STACKING Nadia Shaw Technical Marketing Engineer Campus Product Management.

STACKINGNadia Shaw

Technical Marketing Engineer

Campus Product Management

Current Stacking Capabilities

• FCX + FCX

• ICX6610 + ICX 6610

• ICX6450 + ICX 6450

• ICX6430-48(P) + ICX6430-48(P)

• ICX6430-24(P) + ICX6430-24(P)

Future Stacking Capabilities

• FCX + FCX

• ICX6610 + ICX 6610

• ICX6450 + ICX 6450

• ICX6430-48(P) + ICX6430-48(P)

• ICX6430-24(P) + ICX6430-24(P)

• ICX6430-24(P) + ICX 6430-48(P)

• ICX6610 + ICX6450*

* HyperEdge

Master Election

• Bootup active controller

• Priority

• Member count

• Up-time

• Unit ID

• MAC Address

Standby Election

• Selected by master 30 or 60 seconds after master election

• Cannot have image or feature mistmach with master

• Must have same runtime config or NO runtime config

• If hitless stacking is enabled, it can take over a missing active controller without rebooting.

• Selection criteria:• The highest priority

• Bootup as Active Controller

• Bootup as Standby Controller

• The lowest boot ID

• The lowest MAC address

Unit ID Information

MAC A MAC B

Bootup Unit ID: 1 Bootup Unit ID: 1Assigned Unit ID: 1 Assigned Unit ID: 2

Unit ID Information

MAC A MAC B

Bootup Unit ID: 1 Bootup Unit ID: 2Assigned Unit ID: 1 Assigned Unit ID: 2

Important Files

• Startup-config.txt

• Running-config.txt

• Stacking.boot

Packet Walkthrough

• Packets processed in HW

• Packet can be dropped, switched (in HW), trapped, or mirrored to CPU

• CPU bound packets redirected to the active controller’s CPU by HW

• From CPU, it can be dropped/forwarded to port/trunk, multicasted or broadcasted

6 byte dest MAC 6 byte src MAC 8 byte DSA payload

Stacking Method: Secure-Setup

• The unit that you issue the secure-setup commands becomes active controller with a priority of 128.

• One all units are active, issue “wr mem” to synchronize configurations.

Stacking Method: Automatic Stack Configuration

• Requires clean devices (except for the active controller)

• You will manually enter all details for all members of the stack (priority, modules, etc.), wr mem, stack enable

• Once you connect the cables, election process for active puts the highest priority unit as active.

• Sequence of the units configured on the active must be the same sequence that they are cabled in.

Stacking Method: Automatic Stack Configuration

Stacking Method: Manual Stack Configuration

• Configure each unit individually and enable stacking on each unit.

• When you connect the units, they will function as a stack automatically.

• You will need to verify that the stacks come up sequentially

Stacking Scenarios

Click icon to add picture

Stacking Scenarios: Stack Merge




Stacking Scenarios: Stack Split

Stacking Scenarios: Stack Split

Device Specific Caveats


Device-Family Specific Caveats: FCX

• Can stack through 2x10GbE ports in the front or 2x16GbE ports in the back. (FCX-S and FCXS-F)

• FCX-I and FCX-E devices do not have 16 Gpbs ports on the rear panel. These devices may be used in an IronStack by installing the 10 Gbps 4-port SFP+ module in the module slot on the front panel. Once you have installed one of these modules, ports 1 and 2 act as the default stacking ports.

• Can configure stacking port as data port.

Device-Family Specific Caveats: ICX6400

• Stack-trunk needs to be enabled if one side of the stack is more than 1 link and the other side is not. (Trunk to port connection)

• Multi-trunk is trunk to trunk.

• By default, ICX 6430 and ICX 6450 devices are not configured for trunked stacking.

• By default, if stacking is enabled, ports 1 and 3 are stacking ports.

• By default, without a license at bootup, ports 2 and 4 come up in 10-Gbps port speed in an error disabled state. (ICX6450 onle)

• When creating a trunk, the ports in the same column are always trunked.


• 40GbE ports cannot stack with the 4x10GbE ports

Failover/Switchover


Default Failover Behavior

• During failover, all units will reboot.

• Priority changes will not trigger reload, but will trigger an election. New elected winners will not take on new role until reboot.

• Cannot perform manual switchover

Hitless failover/switchover

• Supported events:• Failover

• Switchover

• Priority change

• Role change

• Switchover requirements:• Hitless stacking is enabled

• The stack has a Standby Controller

• The Standby Controller has learned the protocols

• The Standby Controller has the same priority as the Active Controller

• More than 120 seconds have passed since the previous switchover or failover

When enabled…

Auto-image update (7.4+)

• Before• Major image mismatch – stack will not form

• Minor image mismatch – stack may form, but units with mismatched image may drop traffic on all ports except the stacking ports

• Brocade# copy flash flash unit-id-pri 2

• After• Master image automatically copied to units that are non-

operational image mismatch state.

• Works only in minor image mismatch

• Non-op units will auto-reboot once image is copied over

[email protected]

THANK YOU!

Configuration Types

• Static Configuration - A configuration that remains in the database of the Active Controller even if the unit it refers to is removed from the stack. Static configurations are derived from the startup configuration file during the boot sequence, are manually entered, or are converted from dynamic configurations after a write memory command is issued.

• Dynamic Configuration - A unit configuration that is dynamically learned by a new stack unit from the Active Controller. A dynamic configuration disappears when the unit leaves the stack.

Device-Family Specific Caveats: FCX

• Can stack through 2x10GbE ports in the front or 2x16GbE ports in the back. (FCX-S and FCXS-F)

• FCX-I and FCX-E devices do not have 16 Gpbs ports on the rear panel. These devices may be used in an IronStack by installing the 10 Gbps 4-port SFP+ module in the module slot on the front panel. Once you have installed one of these modules, ports 1 and 2 act as the default stacking ports.

• Can configure stacking port as data port.


• Stack-trunk needs to be enabled if one side of the stack is more than 1 link and the other side is not. (Trunk to port connection)

• Multi-trunk is trunk to trunk.

• By default, ICX 6430 and ICX 6450 devices are not configured for trunked stacking.

• By default, if stacking is enabled, ports 1 and 3 are stacking ports.

• By default, without a license at bootup, ports 2 and 4 come up in 10-Gbps port speed in an error disabled state.

• When creating a trunk, the ports in the same column are always trunked.


• 40GbE ports cannot stack with the 4x10GbE ports

STACKING Nadia Shaw Technical Marketing Engineer Campus Product Management.

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