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Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3130 and 3032 for Dell Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 5 Managing Switch Stacks
Understanding Switch Stacks
Stack Member Priority Values
A higher priority value for a stack member increases its likelihood of being elected stack master and
retaining its stack member number. The priority value can be 1 to 15. The default priority value is 1. You
can display the stack member priority value by using the
show switch
user EXEC command.
Note
We recommend assigning the highest priority value to the switch that you prefer to be the stack master.
This ensures that the switch is re-elected as stack master.
You can change the priority value for a stack member by using the
switch
stack-member-number
priority
new-priority-value
global configuration command. For more information, see the
Stack Member Priority Value” section on page 5-25
. Another way to change the member priority value
is by changing the SWITCH_PRIORITY environment variable, as explained in the
Environment Variables” section on page 3-20
The new priority value takes effect immediately but does not affect the current stack master. The new
priority value helps determine which stack member is elected as the new stack master when the current
stack master or the switch stack resets.
Switch Stack Offline Configuration
You can use the offline configuration feature to
provision
(to supply a configuration to) a new switch
before it joins the switch stack. You can configure in advance the stack member number, the switch type,
and the interfaces associated with a switch that is not currently part of the stack. The configuration that
you create on the switch stack is called the
provisioned configuration
. The switch that is added to the
switch stack and that receives this configuration is called the
provisioned switch
.
You manually create the provisioned configuration through the
switch
stack-member-number
provision
type
global configuration command. The provisioned configuration is automatically created when a
switch is added to a switch stack and when no provisioned configuration exists.
When you configure the interfaces associated with a provisioned switch (for example, as part of a
VLAN), the switch stack accepts the configuration, and the information appears in the running
configuration. The interface associated with the provisioned switch is not active, operates as if it is
administratively shut down, and the
no shutdown
interface configuration command does not return it to
active service. The interface associated with the provisioned switch does not appear in the display of the
specific feature; for example, it does not appear in the
show vlan
user EXEC command output.
The switch stack retains the provisioned configuration in the running configuration whether or not the
provisioned switch is part of the stack. You can save the provisioned configuration to the startup
configuration file by entering the
copy running-config startup-config
privileged EXEC command. The
startup configuration file ensures that the switch stack can reload and can use the saved information
whether or not the provisioned switch is part of the switch stack.
