7.4 Operation management of stack

<Structure of this section>

(1) Connecting and logging in to the operation terminal

By connecting the console via the serial connection port, you can log in to the connected member switch. After connecting to the stack from a remote operation terminal, you can connect to the master switch and log in. You can use the operation command session to log in to another member switch from the member switch you logged in to.

To manage the stack with the operation terminal, log in to the master switch.

You can identify the member switches and switch states that you are logged in to at the command prompt. For example, if you set OFFICE1 in the configuration command hostname and switch number 1 is the master switch and switch number 2 is the backup switch, the command prompt is as follows:

Master switch command prompt: OFFICE1>
Backup switch command prompt: OFFICE1-02B>

The hyphen after the backup switch command prompt indicates the switch number (two characters) and the switch status (one character).

When using the operation-command session, note the following:

You cannot use session command to log in to a member switch that is being initialized. If this happens, re-execute the command after initialization is completed.
If no key is pressed for a certain period of time while connecting with session command, the system will automatically log out, terminate the connection, and return to the switch from which the connection was originally made.

(2) Execution of operation commands

In the stack, you can use operation commands from the master switch to view and manipulate member switch information. For details about the operation commands in a stack configuration, see [Stack Configuration Operations] in the Operation Command Reference.

When executing operation commands on a stack, note the following:

A member switch other than the master switch cannot display or operate the information of other member switches.
You cannot view or manipulate information for a member switch that is being initialized. If this happens, re-execute the command after initialization is completed.

For some operation commands, you must execute the operation command on the target member switch. You can use the operation command remote command to execute the specified operation command on the specified member switch.

When you use remote command command and execute an operation command that includes remote command command consecutively, execute the following operation command after remote command command terminates and the prompt is displayed. If an operation command including a remote command command is entered and executed by copying and pasting, the operation command after remote command command may not be executed. If this happens, re-enter the operation command that was not executed.

(3) Configuration

(a) Configuration of the member switch

In a stack, all member switches that make up the stack operate in the same configuration. Each member switch has a startup configuration and a running configuration, but the stack operates with the running configuration set to the same state on all member switches.

(b) Editing the running configuration

The running configuration in a stack configuration can be edited only by the master switch. Only the master switch can edit the running configuration. The running configuration edited on the master switch is synchronized with the running configuration of the other member switches. In addition, when save command is executed on the master switch, the running configuration of all member switches is saved in each startup configuration.

(c) Flow of synchronization with the member switch started later

If the member switch is started later during stack operation, check whether the startup configuration of the member switch started later in the running configuration of the master switch is the same.

When the configuration is the same

The member switches that were launched later remain part of the stack.

When the configuration is different

Use the procedure shown in the following figure to match the configuration and make the member switches part of the stack.

Figure 7-3: Flow up to matching configuration

A mismatch occurs when the running configuration of the master switch is compared with the startup configuration of the member switch started later.
The member switch copies the running configuration of the master switch to the startup configuration and restarts it.
Because the running configuration of the master switch matches the startup configuration of the restarted member switch, the member switch operates in a running configuration synchronized with the running configuration of the master switch.

(4) Member switch time

The time of a member switch other than the master switch is synchronized with the time of the master switch. However, since the time is synchronized in seconds, errors may occur between member switches.

When an operation command set clock is executed on the master switch, the time of other member switches is synchronized up to one minute later.

(5) Device information

(a) Synchronization of device information

The stack synchronizes all device information from the master switch to a member switch other than the master switch, except for the following: For details on the device information, see section 14.2, Device Information Required for Operation, and Backup/Restore.

Optional license
Stack information file

When device information is changed using operation or configuration commands on the master switch, the device information on the member switch is also changed.

When the member switch is started, the device information of the master switch is synchronized to the member switch. At this time, device information that is on the member switch but not on the master switch is deleted.

(b) Startup configuration

The startup configuration is synchronized with the running configuration of the master switch when the member switch is initialized.

(c) Backing up and restoring device information

When backing up device information in a stack, create a backup file for each member switch and store it.

When replacing the switch, restore from the backup file created by the member switch to be replaced. This is because the backup and restore target includes information called the member switch's individual stack information file.

(d) MC mode of operation

By setting MC operation mode for the stack, you can save the device information to MC for each member switch and recover the device information from MC when the member switch starts.

When MC operation mode is used, device information is saved to MC by executing the operation command update mc-configuration when device information is changed. During stacking, execute update mc-configuration command after changing the device information and after starting the member switch that was not started when the device information was changed. When a member switch starts up, the device information is automatically synchronized from the master switch to the member switch. However, to save the synchronized device information to MC of the activated member switch, update mc-configuration command must be executed.

(6) Software management

(a) Software Update

When updating software, update one member switch after updating the port and then update the other member switch. It is recommended to update the backup switch and the master switch in this order.

Use the operation-command show switch to confirm the completion of the update. If the member switch that was updated has been initialized, the update is complete. Also, use the operation-command show port to check that the port is up.

(b) Optional license

It is recommended that you restart the backup switch and then the master switch after setting the option license.

If the time between the backup switch restart and the master switch restart takes longer, the stack may not be configured.

(7) Screen output and log saving of operation messages

Event information generated by a member switch is displayed as an operation message on the operation terminal of each member switch, and is also stored in the operation log on each member switch.

Of these, the message type ERR and EVT operational messages are also notified to the master switch. In other words, the operation messages of all member switches are displayed on the operation terminal of the master switch and saved in the master switch as an operation log. Operational messages can also be sent to networked servers using syslog interfaces.

The format of the operation message includes the switch number and the switch status. This allows you to distinguish between the member switches in which the event occurred and their states.

(8) MIB and SNMP Notification

In a stack, SNMP settings can be used to retrieve, configure, and send SNMP notifications MIB in a stand-alone manner.

(9) Advanced scripts

The script can be started on the master switch. The following table describes the script operation when the switch state changes during execution.

Table 7-5: Script operations for switch state transitions
Script type	Transition to master	Transition to backup
Command script	Scripts are not executed automatically.	Scripts that were being executed are forcibly terminated.
Resident script	Start a new resident script.
Event startup script	Starts when a new event is detected on the master switch.