Dell Networking N4032 User manual

A Dell Deployment and Configuration Guide
Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032,
N4032F, N4064, N4064F
Dell Engineering
February 2014

2 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
Revisions
Date
Description
Author(s)
February 2014
Initial Release
Victor Teeter
THIS PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND
TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
ANY KIND.
© 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material in any manner whatsoever without the express written
permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact Dell.
PRODUCT WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THE DELL PRODUCTS DESCRIBED IN THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE FOUND AT:
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/19/terms-of-sale-commercial-and-public-sector Performance of network reference
architectures discussed in this document may vary with differing deployment conditions, network loads, and the like. Third party
products may be included in reference architectures for the convenience of the reader. Inclusion of such third party products does
not necessarily constitute Dell’s recommendation of those products. Please consult your Dell representative for additional
information.
Trademarks used in this text:
Dell™, the Dell logo, Dell Boomi™, Dell Precision™ ,OptiPlex™, Latitude™, PowerEdge™, PowerVault™, PowerConnect™,
OpenManage™, EqualLogic™, Compellent™, KACE™, FlexAddress™, Force10™ and Vostro™ are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other
Dell trademarks may be used in this document. Cisco Nexus®, Cisco MDS®, Cisco NX-0S®, and other Cisco Catalyst®are registered
trademarks of Cisco System Inc. EMC VNX®, and EMC Unisphere®are registered trademarks of EMC Corporation. Intel®, Pentium®,
Xeon®, Core®and Celeron®are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. AMD®is a registered
trademark and AMD Opteron™, AMD Phenom™ and AMD Sempron™ are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft®,
Windows®, Windows Server®, Internet Explorer®, MS-DOS®, Windows Vista®and Active Directory®are either trademarks or
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Red Hat®and Red Hat®Enterprise
Linux®are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell®and SUSE®are registered
trademarks of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries. Oracle®is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or
its affiliates. Citrix®, Xen®, XenServer®and XenMotion®are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. in the
United States and/or other countries. VMware®, Virtual SMP®, vMotion®, vCenter®and vSphere®are registered trademarks or
trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States or other countries. IBM®is a registered trademark of International Business
Machines Corporation. Broadcom®and NetXtreme®are registered trademarks of Broadcom Corporation. Qlogic is a registered
trademark of QLogic Corporation. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities
claiming the marks and/or names or their products and are the property of their respective owners. Dell disclaims proprietary
interest in the marks and names of others.

3 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
Table of contents
Revisions............................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
1Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Stacking and management............................................................................................................................................ 5
1.2 Simplified firmware updates for stack members....................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Dell Networking 8100 Support..................................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Stacking and redundancy .............................................................................................................................................. 5
1.5 Nonstop forwarding on the stack ................................................................................................................................6
1.6 Hot add/delete and firmware synchronization .........................................................................................................6
1.7 Meta-data considerations..............................................................................................................................................6
1.8 How a Master is selected............................................................................................................................................... 7
1.9 How to select a Master during initial stack setup......................................................................................................9
2Stacking scenarios ....................................................................................................................................................................11
2.1.1 QSFP+ quad-breakout cables .................................................................................................................................... 12
2.2 Creating a Stack ............................................................................................................................................................ 13
2.2.1 Command-line interface method .................................................................................................................. 14
2.2.2 Web interface method ..................................................................................................................................... 17
2.2.3 Automatic firmware updates for new members joining the stack........................................................... 21
2.3 Adding new member units to a stack........................................................................................................................23
2.3.1 Command-line interface method ..................................................................................................................23
2.3.2 Web interface method ..................................................................................................................................... 27
2.4 Updating firmware on a stack..................................................................................................................................... 31
2.4.1 Command-line interface method .................................................................................................................. 31
2.4.2 Web interface method .....................................................................................................................................33
2.5 Removing member units .............................................................................................................................................39
2.5.1 Command-line interface method ..................................................................................................................39
2.5.2 Web interface method .....................................................................................................................................45
3Managing the standby unit.....................................................................................................................................................55
3.1.1 Command-line interface method..............................................................................................................................55
3.1.2 Web interface method .................................................................................................................................................56
4Appendix A –Commands used in this document.............................................................................................................59
5Appendix B - Network switch versions............................................................................................................................... 60

4 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
1Introduction
Most Dell switches today include a stacking feature that allows multiple switches to operate as a single
unit. These stacks include up to twelve Dell Networking N4032/N4032F/N4064/N4064F switches in any
combination, using up to four links between stack members. Any Ethernet port type on the front panel
can be used in creating these links, including SFP+, QSFP+, and 10GbaseT.
A single switch in the stack (known as the Master switch) manages all the units in the stack using a single
IP address, which allows the user to access every port in the stack from this one address. This IP address is
copied from the Master to the Standby when the Standby is created. If for any reason the Master fails, the
Standby takes over as Master keeping the IP address of the stack the same. This allows continuous
management of the stack.
The new Master unit also continues to use the original Master unit’s MAC addresses, which helps to reduce
disruptions to the network. When a failed Master re-joins the stack, it does so as a member (not a Master)
unless a new Master has not had time to be elected.
Note: Dell N4032, N4032F, N4064, and N4064F series switches can be mixed in any combination within
a stack.
This document provides an easy to use step-by-step guide on how to configure stacking for the Dell
N4032 (Figure 1), N4032F (Figure 2), N4064 (Figure 3) and the N4064F (Figure 4).
2 864
1 753
10 161412
9 151311
18 242220
17 232119 ACTLNK
Dell N4032Figure 1
19 21 23
20 22 24
17
18
11 13 15
12 14 16
9
10
357
468
1
2
ACTLNK
Dell N4032FFigure 2
ACT
LNK
ACT
LNK
7 9 151311 17 232119 25 312927 33 393735 41 474543 ACTLNK
1 2
2 864 10 161412 18 242220 26 323028 34 403836 42 484644
Dell N4064Figure 3
ACT
LNK
ACT
LNK
1 2
7
4 6 82
11 13 15
12 14 16
9
10
43 45 47
44 46 48
41
42
ACTLNK19 21 23
20 22 24
17
18
27 29 31
28 30 32
25
26
35 37 39
36 38 40
33
34
Dell N4064FFigure 4

5 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
1.1 Stacking and management
An important advantage of stacking is that it provides a consolidated interface for management of multiple
switches that are linked together. One switch acts as the Master through which the entire stack is
managed through various interfaces (Web, CLI, and SNMP). After a stack is deployed in the network,
operators can easily add units to the stack as their port requirements increase, with minimal administrative
overhead. Additional stack members can immediately use existing configuration information such as
routing and switching configurations, VLANs, ACLs, port profiles, and security certificates.
1.2 Simplified firmware updates for stack members
When switches are stacked, only the Master needs to be updated with new firmware. All other members
of the stack will receive the firmware from the Master at that same time, reducing effort normally required
when updating individual switches. Also, when a switch is added to a stack, if it is running a different
version of firmware than the active version on the Master, the backup firmware on the new member is
automatically updated to match the Master, the backup version of firmware on the new member is then
activated, and the new member is rebooted.
1.3 Dell Networking 8100 Support
Dell Networking 81xx/81xxF switches can be stacked with Dell Networking N4000 switches, but only if all
switches in the stack are running 6.0.0.8 firmware or later, and all switches in the stack are running the
same firmware revision. The firmware must be applied to the switches before they are added to the stack.
Dell Networking N4000 switches cannot be downgraded to 5.x.x.x releases like the 81xx can. Refer to the
N4xxx Release Notes for more information.
1.4 Stacking and redundancy
By connecting a cable from the last switch in a stack back to the first switch, the operator makes sure that
a stack has the protection of redundant paths for control and data traffic, including support for Link
Aggregation Group (LAGs) configured across multiple switches. This means that any single point of failure
(a switch or a stack cable failure) does not affect the overall operation of the remaining stack elements.
This type of topology is known as a ring, or loop topology. Without the final cable(s) connecting the two
ends of the stack, the topology is a daisy-chain, which can cause multiple masters and ip address conflicts
on the network when a middle switch or link goes down. It is therefore recommended to always use a
ring topology when stacking.
Note:Ring topologies are highly recommended for resiliency and fault tolerance over the daisy-chain.

6 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
Daisy Chain topology Ring (loop) topology
1.5 Nonstop forwarding on the stack
The Nonstop Forwarding (NSF) feature allows the forwarding plane of stack units to continue to forward
packets while the control and management planes restart as a result of a power failure, hardware failure,
or software fault on the stack Master and allows the standby switch to quickly takeover as the Master.
1.6 Hot add/delete and firmware synchronization
Units can be added and removed to and from the stack without cycling the power on the stack. When
adding a unit, the Stack Firmware Synchronization feature automatically synchronizes the firmware version
with the version running on the stack Master. The synchronization operation may result in either an
upgrade or a downgrade of firmware on the mismatched stack member. In addition, the running-config
on the member is updated to match the Master switch. The startup-configurations on the standby and
member switches are not updated to match the Master switch. The hardware configuration of every
switch is updated to match the Master switch (unit number, slot configuration, stack member number, and
so on).
Note: Auto-downgrade of a stack is enabled by default. To avoid accidentally downgrading a stack, be
sure to disable auto-downgrade (CLI command: no boot auto-copy-sw allow-downgrade)
1.7 Metadata considerations
When creating a stack, the configuration information is metadata that is part of the hardware configuration
applied at boot time before the switch firmware is started (and before the startup configuration is read).
The stack information shown in the startup and running configurations is simply copies of the stack
configuration for the user’s knowledge. The actual stack information used by the switch is not that which
is stored in the startup configuration.
A stack member configuration is always present on stacking capable switches, so there always is a line in
the configuration that says stack and a second line that says member even if there are no devices stacked.
Since these are stack-capable devices, an un-stacked device is still considered a stack of one. Here is an
example configuration of a device that is not stacked.

7 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
console#show run
!Current Configuration:
!System Description "N4064F, 6.0.1.3, Linux 2.6.32.9”
!System Software Version 6.0.1.3
!Cut-through mode is configured as disabled
!
configure
slot 1/0 5 ! N4064F
slot 1/1 8 ! Dell 10GBase-T Card
stack 
member 1 4 ! N4064F 
exit
interface out-of-band
ip address 172.25.194.24 255.255.0.0 172.25.194.254
exit
interface vlan 1
exit
username "admin" password dec68e453164a2 privilege 15 encrypted
line telnet
enable authentication enableList
exit
snmp-server engineid local 800002a203001ec9ddad5b
exit
Notice there is only one member line in the configuration. If there were multiple members in the stack
then there would be multiple member lines in the configuration, such as:
stack
member 1 1 ! N4064F 
member 2 2! N4064F
member 3 3! N4032F 
Note: A single stack member configuration is always present on stack-capable switches even if they are
not part of an actual stack. The single switch is considered a stack of one .
1.8 How a Master is selected
A Master is elected or re-elected based on the following considerations, in order:
1. The switch is currently the Master.
2. The switch has the higher MAC address.
3. A unit is selected as standby by the administrator, and a fail over action is manually initiated or
occurs due to a Master unit failure.

8 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
Note: The terms Master and Manager/Management Unit are often used interchangeably in regards to
stacking.
In most cases, a switch that is added to an existing stack becomes a stack member, and not the
Management Unit. When a switch is added to the stack, one of the following scenarios takes place
regarding the management status of the new switch:
-If the switch has the Management Unit function enabled but another Master unit is already active, then
the switch changes its configured Management Unit value to disabled.
-If the Management Unit function is unassigned and there is another Management Unit in the system,
then the switch changes its configured Management Unit value to disabled.
-If the Management Unit function is enabled or unassigned and there is no other Management Unit in
the system, then the switch becomes Management Unit.
-If the Management Unit function is disabled, the unit remains a non-Management Unit.
-If the entire stack is powered OFF and ON again, the unit that was the Management Unit before the
reboot remains the Management Unit after the stack resumes operation.
A Unit number for the switch can be manually set. To avoid unit-number conflicts, one of the following
scenarios takes place when adding a new member to the stack:
-If the switch has a unit number that is already in use, then the unit added to the stack changes its
configured unit number to the lowest unassigned unit number.
-If the switch added does not have an assigned unit number, then the switch sets its configured unit
number to the lowest unassigned unit number.
-If the unit number is configured and there are no other devices using the unit number, then the switch
starts using the configured unit number.
-If the switch detects that the maximum number of units already exist in the stack making it unable to
assign a unit number, then the switch sets its unit number to unassigned and does not participate in
the stack.
After the stack is created, the show switch command displays the roles of each switch.
console#show switch
Management Standby Preconfig Plugged-in Switch Code
SW Status Status Model ID Model ID Status Version
--- ---------- --------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ---------
1 Mgmt Sw Ν4032 Ν4032 ΟΚ 6.0.1.3
2Stack Mbr Oper Stby N4032F N4032F OK 6.0.1.3

9 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F
3Stack Mbr N4064 N4064 OK 6.0.1.3
Note that in this example Switch 1 is the Master (Mgmt Sw) and Switch 2 is the Standby (Oper Stby) ready
to take over as Master in the event the Master fails.
To find the same information from the Web UI go to System > Stack Management > Stack Summary.
1.9 How to select a Master during initial stack setup
After creating a stack it is easy to go into the settings on the Master and select any of the members to take
its place as Master. The former Master becomes a regular stack member automatically.
To select a particular physical unit to be Master during initial setup, simply boot it up completely before
powering on any of the other switches. All subsequent members added to the stack will join as regular
stack members.
When simultaneously booting two or more switches to initially create a stack, the Master is chosen based
on the highest MAC address. To find the MAC address of an individual switch prior to creating a stack,
type show system from a CLI prompt:
console#show system
System Description: Dell Ethernet Switch
System Up Time: 0 days, 00h:12m:53s
Burned In MAC Address: D067.E594.1475 
Or from the Web UI, go to the System > General > System Information page:

10 Stacking Dell Networking Switches: N4032, N4032F, N4064, N4064F