Stack Settings on Sx500 Series Stackable Switches

Objective

The stacking of the Sx500 switches allows the configuration and management of all the switches in the stack as one logical switch. You can think of the stack as a single unit wherein all ports on any of the stacked switches can be used and configured from the active unit in the stack. If you are unfamiliar with the terms used, check out Cisco Business: Glossary of New Terms.

This article explains how to configure a stack on the Sx500 Series Stackable Switches.

Applicable Devices

• Sx500 Series Stackable Switches

Software Version

• 1.2.7.76

Initial Stack Settings

Step 1. Log in to the web configuration utility and choose Administration > System Mode and Stack Management. The System Mode and Stack Management page opens:

The Operational Status area displays the following information:

• Stack Mode — Displays whether the device is part of a stack or not.

– Standalone — The switch is not a part of a stack and acts alone.

– Native Stacking — The switch is part of a stack and acts as active/member/standby based on user configuration.

• Stack Topology — If the switch is part of a stack, this field displays what type of stack topology is in use.

Note: Your switch stack may differ based on which stack ports are used, how the stack cables are oriented, and the active switch election process.

– Ring — The switch is part of a stack that uses the ring topology and has full redundancy. The illustration above shows an example of a ring stack topology. If a stack cable connection fails in the ring topology, the stack will revert to a chain topology but will still act as one stack. Repair or replace the faulty link to return back to a ring topology.

Note: Your switch stack may differ based on which stack ports are used, how the stack cables are oriented, and the active switch election process.

• System Mode — Displays whether the devices in the stack are in Layer 2 or Layer 3 mode. Layer 3 mode supports routing functions.
• Active Election Status — Displays how the stack active unit was chosen. The possible options are:

– Automatic Active Election — The active is chosen automatically.

– Force Active — Denotes that the active is user selected and forced. Even after the reboot, the switch remains the active if this option is chosen. Choose the desired force active from the Stack Unit Number drop-down list. Refer Step 5 for details.

– System Up Time — Denotes that the active is selected based on the number of time segments (Up time) exchanged among switches where each segment is 10 minutes. The highest number is the active.

– Unit ID — If switches have the same time segments then the active is selected based on the lowest Unit ID.

– MAC Address — If switches have the same unit ID also, then the active is selected based on the lowest available MAC address.

Step 2. Click the radio button in the System mode field to define whether the stack is to be in Layer 2 or Layer 3 mode after reboot. When the active switch is configured as Layer 2 or Layer 3 mode, the member switches are also changed automatically.

Note: All the devices connected in the stack should be in the same System Mode.

Step 3. Check the check box next to the switch for which you want to change stack settings in the Stack Administration Settings Table.

The following information of the switch is displayed:

• Stack Unit Number — The unit ID of the switch in the stack.
• Model Name — The model name of the switch.
• Stack Connection 1 — The information of the first stack port. This is used to troubleshoot, configure, or to understand the stack connection.

– Port — The ID of the stack port. Example: S1 or XG1.

– Speed — Speed of the first stack port.

– Neighbor — The neighbor of the current switch that is connected to the first stack port.

• Stack Connection 2 — The information of the second stack port. This is used to troubleshoot, configure, or to understand the stack connection.

– Port — The ID of the stack port. Example: S1 or XG1.

– Speed — Speed of the second stack port.

– Neighbor — The neighbor of the current switch that is connected to the second stack port.

Step 4. Choose Native Stacking from the Stack Unit Mode drop-down list.

Step 5. Choose the unit number for the switch in the stack from the Stack Unit Number drop-down list. Choose Auto if you would like the system to number the unit. Choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 to assign the unit the designated unit number. Choose 1-Force Active or 2-Force Active if you want to assign the unit that number and to make it the Active unit after reboot.

Step 6. Choose the pair of ports on the switch to be used for stacking from the Stack Ports drop-down list.

Note: Choose S1-S2 Combo 1G if you copper wire Ethernet cables are used to stack the switches together. Choose G3/G4 if fiber optic cables are used to stack the switches together.

Step 7. Choose the port speed of the stack from the Stack Ports Speed drop-down list. The possible values are 1G (1 Gigabit) and 5G (5 Gigabit). If the connection is 100 Mbps, only 1G option is available at the drop-down list. The port speed should be the same on all switches connected to the stack.

Step 8. Click Apply and Reboot to reboot the device with the configured settings. The switch takes 1 to 2 minutes to reboot.

Revision History

Revision	Publish Date	Comments
1.0	13-Dec-2018	Initial Release