H3C S5170-EI Series - Setting up an IRF Fabric; IRF Fabric Setup Flowchart

4-1
4 Setting up an IRF fabric
You can use H3C IRF technology to connect and virtualize S5170-EI or S5570S-EI switches into a
large virtual switch called an "IRF fabric" for flattened network topology, and high availability,
scalability, and manageability.
An S5170-EI or S5570S-EI switch can set up an IRF fabric only with switches from the same switch
series.
IRF fabric setup flowchart
Figure4-1 IRF fabric setup flowchart
To set up an IRF fabric:
Step Description
1. Plan IRF fabric setup
Plan the installation site and IRF fabric setup parameters:
• Planning IRF fabric size and the installation site
• Identifying the master switch and planning IRF member IDs
• Planning IRF topology and connections
Start
Plan IRF fabric setup
Install IRF member switches
Connect the grounding cable
and power cords
Power on the switches
Configure basic IRF settings
Connect the physical IRF ports
Standby switches reboot and
the IRF fabric is automatically
established
End