Initialization Processes - Allied Telesis AT-8100L/8 User Manual

AT-8100 Switch Command Line User's Guide
Here is an example of how the process works. Assume your stack has
three switches, assigned the ID numbers 1 to 3. The switch with the ID
number 1 is the master switch because it has the lowest ID number of all
the switches in the stack. Now assume that you use the BOOT CONFIG-
FILE to create a new active boot configuration file for the stack and call it
STACKBLF2RM4.CFG. After configuring some of the stack parameter
settings, you issue the WRITE command. In response, the master switch
updates the STACKBLF2RM4.CFG file with your changes and then
transmits it, with the new name BOOT.CFG, over the stacking ports to the
other switches. They, in turn, store the file in their file systems, and, if they
have not already, designate it as their active boot configuration file, so that
they use that file should they become the master switch.
Now assume that you remove the master switch from the stack. The
switch with the ID number 2 becomes the new master switch because it
has the next lowest ID number. The configuration settings of the two
remaining switches remain the same, even with the removal of the original
master switch, because the new master switch has the same active boot
configuration. The file just happens to have a different name. On the
original master switch it was called STACKBLF2RM4.CFG, but on the new
master unit it is BOOT.CFG.
So does this mean that you should use BOOT.CFG as the filename for the
active boot configuration files on your stacks? It does not really matter, so
long as you remember that if you use a different name, the master switch
changes it to BOOT.CFG when it sends the file to the member switches.
To reduce the chance of errors, keep the active boot file as BOOT.CFG on
all switches and use the multiple filename capability to create backup files.
For instance, you can create a time-stamped backup of the current
BOOT.CFG file with the COPY command. To copy the current BOOT.CFG
file to a file called "backup2012-4-1.cfg," enter the following command:
awplus# COPY boot.cfg back2012-4-1.cfg
Initialization
The switches of the stack synchronize their operations in a five-phase
process whenever they are powered on or reset, and prior to forwarding
Processes
network traffic from their ports.
In the first four phases, the switches initialize their management software
and features. These phases take a total of approximately 40 seconds.
The fourth phase is called the discovery process. In this phase, the
switches determine the number of devices in the stack, the cabling
topology, and, in the case of the duplex-ring topology, the active path
through the stacking ports. It is also in this phase that the master switch of
the stack is identified. The discovery process takes approximately 80
seconds.
In the fifth phase, the master switch uses its active boot configuration file in
its file system to configure the settings of all of the switches in the stack.
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