Building Stacks
on page 60
A stack consists of a group of up to eight switches that are connected to form a ring. The stack offers
the combined port capacity of the individual switches, it operates as if it were a single switch, making
network administration easier.
Stacking is facilitated by the SummitStack feature – part of the ExtremeXOS Base license.
This chapter describes the supported configurations for stacking switches, the considerations for
planning a stack, and the steps for setting up the hardware. Read this chapter before installing the
switches that will make up the stack.
Refer to the Stacking chapter in the
for information about configuring a
stack, maintaining the stack configuration, and troubleshooting.
Introduction to Stacking
Using the SummitStack feature—part of the ExtremeXOS Edge license—a stack can combine switches
from different series, provided that every switch in the stack:
•
Runs in the same partition (primary or secondary).
•
Runs the same version of ExtremeXOS.
•
Includes support for stacking.
The stack operates as if it were a single switch with a single IP address and a single point of
authentication. One switch – called the primary switch – is responsible for running network protocols
and managing the stack. The primary runs ExtremeXOS software and maintains all the software tables
for all the switches in the stack.
All switches in the stack, including the primary switch, are called nodes.
shows four nodes in a
stack, connected to each other by SummitStack cables.
All connections between stack ports must be directly between switches. A stacking connection cannot
pass through a third device, for example a Virtual Port Extender or an LRM/MACsec Adapter.
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