Advanced Traffic Management Guide K/KA/KB.15.15

7 Stack management for the 3500, 3500yl, 6200yl and
6600 switches
NOTE: All commands previously in the Summary of commands table are indexed under the entry
Command syntax.
Introduction
This feature is available on the 3500, 3500yl, 6200yl and 6600 switches, but not on the 5400zl
and 8200zl switches.
HP Switch Stack Management (stacking) enables you to use a single IP address and standard
network cabling to manage a group of up to 16 total switches in the same IP subnet (broadcast
domain). Using stacking, you can:
• Reduce the number of IP addresses needed in your network.
• Simplify management of small workgroups or wiring closets while scaling your network to
handle increased bandwidth demand.
• Eliminate any specialized cables for stacking connectivity and remove the distance barriers
that typically limit your topology options when using other stacking technologies.
• Add switches to your network without having to first perform IP addressing tasks.
NOTE:
• Stacking and meshing cannot both be enabled at the same time.
• In the default configuration, stacking in the "candidate" state is enabled.
Configuring stack management
This process assumes that:
• All switches to include in a stack are connected to the same subnet (broadcast domain).
• If VLANs are enabled on the switches to include in the stack, then the ports linking the stacked
switches must be on the primary VLAN in each switch. If the primary VLAN is tagged, then
each switch in the stack must use the same VLAN ID (VID) for the primary VLAN.
• If you are including an HP Switch 8000M, 4000M, 2424M, 2400M, or 1600M in a stack,
you must first update all such devices to software versionC.08.03 or later. Copies of the latest
software version are available from the HP Switch Networking web site or can be copied
from one switch to another. For downloading instructions, see the Basic Operations Guide
for your switch.
Options for configuring a commander and candidates
Depending on how Commander and Candidate switches are configured, Candidates can join a
stack either automatically or by a Commander manually adding (pulling) them into the stack. In
the default configuration, a Candidate joins only when manually pulled by a Commander, but you
can reconfigure a Commander to automatically pull in Candidates that are in the default stacking
configuration. Also a Candidate switch can be reconfigured to either "push" itself into a particular
Commander's stack, convert the Candidate to a Commander (for a stack that does not already
have a Commander), or to operate as a standalone switch without stacking. The following table
shows your control options for adding Members to a stack.
Introduction 261