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 primary switch, or node, is the
switch 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 primary switch. If
switches are installed in several adjacent racks, place the primary switch at one
end of the row.
- Physically locate the intended
primary and backup nodes adjacent to each other, and plan to connect these nodes to
each other directly so that Switch Engine
application synchronization traffic is localized to a single stack link.
- On the primary node, connect the
Ethernet management port to your management network.
- To provide management access to the
stack in case of a failure in the primary 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.
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.
