1-1 
1  Cluster 
Cluster Overview 
Introduction to HGMP 
A cluster contains a group of switches. Through cluster management, you can manage multiple 
geographically dispersed in a centralized way. 
Cluster management is implemented through Huawei group management protocol (HGMP). HGMP 
version 2 (HGMPv2) is used at present. 
A switch in a cluster plays one of the following three roles: 
z  Management device 
z  Member device 
z  Candidate device 
A cluster comprises of a management device and multiple member devices. To manage the devices in a 
cluster, you need only to configure an external IP address for the management switch. Cluster 
management enables you to configure and manage remote devices in batches, reducing the workload 
of the network configuration. Normally, there is no need to configure external IP addresses for member 
devices.  
Figure 1-1 illustrates a cluster implementation. 
Figure 1-1 A cluster implementation 
 
 
HGMP V2 has the following advantages: 
z  It eases the configuration and management of multiple switches: You just need to configure a 
public IP address for the management device instead of for all the devices in the cluster; and then