Recommendations for Configuring Stacks
When deploying a new stack, follow these recommendations for
configuring the software:
- Plan to use the stack as if it were a single multi-slot switch.
You need to decide the number and type of stackable switches in the stack and how
the stack ports will be connected to the network.
- You can physically connect the stack
to your networks before the nodes are configured. However, the default configuration
on a switch in non-stacking mode assumes a default untagged VLAN that contains all
switch ports. When first powered on, the switch acts as a Layer 2 switch, possibly
resulting in network loops.
- Make sure all nodes support the
SummitStack feature and are running the same ExtremeXOS software version. (See the
ExtremeXOS 22.6 Feature License
Requirements
.) To view the ExtremeXOS
software version on a node, restart the node and run the command:
show version {detail | process
name | images {partition
partition} {slot
slot_number} }
.
If any node does not have the right version, install the
correct version on that node. Use the same image partition on all nodes. After
stacking is enabled, images can be upgraded from the stack only if the same
image is selected on all nodes.
- If you intend to deploy new units
that might be part of a stack in the future, turn on stacking mode during initial
deployment to avoid the need for a future restart. The only disadvantages of
stacking mode are the loss of QoS (quality of service) profile QP7 and the
reservation of some of the packet buffer space for stacking control traffic.
- You can configure the stack by logging into the master or any of
the other nodes.
- If the master-capable stackable switches have different purchased license levels,
you might need to configure license level restrictions on some nodes before those
nodes can join the stack. See the
ExtremeXOS 22.6 User Guide
for more information about managing licenses.
- If the stack supports any feature
pack license (such as MPLS or Direct Attach), that feature pack license must be
installed on all master-capable nodes to support that feature and to prevent traffic
interruption if a failover event occurs.
- Most stacking specific configurations are effective only after a
restart. However, most non-stacking configuration commands take effect immediately
and require no restart.
- A basic stack configuration can be achieved by using the Easy Setup procedure, as
described in the
ExtremeXOS 22.6 User Guide
.
- If EAPS, Spanning Tree, or any Layer
2 redundancy protocol is not running on the network, make sure that your network
connections do not form a network loop.
Follow the recommendations in Recommendations for Placing Switches for Stacked Operation for physically situating your equipment.
Stacking Considerations for Each Switch Model contains additional recommendations for the specific switch
models in your stack.