14.1.3 Settings related to selection of master and backup

Configure the priority of the conditions for selecting the master and backup GSRP switches (number of active ports, priority, and switch MAC address). Select either of the following sets of priority: Number of active ports -> priority -> switch MAC address or priority -> number of active ports -> switch MAC address.

We recommend that you use number of active ports as the top-priority condition in normal operations. If the number of VLAN ports changes or links need to be taken down when you change the network configuration, you might want to use priority as the top-priority condition. By using priority as the top-priority condition, you can change the network configuration without switching over the master and backup switches.

Assign a priority to each VLAN group. The larger the value, the higher the priority. The priority is used to determine the master switch when both switches have the same number of active ports.

You can perform load balancing at the VLAN group level by creating multiple VLAN groups and assigning a different priority to each VLAN group.

Backup locking forcibly places all the VLAN groups of one GSRP switch in the backup state. You might want to use backup locking when you perform a large-scale configuration change that requires the changing of cables or restarting of a GSRP switch. By using backup locking, you can make one GSRP switch as the master for all VLAN groups while you perform a configuration change involving the other GSRP switch.