Recommendations for Placing Switches for Stacked Operation
For best results in a SummitStack configuration, follow these
recommendations for physically situating your equipment:
- Use the shortest possible stacking cables to connect the
switches in the stack. This reduces the likelihood that the stacking cables might
accidentally be damaged or disconnected. Stacking cables are available in lengths
ranging from 0.3 meters to 100 meters.
- When possible, place all switches for the stack in the same rack
or in adjacent racks. This facilitates using shorter stacking cables.
- The stack master is the switch, or node, through which you will
perform the initial stack configuration, using the console port. For simplicity and
ease of connecting the stacking cables, plan to designate the top switch in a
vertical physical stack as the stack master. If switches are installed in several
adjacent racks, place the stack master at one end of the row.
- Physically locate the intended master and backup nodes adjacent
to each other, and plan to connect these nodes to each other directly so that
ExtremeXOS application synchronization traffic is localized to a single stack
link.
- On the master node, connect the Ethernet management port to your
management network.
- To provide management access to the stack in case of a failure
in the master switch, connect all switches that will participate in redundancy to
your management network using the Ethernet management port on each switch.
- Use stacking cables to interconnect the stack nodes into a ring
topology (see Ring Topology: Recommended for Stacking). Include only the nodes that you expect to be active in the stack.
- When you use the SummitStack 128G cable, SummitStack 64G cable,
or SummitStack 128G/64G cable, we strongly recommend the use of cable management
hardware to support the weight of the cables and to provide strain relief at the
connectors.
Follow the recommendations in Recommendations for Configuring Stacks to configure the software for your stack.
The recommended procedures for installing and interconnecting a stack
are found in Set up the Physical Stack.