Dell PowerConnect J-EX4500, Hardware Manual

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Planning J-EX4200 and J-EX4500 Virtual Chassis
Before interconnecting J-EX4200 and J-EX4500 switches in a Virtual Chassis
configuration, you must consider the following factors:
•
Number and Location of Switches in a Virtual Chassis on page 70
•
Cabling Requirements for a Virtual Chassis on page 70
• Power Requirements for a Virtual Chassis on page 71
Number and Location of Switches in a Virtual Chassis
You can interconnect J-EX4200 and J-EX4500 switches separately and together as
follows to form Virtual Chassis:
• J-EX4200 Virtual Chassis— Two to ten switches can form a Virtual Chassis composed
exclusively of J-EX4200 switches.
•
J-EX4500 Virtual Chassis— Only two switches can be interconnected into a Virtual
Chassis composed exclusively of J-EX4500 switches.
• Mixed Virtual Chassis— Up to eight J-EX4200 switches and up to two J-EX4500
switches can be interconnected in the same mixed Virtual Chassis.
You can mount the switches in a single rack or install them on multiple racks.
For information on the size and strength of J-EX4200 switches and chassis weights and
dimensions, see the
Dell PowerConnect J-Series J-EX4200 Ethernet Switch Hardware
Guide at http://www.support.dell.com/manuals .
For information on the size and strength of racks for J-EX4500 switches and chassis
weights and dimensions, see “Rack Requirements for J-EX4500 Switches” on page 57
and “Chassis Physical Specifications for J-EX4500 Switches” on page 7.
Cabling Requirements for a Virtual Chassis
To interconnect J-EX4200 and J-EX4500 switches into a Virtual Chassis configuration
through Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs), you use the 0.5-m-long (1.64-ft-long) Virtual
Chassis cable supplied with the J-EX4200 switch. The cable and its cable connector
retainer are not supplied with the J-EX4500 switch and must be purchased separately.
If you need cables longer than 0.5 m (1.64 ft) for your Virtual Chassis configuration, you
can purchase them separately. The longest Virtual Chassis cable is 5 m (16.4 ft).
To interconnect J-EX4200 switches that are installed farther apart, you must configure
the SPF+ uplink module ports as Virtual Chassis ports and use them to interconnect the
switches.
To interconnect J-EX4500 switches that are installed farther apart, you must configure
either the uplink module ports or the SFP+ network ports as Virtual Chassis ports and
use them to interconnect the switches.
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Dell PowerConnect J-Series J-EX4500 Ethernet Switch Hardware Guide