify that the joined stack came up as expected – that is, all nodes have unique slot numbers, a common stack MAC address, and so forth:

    Slot-1 Stack.15 # show stacking
Stack Topology is a Ring
Active Topology is a Ring
Node MAC Address    Slot  Stack State  Role     Flags
------------------  ----  -----------  -------  ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39  1     Active       Master   CA-
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34  2     Active       Backup   CA-
 00:04:96:9e:5c:76  3     Active       Standby  CA-
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6  4     Active       Standby  CA-
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Candidate for this active topology, (A) Active Node
        (O) node may be in Other active topology
		
Slot-1 Stack.16 # show stacking configuration
Stack MAC in use: 02:04:96:9c:e4:39
Node               Slot         Alternate          Alternate
MAC Address        Cfg Cur Prio Mgmt IP / Mask     Gateway         Flags     Lic
------------------ --- --- ---- ------------------ --------------- --------- ---
*00:04:96:9c:e4:39 1   1   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9b:c1:34 2   2   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9e:5c:76 3   3   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
 00:04:96:9c:53:b6 4   4   Auto <none>             <none>          CcEeMm-Nn --
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) master-Capable in use, (c) master-capable is configured,
        (E) Stacking is currently Enabled, (e) Stacking is configured Enabled,
        (M) Stack MAC in use, (m) Stack MACs configured and in use are the same,
        (i) Stack MACs configured and in use are not the same or unknown,
        (N) Enhanced protocol is in use, (n) Enhanced protocol is configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
License level restrictions: (C) Core, (A) Advanced edge, or (E) Edge in use,
        (c) Core, (a) Advanced edge, or (e) Edge configured,
        (-) Not in use or not configured
		
Slot-1 Stack.17 # show stacking stack-ports
Stack Topology is a Ring
Slot Port Select Node MAC Address  Port State  Flags Speed
---- ---- ------ ----------------- ----------- ----- -----
*1   1    27     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Operational C-      10G
*1   2    28     00:04:96:9c:e4:39 Operational CB      10G
 2   1    27     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Operational CB      10G
 2   2    28     00:04:96:9b:c1:34 Operational C-      10G
 3   1    15     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Operational C-      10G
 3   2    16     00:04:96:9e:5c:76 Operational C-      10G
 4   1    15     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Operational C-      10G
 4   2    16     00:04:96:9c:53:b6 Operational C-      10G
* - Indicates this node
Flags:  (C) Control path is active, (B) Port is Blocked

Slot-1 Stack.18 # show slot
Slots    Type                 Configured           State       Ports
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Slot-1   switch_model                              Operational   28
Slot-2   switch_model                              Operational   28
Slot-3   switch_model                              Operational   16
Slot-4   switch_model                              Operational   16
Slot-5                                             Empty          0
Slot-6                                             Empty          0
Slot-7                                             Empty          0
Slot-8                                             Empty          0
  12. Configure the new slots in VLANs, IP subnetworks, and so forth as required.
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