Cisco Aironet 350 Series User manual

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Configure Stack Settings on a Cisco
Business 350 Series Switch through the
Command Line Interface (CLI)
Objective
This article provides instructions on how to configure stack settings through the Command Line
Interface (CLI) of your Cisco Business 350 series switch.
Introduction
Stacking allows you to expand your network capacity without the hassle of managing multiple
devices. Stackable switches can be added or removed from a stack as needed without affecting
the overall performance of the stack. Depending on its topology, a stack can continue to transfer
data even if a link or unit within the stack fails. This makes stacking an effective, flexible, and
scalable solution to expand network capacity.
By default, a switch is always stackable, but has no port configured as a stack port. All the ports in
the devices are configured as network ports by default. A device without any stack port can be
thought of as the active device in a stack of only itself or as a standalone device. To stack two or
more switches, you can reconfigure the desired network ports as stack ports in the switches and
connect them with the resulting stack ports in a ring or chain topology.
The units or switches in a stack are connected through stack ports. Stacked switches are then
collectively managed as a single logical device. In some cases, stack ports can become members
in a stack of Link Aggregation Groups (LAGs) increasing the bandwidth of the stack interfaces.
Some of these stacking terms may be unfamiliar to you. For further explanation, check out Cisco
Business: Glossary of New Terms.
A stack provides the following benefits:
Network capacity can be expanded or reduced dynamically. By adding a unit, the
administrator can dynamically increase the number of ports in the stack while maintaining a
single point of management. Similarly, units can be removed to decrease network capacity.
The stacked system supports redundancy in the following ways:
- The Standby unit becomes the active of the stack if the original active fails.
- The stack system supports two types of topologies: Chain and Ring. Ring topology is more
reliable than a chain topology. The failure of one link in a ring does not affect the function of the
stack, whereas the failure of one link in a chain connection might cause the stack to be split.
Applicable Devices | Software Version
CBS350-4X (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
Configure Stack Settings on a Switch

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Connect the Switches
Step 1
Determine the stack mode that you would want to configure. The options are:
Chain - Each unit is connected to the neighboring unit, but there is no cable connection
between the first and last unit. This is the default stack mode. The image below shows a chain
topology of a four-unit stack:
Ring - Each unit is connected to the neighboring unit. The last unit is connected to the first
unit. The image below shows a ring topology of a four-unit stack:

Step 2
Connect one end of the Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) cable that came with your device into
the SFP+, XG3, or XG4 port of your switch.
Step 3
Connect the other end of the SFP+ cable into the SFP+, XG3 or XG4 port of your switch.
Step 4
Repeat Steps 2 to 3 to the remaining switches.
In this scenario, two switches are being configured for stacking and the SFP cables are connected
to ports 3 and 4 on both switches.
In this example, the cable is connected to XG3 port of the switch.
In this example, the cable is connected to XG4 port of the switch.

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You have now connected your switches according to your desired topology.
Configure Stack Settings on the Active Switch
Active Switch Selection Process
The active unit is selected from the active-enabled units (1 or 2). The factors in selecting the active
unit are taken into account in the following priority:
System Up Time - The active-enabled units exchange up-time, which is measured in
segments of 10 minutes. The unit with the higher number of segments is selected. If both units
have the same number of time segments, and the unit ID of one of the units was set manually
while the unit ID of the other was set automatically, the unit with the manually-defined unit ID
is selected; otherwise the unit with the lowest unit ID is selected. If both units IDs are the
same, the unit with the lowest Media Access Control (MAC) address is chosen.
Unit ID - If both units have the same number of time segments, the unit with the lowest unit ID
is selected.
MAC Address - If both units IDs are the same, the unit with the lowest MAC address is
chosen.
Follow these steps to configure stack settings on the Active switch:
Step 1
Log in to the console of the first switch. The default username and password is cisco/cisco. If you
have configured a new username or password, enter the credentials instead.
The up time of the Standby unit is retained when it is selected as active in the switch failover
process.
For a stack to operate, it must have an active unit. An active unit is defined as the Active unit that
assumes the active role. The stack must contain a Unit 1 and/or Unit 2 after the active selection
process. Otherwise, the stack and all its units are partially shut down, not as a complete power-off,
but with traffic-passing capabilities halted.

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Step 2
Enter the Global Configuration mode of the switch by entering the following:
Step 3
To enter the context of the specified stack unit or all stack units, enter the stack unit command in
the Global Configuration mode by entering the following:
Step 4
Enter the stack configuration command to configure the stack ports and unit ID after reboot by
entering the following:
The options are:
ports-list - a list of one or more stack ports separated by comma, or a range of sequential
ports marked by dash.
links - Choose port list to be used as stack links after reload.
unit-id - Choose the unit ID to be used after reload. The range is 1 to 4. You can use auto to
enable stack auto numbering feature.
Step 5 (Optional)
To remove stack configuration settings on the switch, use the no stack configuration command by
entering the following:
Step 6
Enter the end command to go back to the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch.
Step 7 (Optional)
To display the stack configuration settings, enter the following:
The available commands may vary depending on the exact model of your device. In this example,
CBS350-48MP switch is used.The hostname of the Standby switch is CBS350-2.
CBS350-1#configure
CBS350-1(config)#stack unit [unit-id | all]
CBS350-1(unit)#stack configuration {[links ports-list] [unit-id | auto]}
CBS350-1(unit)#no stack configuration
CBS350-1(unit)#end

Step 8 (Optional)
In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, save the configured settings to the startup
configuration file, by entering the following:
Step 9 (Optional)
Press Yfor Yes or Nfor No on your keyboard once the Overwrite file [startup-config]… prompt
appears.
Step 10
Reload the switch to apply the configured stack settings by entering the following:
Important: When a switch is reloaded, the running configuration file is deleted. Before proceeding
with the reload instructions, make sure to save all the running configuration settings to avoid data
loss.
Step 11
Press Yfor Yes or Nfor No on your keyboard once the Do you want to continue prompt appears.
The Active unit will now reboot. You should now have configured the stack settings of your active
unit.
Configure Stack Settings on the Standby or Member Switch
Step 1
Log in to the console of the second switch. The default username and password is cisco/cisco. If
you have configured a new username or password, enter the credentials instead.
Step 2
Enter the Global Configuration mode of the switch by entering the following:
CBS350-1#show stack configuration
In this example, the Active (Unit 1) switch now uses te3-4 as stack links. These settings will take
effect after the switch reboots.
CBS350-1#copy running-config startup-config
CBS350-1#reload
The available commands may vary depending on the exact model of your device. In this example,
CBS350-48MP switch is used.The hostname of the Standby switch is CBS350-2.

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Step 3
To enter the context of the specified stack unit or all stack units, enter the stack unit command in
the Global Configuration mode by entering the following:
Step 4
Enter the stack configuration command to configure the stack ports and unit ID after reboot by
entering the following:
The options are:
ports-list - a list of one or more stack ports separated by comma, or a range of sequential
ports marked by dash.
Links - Choose port list to be used as stack links after reload.
unit-id - Choose the unit ID to be used after reload. The range is 1 to 4. You can use auto to
enable stack auto numbering feature.
Step 5 (Optional)
To remove stack configuration settings on the switch, use the no stack configuration command by
entering the following:
Step 6
Enter the end command to go back to the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch.
Step 7 (Optional)
To display the stack configuration settings, enter the following:
Step 8 (Optional)
In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, save the configured settings to the startup
configuration file, by entering the following:
CBS350-2#configure
CBS350-2(config)#stack unit [unit-id | all]
In this example, stack unit 1 is used.
CBS350-2(unit)#stack configuration {[links ports-list] [unit-id | auto]}
CBS350-2(unit)#no stack configuration
CBS350-2(unit)#end
CBS350-2#show stack configuration
In this example, the Unit 2 switch now uses te3-4 as stack links. These settings will take effect
after the switch reboots.

Step 9 (Optional)
Press Yfor Yes or Nfor No on your keyboard once the Overwrite file [startup-config]… prompt
appears.
Step 10
Reload the switch to apply the configured stack settings by entering the following:
Important: When a switch is reloaded, the running configuration file is deleted. Before proceeding
with the reload instructions, make sure to save all the running configuration settings to avoid data
loss.
Step 11
Press Yfor Yes or Nfor No on your keyboard once the Do you want to continue prompt appears.
After the switch reboots, the Standby switch will no longer be a standalone device and will only be
accessible through the active switch.
Step 12
Repeat steps 1 to 11 for the configuration of the member switch or switches.
You should now have configured the stack settings on your Standby and/or member switches.
Show Stack Configuration Settings on the Switch
Step 1
Log back in to the console of the Active unit.
Quick Tip: Access the Active unit while configuring the Standby and/or Member switches to
monitor the progress. Once the Standby or Member switch reboots, the active switch will be
notified with the stacking activities.
CBS350-2#copy running-config startup-config
CBS350-2#reload

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Step 2
In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, use the show stack command to show the stack
settings on the switch by entering the following:
Step 3
Enter the show stack links command to show the stack links on the switch by entering the
following:
The options are:
stack links - Displays the stack links information for an entire stack.
CBS350-1#show stack
In this example, the configured unit 2 is now known as the Standby switch of the stack.
CBS350-1#show stack links [details]

●stack links details - Displays the stack links information for an entire stack with details.
Step 4 (Optional)
To access the Standby switch, enter the stack unit ID of the switch in the Global Configuration
context by entering the following:
Nice work! You have configured the stack settings on your switches.
In this example, the configured Standby switch is now accessible as unit 2.