HP Aruba 3810M Series

extended virtual switch. The stacking topologies supported depend on the number of switches
being stacked.
The stacking cables and connections operate independently of any layer 2 or layer 3 network
protocols and features, including Spanning Tree. When multiple switches are stacked, they
behave as a single, virtual switch with additional network ports being supplied by the stack
members.
NOTE: If an 3810M switch is powered on for the first time without a stacking module installed,
stacking will be disabled and that will be saved in the switch's running configuration. Subsequently,
after a stacking module has been installed, stacking must be enabled through the console (CLI)
command stacking enable.
To set up a stack of 3810M switches, you should:
1. Power off all switches that are going to be stacked.
2. Install Stacking Modules in the switches, and connect the stacking cables to create your
stacking topology.
3. Power-on each switch, one at a time. The first switch that you should power on is the one
that you want to be the Commander of the stack. The second one will become the stack
Standby. For the other stack members, their Member ID is determined by the sequence in
which they are booted.
There are additional methods for creating your 3810M stack. For configuration options and other
information on stacking, see “Stack Management” chapter in the HPE ArubaOS-Switch Advanced
Traffic Management Guide K/KA/KB.16.01.
The supported stacking topologies include the following:
• Chain
• Ring
• Mesh
Chain Topologies
Up to 10 switches may be stacked in an open-ended chain with single cables between each pair
of switches.
NOTE: Chain topologies are not recommended because a single failure (switch, stacking
module, or cable) will cause switch-to-switch communication failures between switches that are
located on opposite sides of the failure. Unless the failure is the switch or stacking module at the
very end of the chain, two stack fragments are formed as a result. One of the fragments becomes
inactive to make sure that network topology and protocol rules are not violated by the creation
of two virtual switches. For the inactive fragment, the switches remain powered on and create a
separate stack, but all of network ports on the switches in the inactive fragment become disabled
and do not pass network traffic.
For more information and recovery procedures, see the “Stack Management” chapter in the HPE
ArubaOS-Switch Advanced Traffic Management Guide K/KA/KB.16.01.
A typical chain topology is illustrated in Figure 25.
48 Installing the Switch