Cabletron Systems SmartStack STS-8SU User manual

SmartStack
STS-8SU External Stacker Unit
&
STS-SM Switch Matrix
Installation
and
User Guide

i
Notice
Notice
Cabletron Systems reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other
information contained in this document without prior notice. The reader should in all
cases consult Cabletron Systems to determine whether any such changes have been made.
The hardware, firmware, or software described in this manual is subject to change
without notice.
IN NO EVENT SHALL CABLETRON SYSTEMS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS) ARISING
OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS MANUAL OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED
IN IT, EVEN IF CABLETRON SYSTEMS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF, KNOWN, OR
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
© October 1999 by:
Cabletron Systems, Inc.
35 Industrial Way
Rochester, NH 03867
All Rights Reserved.
Order Number: 9032968-01
(OC-7060 v. 1.1, 710001814)
SmartStack is a trademark of Cabletron Systems, Inc.
CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.
i960 microprocessor is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
Ethernet is a trademark of Xerox Corporation.

ii
Notice
FCC Notice
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment uses, generates, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and if not installed in accordance with the operator’s manual, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user will be required to
correct the interference at his own expense.
WARNING: Changes or modifications made to this device which are not expressly
approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
VCCI Notice
This is a Class A product based on the standard of the Voluntary Control Council for
Interference by Information Technology Equipment (VCCI). If this equipment is used in
a domestic environment, radio disturbance may arise. When such trouble occurs, the user
may be required to take corrective actions.
Industry Canada Notice
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emissions from
digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.
Le présent appareil numérique n'émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites
applicables aux appareils numériques de la class A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le
brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le ministère des Communications du Canada.

iii
Notice
Declaration of Conformity
Addendum
Application of Council Directive(s): 89/336/EEC
73/23/EEC
Manufacturer’s Name: Cabletron Systems, Inc.
Manufacturer’s Address: 35 Industrial Way
PO Box 5005
Rochester, NH 03867
European Representative Name: Mr. J. Solari
European Representative Address: Cabletron Systems Limited
Nexus House,
Newbury Business Park
London Road, Newbury
Berkshire RG13 2PZ, England
Conformance to Directive(s)/Product Standards: EC Directive 89/336/EEC
EC Directive 73/23/EEC
EN 55022
EN 50082-1
EN 60950
Equipment Type/Environment: Networking Equipment, for use
in a Commercial or Light
Industrial Environment.
We the undersigned, hereby declare, under our sole responsibility, that the equipment
packaged with this notice conforms to the above directives.
Manufacturer Legal Representative in Europe
Mr. Ronald Fotino Mr. J. Solari
Full Name Full Name
Principal ComplianceEngineer Managing Director - E.M.E.A.
Title Title
Rochester,NH,USA Newbury, Berkshire,England
Location Location

iv
Notice

v
SmartStack STS-8SU & STS-SM Installation and User Guide
Table of Contents
1. Overview and Specifications 1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
SmartStack STS-SM Switch Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Features and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Switch Stacker Theory of Operation 5
Switch Stacker: A Unique Concept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Stack Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Creating a Switch Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SmartStack STS-8SU Stacker Unit Description . . . . . . . . 7
Forming a Multi-Unit Switch Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Inter-box Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Provider of Inter-box Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Preparing for Installation 13
Safety Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Safety with Electricity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage. . . . . . . . . 14
Site Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chassis Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Cooling and Airflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4. Installation 19
Mounting the Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Rack or Cabinet Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table-Mounting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cabling a Stack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Connecting Switches to the Switch Stacker . . . . . . . . . 22
Checking the Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Applying Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
STS-8SU External Stacker Unit Control Panels . . . . . . . . . 27
Front Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Back Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
STS-8SU External Stacker Unit Chassis Description . . . . 28
STS-SM Switch Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

vi
SmartStack STS-8SU & STS-SM Installation and User Guide
SmartStack STS-SM Switch Matrix Unit Installation. . . . . . 29
STS-SM Switch Matrix Unit Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Automatic Switch-Over from a SmartStack STS16-20RM. . .31
Manual Switch-Overs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Switch-Over Impact on Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Installing a SmartStack STS-LM Link Module . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Installing the STS-LM Link Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
SmartStack STS-LM Link Module Module Cables. . . . . . . 34
5. Accessing Switch Management 35
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Connecting the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Communication Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Diagnostic Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6. Switch Configuration 41
General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Navigating within the Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Main Menu Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Configuration... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Statistics... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Download/Upload... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reset... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Exit Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Configuration Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Switch Configuration Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Stack Configuration Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7. Getting in Touch With Technical Support 51
Problem Report Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Appendix A. Abbreviations 55

vii
SmartStack STS-8SU & STS-SM Installation and User Guide
List of Figures
Figure 1. Front View of the SmartStack STS-8SU Stacker . . . . . . 1
Figure 2. Exposing the Rack Mounting Brackets . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 3. Mounting the Switch Stacker in a Rack or Cabinet . . . . . 21
Figure 4. Connecting the Stack Port Cable to Port 1
on the Switch Stacker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 5. Connecting the Stack Port Cable to the Stack Link
Module on a Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 6. Back View of the Switch Stacker Cabled to Eight Switches . 24
Figure 7. The AC Connector for the Primary Power Supply Unit
is on the Right of the STS-8SU Stacker unit Back Panel . . 25
Figure 8. The AC Connector is in the Middle of the SmartStack
Token Ring Switch Back Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 9. View of the STS-8SU Stacker Unit Chassis with a
SmartStack STS-SM Switch Matrix Module
in the Left (primary) Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 10. Inserting a Secondary Module into the
STS-8SU Stacker unit Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Figure 11. Inserting an SmartStack STS-LM Link Module . . . . . . . 33
Figure 12. View of the Management Console Connection . . . . . . . 36

viii
SmartStack STS-8SU & STS-SM Installation and User Guide
List of Tables
Table 1. SmartStack STS-8SU Stacker Unit Specifications . . . . . . 4
Table 2. Front Panel Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table 3. Front Panel LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table4. Back Panel Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table5. Back Panel LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table 6. Default Console Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . .37

1
SmartStack STS-8SU & STS-SM Installation and User Guide Overview and Specifications
1. Overview and Specifications
This chapter provides an overview of the SmartStack STS-8SU External Stacker
Unit and related Cabletron equipment. You will also find a list of specifications for
the STS-8SU External Stacker Unit.
Overview
To take full advantage of the network switching architecture, the switched network
must be scalable. In a scalable network you can increase the number of switch ports
on demand. Moreover, each switch must be extendable through the backplane in
order to maintain the high aggregate bandwidth between all switch ports. Switches
meeting these demands are stackable switches.
The stackable network equipment in the Cabletron product family provides the
basis for flexible and scalable network solutions. The Cabletron products include
equipment for stacking two to eight switches, as well as a wide range of expansion
modules that provide extra ports or attachments to existing networking equipment.
This guide describes how to install and use the STS-8SU External Stacker Unit, a
dedicated switch stacker unit that allows you to connect up to eight switches. Also
described is the SmartStack STS-SM Switch Matrix, that can be installed in the
STS-8SU Stacker to providing increased network reliability.
Figure 1. Front View of the SmartStack STS-8SU Stacker