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Catalyst 2900 Series XL and Catalyst 3500 Series XL Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 5 Clustering Switches
Planning a Switch Cluster
Management VLAN
Communication with the switch management interfaces is through the command-switch IP address. The
IP address is associated with the management VLAN, which by default is VLAN 1. To manage switches
in a cluster, the command switch, member switches, and candidate switches must be connected through
ports assigned to the command-switch management VLAN.
If you add a new, out-of-box switch to a cluster and the cluster is using a management VLAN other than
the default VLAN 1, the command switch automatically senses that the new switch has a different
management VLAN and has not been configured. The command switch issues commands to change the
management VLAN of the new switch to the one the cluster is using. This automatic VLAN change only
occurs for new, out-of-box switches that do not have a config.text file and that have no changes to the
running configuration. For more information, see the
“Discovery of Newly Installed Switches” section
on page 5-11
.
You can change the management VLAN of a member switch (not the command switch). However, the
command switch will not be able to communicate with it. In this case, you will need to manage the switch
as a standalone switch.
You can globally change the management VLAN for the cluster as long as each member switch has either
a trunk connection or a connection to the new command-switch management VLAN. From the command
switch, use the cluster management vlan global configuration command to change the cluster
management VLAN to a different management VLAN.
Caution
You can change the management VLAN through a console connection without interrupting the console
connection. However, changing the management VLAN ends your CMS session. Restart your CMS
session by entering the new IP address in the browser Location field (Netscape Communicator) or
Address field (Microsoft Internet Explorer), as described in the release notes
(
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/lan/c2900xl/index.htm
).
Note
Activity synchronization is only valid if your command switch and member switches are running
Release 12.0(5)XU and later. Earlier releases of the software require that switches be upgraded one at a
time.
Note
If your cluster includes members that are running a software release earlier than Release 12.0(5)XP, you
cannot change the management VLAN of the cluster. If your cluster includes member switches that are
running Release 12.0(5)XP, you need to change their management VLAN before you use the
Management VLAN window.
For more information about changing the management VLAN, see the
“Management VLANs” section
on page 8-3
.