Administrator Guide

The first recommendation is to enable xSTP on the un-managed switch. The uplink port connected to the PE must be made as
an edge port in the L2 switch. This would ensure the local loop in the L2 switch is cut by itself without having to bring down any
of the PE interfaces. Bringing down the PE interface would still keep the loop active in the switch which affects all the hosts
connected to the L2 switch.
In the event of the L2 switch not supporting xSTP (hub etc), the control PDUs will be used to detect loops at PE to mitigate the
effect of the loop in other parts of the network.
Loop between a LM interface and PE interface
● A LM (Line Module) interface P1 is connected to a L2 switch.
● A PE interface, PEX1 is connected to the same un-managed L2 switch.
This loop will be broken based on the data traffic or control PDUs received at the PE. In the event of data traffic at the PE and
continuous station moves between the PE and LM interface, the PE interface will be brought down.
In case there is no data traffic on the LAN, control PDUs received at the PE will be used to break the loop.
Upgrading a Port Extender
You can update the Dell Networking operating system (OS) on a port extender manually as needed or allow it to be
automatically updated by the controlling bridge.
Auto-Upgrade of the OS Image
An automatic OS upgrade is performed when a discovered standalone PE or PE stack is running an out-of-date or incompatible
software version compared to the OS image running on the controlling bridge. In this case, no operator intervention is
necessary. The management software automatically upgrades the PE or PE stack with the OS software version running on the
controlling bridge.
Manually Upgrading the OS Image
To manually upgrade the OS image on a standalone PE or PE stack, follow the procedure in this section.
NOTE:
You can also upgrade the OS image on a PE or PE stack as part of a global upgrade of all RPMs, line cards, and PEs
by using the upgrade all command. For more information, see the Dell Networking C9010, C1048P, and N20xx/N30xx
Release Notes.
NOTE: The configurations shown here are examples only and are not intended to duplicate any real system or network.
1. From the C9010 console, upgrade the Dell Networking OS on a standalone PE or a PE stack using the OS version running on
the controlling bridge.
Port Extenders (PEs)
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