Switches - Dell PowerConnect J-EX4200-24T Software Manual

Dell PowerConnect J-Series Ethernet Switch Complete Software Guide for Junos OS
Basic Configuration of a Virtual Chassis with Master and Backup Switches
Expanding Configurations—Within a Single Wiring Closet and Across Wiring Closets
692
Global Management of Member Switches in a Virtual Chassis on page 693
High Availability Through Redundant Routing Engines on page 693
Adaptability as an Access Switch or Distribution Switch on page 693
To take advantage of the Virtual Chassis configuration's higher bandwidth capacity and
software redundancy features, you need to interconnect at least two J-EX4200 switches
in a Virtual Chassis configuration. You can start with a default configuration, composed
of two J-EX4200 member switches interconnected through the dedicated 64-Gbps Virtual
Chassis ports (VCPs) on their rear panels. These ports do not have to be configured. They
are operational as soon as the member switches are powered on. See "Example:
Configuring a Virtual Chassis with a Master and Backup in a Single Wiring Closet" on
page 717 for additional information.
As your needs grow, you can easily expand the Virtual Chassis configuration to include
more member switches. Within a single wiring closet, simply add member switches by
cabling together the dedicated VCPs. For more information about expanding Virtual
Chassis configurations within a single wiring closet, see "Example: Expanding a Virtual
Chassis Configuration in a Single Wiring Closet" on page 722 and "Example: Setting Up a
Multimember Virtual Chassis Access Switch with a Default Configuration" on page 727.
You can also expand a Virtual Chassis configuration beyond a single wiring closet.
Interconnect switches located in multiple wiring closets or in multiple data center racks
by installing the optional SFP or SFP+ uplink modules and connecting the uplink module
ports or by connecting the 1-gigabit network interfaces in a J-EX4200-24F switch. The
small form-factor pluggable (SFP) uplink module provides four ports for 1-gigabit
transceivers. The SFP+ uplink module provides two ports for 10-gigabit SFP+ transceivers
or four ports for 1-gigabit SFP transceivers. To use SFP and SFP+ uplink module ports or
J-EX4200-24F network interfaces for interconnecting member switches, you must first
explicitly configure them as Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs). This procedure includes
configuring these ports of a standalone J-EX4200 switch as VCPs prior to interconnecting
the new member switch with the existing Virtual Chassis configuration. See "Example:
Configuring a Virtual Chassis Interconnected Across Multiple Wiring Closets" on page 733
for detailed information.
When you are creating a Virtual Chassis configuration with multiple members, you might
want to deterministically control the role and member ID assigned to each member
switch. You can do this by creating a preprovisioned configuration. See "Example:
Configuring a Virtual Chassis Using a Preprovisioned Configuration File" on page 752 for
more information.
You can add switches to a preprovisioned configuration by using the autoprovisioning
feature to automatically configure the uplink module ports as VCPs on the switches
being added. See "Adding a New Switch to an Existing Virtual Chassis Configuration (CLI
Procedure)" on page 786 for detailed information.