Catalyst 3750 - how to set up cluster?

[cjdoidge]

Hello all,

We have 3750 already working as a single switch. I have another one coming in with virtually empty configuration. How can I set up cluster with no/minimum downtime for the first one ?

By the way - is there a "quick" way of wiping out configuration on those switches ?

regards,

Alex

[pkhatri]

Just a clarification - you are after a cluster and not a stack, right ?

thanks,

Paresh

[cjdoidge]

Sorry, I was wrong. We actually want a stack, NOT a cluster...

[pkhatri]

Hi Alex,

All you need to do is connect up the second switch to the first. You don't have to do anything to prepare this second switch before adding itto the stack.

When a new switch is added, the master switch automatically configures the unit with the currently running Cisco IOS® software image and configuration of the stack. The stack will gather information such as switching table information and update the MAC tables as new addresses are learned.

The entire process is non-impacting to the existing switch.

Make sure the switch that you add to the switch stack is powered off and is only powered on after connecting it up.

If you want to, you can use the offline configuration feature to provision (to supply a configuration to) a new switch before it joins the switch stack. You can configure in advance the stack member number, the switch type, and the interfaces associated with a switch that is not currently part of the stack.

One other thing I advise is to configure the stack member priority value for the switch that you want to be the master

There are a number of ways of doing this stuff. I strongly recommend that you go through this document:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps5023/products_configuration_guide_chapter09186a008050245f.html

Hope that helps - pls rate the post if it does.

Paresh

[cjdoidge]

Thanks for this - I'll try tonight. Do I need 2 stackWise cables to connect 2 units or one is enough ?

Thanks,

Alex

[m.matteson]

i have two cables. if i'm feeling brave i'll unplug one and let you know if anything bad happens.

[pkhatri]

Howdy,

Use 2 cables so that the two switches form a ring. A single cable will result in the stack bandwidth being reduced to half of its full capacity. To efficiently load balance the traffic, packets are allocated between two logical counter-rotating paths. Each counter-rotating path supports 16-Gbps of traffic for a total of 32 Gbps. When a break is detected in a cable, the traffic immediately loops back across the single remaining 16-Gbps path to continue forwarding.

So pls use 2 cables...

Paresh