Stack Management for the Series 3400cl and 6400cl Switches 
Introduction to Stack Management on Series 3400cl and Series 6400cl Switches 
Specific Rules 
Table 13-2. Specific Rules for Commander, Candidate, and Member Switch 
IP Addressing and 
Stack Name 
Number Allowed 
Per Stack 
Passwords  SNMP Communities 
Commander  IP Addr: Requires an  Only one  The Commander’s Manager  Standard SNMP community 
assigned IP address  Commander  and Operator passwords are  operation. The Commander 
and mask for access  switch is allowed  assigned to any switch  also operates as an SNMP 
via the network.  per stack.  becoming a Member of the  proxy to Members for all 
Stack Name: Required 
stack.  SNMP communities config-
If you change the 
ured in the Commander. 
Commander’s passwords, the 
Commander propagates the 
new passwords to all stack 
Members. 
Candidate  IP Addr: Optional.  n/a 
Passwords optional. If the  Uses standard SNMP 
Configuring an IP 
Candidate becomes a stack  community operation if the 
address allows access 
Member, it assumes the  Candidate has its own IP 
via Telnet or web 
Commander’s Manager and  addressing. 
browser interface 
Operator passwords. 
while the switch is not 
a stack member. In the 
factory default configu-
ration the switch auto-
matically acquires an 
IP address if your 
network includes DHCP 
service. 
If a candidate has a password, 
it cannot be automatically 
added to a stack. In this case, 
if you want the Candidate in a 
stack, you must manually add 
it to the stack. 
Stack Name: N/A 
Member  IP Addr: Optional. 
Configuring an IP 
address allows access 
via Telnet or web 
browser interface 
without going through 
the Commander switch. 
This is useful, for 
example, if the stack 
Commander fails and 
you need to convert a 
Member switch to 
operate as a replace-
ment Commander. 
Stack Name: N/A 
Up to 15 Members  When the switch joins the 
per stack.  stack, it automatically 
assumes the Commander’s 
Manager and Operator pass-
words and discards any pass-
words it may have had while a 
Candidate. 
Note: If a Member leaves a 
stack for any reason, it retains 
the passwords assigned to the 
stack Commander at the time 
of departure from the stack. 
Belongs to the same SNMP 
communities as the 
Commander (which serves 
as an SNMP proxy to the 
Member for communities to 
which the Commander 
belongs). To join other 
communities that exclude 
the Commander, the 
Member must have its own 
IP address. Loss of stack 
membership means loss of 
membership in any commu-
nity that is configured only 
in the Commander. See 
"SNMP Community Opera-
tion in a Stack" on
 page 
13-42. 
13-7