Configure System Information
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S3300 Smart Managed Pro Switch
Switch Stack Configuration
Stacking Overview
A stackable switch is a switch that is a fully functional operating standalone, but can also be
set-up to operate together with up to six switches, with this group of switches showing the
characteristics of a single switch while having the port capacity of the sum of the combined
switches.
One of the switches in the stack controls the operation of the stack. This switch is called the
stack manager. The remaining switches in the stack are stack members. The stack members
use stacking technology to behave and work together as a unified system. Layer 2 and above
protocols present the entire switch stack as a single entity to the network.
The stack manager is the single point of stack-wide management. From the stack manager,
you configure the following:
• System-level (global) features that apply to all stack members
• Interface-level features for all interfaces on any stack member
A switch stack is identified in the network by its network IP address. The network IP address
is assigned according to the MAC address of the stack manager. Every stack member is
uniquely identified by its own stack member number.
All stack members are eligible stack managers. If the stack manager becomes unavailable,
the remaining stack members participate in electing a new stack manager from among
themselves. The following factors determine which switch is elected as the stack manager:
• The switch that is manager always has priority to retain the role of manager
• Assigned priority
• MAC address
All stack members must run the same software version to ensure compatibility between stack
members. The software versions on all stack members, including the stack manager, must be
the same. This helps ensure full compatibility in the stack protocol version among the stack
members. If a stack member is running a software version that is not the same as the stack
manager, then the stack member is not allowed to join the stack.
The stack manager contains the saved and running configuration files for the switch stack.
The configuration files include the system-level settings for the switch stack and the
interface-level settings for all stack members. Each stack member retains a copy of the
saved file for backup purposes.
If the manager is removed from the stack, another member will be elected manager, and will
then run from that saved configuration.
The stack manager switch performs a consistency check to ensure that all units in the stack
are running the same version of agent. Using the information gathered during topology
discovery, the stack manager can determine whether all units are running the same version
of agent. If the versions do not match, then the ports on the subordinate switch will not
become valid for operation. This condition is known as the special stacking mode. You have
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