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NETGEAR 7000 Series Managed Switch Administration Guide Version 7.3
Understanding Switch Stacks
A switch stack is a set of up to eight Ethernet switches connected through their stacking ports. One of the
switches controls the operation of the stack and is called the stack master. The stack master and the other
switches in the stack are stack members. The stack members use stacking technology to behave and work
together as a unified system. Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols present the entire switch stack as a single entity
to the network.
The stack master is the single point of stack-wide management. From the stack master, you configure:
•
System-level (global) features that apply to all stack members
•
Interface-level features for all interfaces on any stack member
A switch stack is identified in the network by its network IP address. The network IP address is assigned
according to the MAC address of the stack master. Every stack member is uniquely identified by its own
stack member number.
All stack members are eligible stack masters. If the stack master becomes unavailable, the remaining stack
members participate in electing a new stack master from among themselves. A set of factors determine
which switch is elected the stack master. These factors are:
1.
The switch that is master always has priority to retain the role of master
2.
Assigned priority
3.
MAC address
If the master cannot be selected by (1), then (2) is used. If (2) does not resolve which stack member becomes
stack master, then (3) is used.
The stack master contains the saved and running configuration files for the switch stack. The configuration
files include the system-level settings for the switch stack and the interface-level settings for all stack
members. Each stack member retains a copy of the saved file for backup purposes.
If the master is removed from the stack, another member will be elected master, and will then run from that
saved configuration.
You can use these methods to manage switch stacks:
•
Stack web interface
•
Command line interface (CLI) over a serial connection to the console port of the master
•
A network management application through the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Switch Stack Membership
A switch stack has up to eight stack members connected through their stacking ports. A switch stack always
has one stack master.
20-2
v1.0, November 2008
Managing Switch Stacks
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