H3C H3C S7500E Series User manual

H3C S7500E Series Ethernet Switches
IRF
Configuration Guide
Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co., Ltd.
http://www.h3c.com
Document Version: 20100722-C-1.01
Product Version: Release 6605 and Later

Copyright © 2009-2010, Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co., Ltd. and its licensors
All Rights Reserved
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
written consent of Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co., Ltd.
Trademarks
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XGbus, N-Bus, TiGem, InnoVision and HUASAN are trademarks of Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co.,
Ltd.
All other trademarks that may be mentioned in this manual are the property of their respective owners.
Notice
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made in the
preparation of this document to ensure accuracy of the contents, but all statements, information, and
recommendations in this document do not constitute the warranty of any kind, express or implied.

Preface
The H3C S7500E documentation set includes 12 configuration guides, which describe the software
features for the H3C S7500E Series Ethernet Switches and guide you through the software
configuration procedures. These configuration guides also provide configuration examples to help you
apply software features to different network scenarios.
The IRF Configuration Guide describes how to use two S7500E switches to create an IRF virtual device
based on the IRF technology. It covers planning the switch roles in the IRF virtual device, connecting
the IRF link, and detecting and maintaining the IRF virtual device.
This preface includes:
zAudience
zDocument Organization
zConventions
zAbout the H3C S7500E Documentation Set
zObtaining Documentation
zDocumentation Feedback
Audience
This documentation is intended for:
zNetwork planners
zField technical support and servicing engineers
zNetwork administrators working with the S7500E series
Document Organization
The IRF Configuration Guide comprises the following part:
IRF Configuration
Conventions
This section describes the conventions used in this documentation set.
Command conventions
Convention Description
Boldface Bold text represents commands and keywords that you enter literally as shown.
italic Italic text represents arguments that you replace with actual values.
[ ] Square brackets enclose syntax choices (keywords or arguments) that are
optional.
{ x | y | ... }
Braces enclose a set of required syntax choices separated by vertical bars,
from which you select one.
[ x | y | ... ]
Square brackets enclose a set of optional syntax choices separated by vertical

Convention Description
bars, from which you select one or none.
{ x | y | ... } *
Asterisk marked braces enclose a set of required syntax choices separated by
vertical bars, from which you select at least one.
[ x | y | ... ] *
Asterisk marked square brackets enclose optional syntax choices separated by
vertical bars, from which you may select multiple choices or none.
&<1-n> The argument or keyword and argument combination before the ampersand (&)
sign can be entered 1 to n times.
# A line that starts with a pound (#) sign is comments.
GUI conventions
Convention Description
< > Button names are inside angle brackets. For example, click <OK>.
[ ] Window names, menu items, data table and field names are inside square
brackets. For example, pop up the [New User] window.
/ Multi-level menus are separated by forward slashes. For example,
[File/Create/Folder].
Symbols
Convention Description
Means reader be careful. Improper operation may cause data loss or damage to
equipment.
Means a complementary description.
About the H3C S7500E Documentation Set
The H3C S7500E documentation set includes:
Category Documents Purposes
Marketing brochures Describe product specifications and benefits.
Technology white papers Provide an in-depth description of software features
and technologies.
Product description and
specifications
Card datasheets Describe card specifications, features, and standards.

Category Documents Purposes
Installation guide Provides a complete guide to hardware installation
and hardware specifications.
H3C N68 Cabinet
Installation and Remodel
Introduction
Guides you through installing and remodeling H3C
N68 cabinets.
H3C Pluggable SFP
[SFP+][XFP] Transceiver
Modules Installation
Guide
Guides you through installing SFP/SFP+/XFP
transceiver modules.
H3C Mid-Range Series
Ethernet Switches
Pluggable Modules
Manual
Describes the hot-swappable modules available for
the Mid-Range Series Ethernet Switches, their
external views, and specifications.
H3C PoE DIMM Module
Installation Guide
Describes how to install the DIMM
(LSBM1POEDIMMH) for PoE master and slave power
management.
Hardware installation
Single PoE DIMM
Module Installation Guide Describes how to install the 24-port DIMM
(LSQM1POEDIMMS0) for PoE power management.
Configuration guides Describe software features and configuration
procedures.
Command references Provide a quick reference to all available commands.
Software configuration
Configuration examples Describe typical network scenarios and provide
configuration examples and instructions.
Operations and
maintenance Release notes
Provide information about the product release,
including the version history, hardware and software
compatibility matrix, version upgrade information,
technical support information, and software upgrading.
H3C
PSR320-A[PSR320-D]
Power Module User
Manual
Describes the appearance, specifications, LEDs, and
installation and removal of the H3C
PSR320-A/PSR320-D power module.
H3C
PSR650-A[PSR650-D]
Power Module User
Manual
Describes the appearance, specifications, LEDs, and
installation and removal of the H3C
PSR650-A/PSR650-D power module.
H3C
PSR1400-A[PSR1400-D]
Power Module User
Manual
Describes the appearance, specifications, LEDs, and
installation and removal of the H3C
PSR1400-A/PSR1400-D power module.
H3C PSR2800-ACV
Power Module User
Manual
Describes the appearance, specifications, LEDs, and
installation and removal of the H3C PSR2800-ACV
power module.
H3C PSR6000-ACV
Power Module User
Manual
Describes the appearance, specifications, LEDs, and
installation and removal of the H3C PSR6000-ACV
power module.
H3C PWR-SPA Power
Module Adapter User
Manual
Describes the functions and appearance of the H3C
PWR-SPA power module adapter, and how to use it
with the PSR650 power module.
Power configuration
H3C S7500E Power
Configuration Guide Guides you to select power modules in various cases.

Category Documents Purposes
Optional cards Card manuals
The S7500E series Ethernet switches support various
card models. Each model is provided with a card
manual that describes:
zThe type, number, and transmission rate of
interfaces
zApplicable switches of the card
zRequired software version
zPluggable modules supported by the card
Obtaining Documentation
You can access the most up-to-date H3C product documentation on the World Wide Web at
http://www.h3c.com.
Click the links on the top navigation bar to obtain different categories of product documentation:
[Technical Support & Documents > Technical Documents] – Provides hardware installation, and
software feature configuration and maintenance documentation.
[Products & Solutions] – Provides information about products and technologies, as well as solutions.
[Technical Support & Documents > Software Download] – Provides the documentation released with
the software version.
Documentation Feedback
You can e-mail your comments about product documentation to [email protected].
We appreciate your comments.

i
Table of Contents
1 IRF Configuration ······································································································································1-1
Introduction to IRF···································································································································1-1
Overview··········································································································································1-1
Advantages······································································································································1-1
Application·······································································································································1-2
Basic Concepts·······································································································································1-3
Working Process·····································································································································1-5
Physical Connections······················································································································1-5
Topology Collection·························································································································1-6
Role Election ···································································································································1-6
IRF Virtual Device Management and Maintenance·········································································1-7
IRF Multi-Active Detection Mechanism ···························································································1-8
IRF Virtual Device Configuration Task List·····························································································1-9
Switching Operating Mode····················································································································1-10
Configuring an IRF Virtual Device·········································································································1-11
Setting a Member ID for a Device·································································································1-11
Specifying a Priority for a Member Device····················································································1-12
Configuring IRF Ports····················································································································1-12
Specifying the Preservation Time of IRF Bridge MAC Address····················································1-13
Setting the Delay Time for the Link Layer to Report a Link-Down Event······································1-14
Configuring MAD Detection···········································································································1-15
Accessing an IRF Virtual Device···········································································································1-22
Accessing the Master····················································································································1-22
Accessing a Slave·························································································································1-22
Displaying and Maintaining an IRF Virtual Device················································································1-23
IRF Virtual Device Configuration Examples··························································································1-23
Configuration Example of Using the BFD MAD Detection····························································1-23
Configuration Example of Using the LACP MAD Detection··························································1-26
2 Index ···························································································································································2-1

1-1
1 IRF Configuration
This chapter includes these sections:
zIntroduction to IRF
zBasic Concepts
zWorking Process
zIRF Virtual Device Configuration Task List
zSwitching Operating Mode
zConfiguring an IRF Virtual Device
zAccessing an IRF Virtual Device
zDisplaying and Maintaining an IRF Virtual Device
zIRF Virtual Device Configuration Examples
Introduction to IRF
Overview
Developed by H3C, Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) provides a new method to connect multiple
devices through physical IRF ports. Individual devices join to form a distributed device called IRF virtual
device. IRF realizes the cooperation, unified management, and non-stop maintenance of multiple
devices.
zAt present, the S7500E Series Ethernet Switches support an IRF virtual device of two members,
which means you can use two S7500E series switches to form an IRF virtual device: one operates
as the master and the other operates as the slave.
zAt present, the S7503E, S7506E, S7510E and S7506E-V support IRF.
Advantages
IRF features the following advantages:
zStreamlined management. When an IRF virtual device is established, you can log in to it by
connecting to any port of any member to manage all members of the IRF virtual device.
zHigh reliability. An IRF virtual device comprises multiple member devices: the master runs,
manages and maintains the IRF virtual device, whereas the slaves process services as well as
functioning as the backups. As soon as the master fails, the IRF virtual device immediately elects a
new master to prevent service interruption. In addition, not only the IRF links of members can be
aggregated, but also the physical links between the IRF virtual device and the upper or lower layer

1-2
devices can be aggregated, and thus the reliability of the IRF virtual device is increased through
link redundancy.
zPowerful network expansion capability. By adding member devices, the number of IRF ports and
network bandwidth of an IRF virtual device can be easily expanded. Each member device has its
own CPU and they can process and forward protocol packets independently. Therefore, the
processing capability of the IRF virtual device also can be easily expanded.
Application
As shown in Figure 1-1, a master and a slave form an IRF virtual device, which is a single device to the
upper and lower layer devices.
Figure 1-1 IRF networking
IP network
IRF virtual device
IP network
IRF link Equal to
Master Slave

1-3
Basic Concepts
Figure 1-2 IRF implementation schematic diagram
As shown in Figure 1-2, Device Aand Device B are physically connected.After you perform necessary
configurations on them, they form an IRF virtual device, which has four switching and routing
processing units (SRPUs) (one active SRPU and three standby SRPUs) and two interface cards. The
IRF virtual device manages both the physical and software resources of DeviceA and Device B.
The IRF technology involves the following basic concepts:
Operation mode
The device can operate in either of the following two modes:
zStandalone mode: The device operates in a standalone manner. It cannot form any IRF virtual
device with other devices.
zIRF mode: The device can connect with other devices to form an IRF virtual device.
You can switch the operating mode of the device at the command line interface (CLI).
Role
The devices that form an IRF virtual device are called member devices. Each of them plays either of the
following two roles:
zMaster: Manages the IRF virtual device.
zSlave: All members that operate as the backups of the master are called slaves. When the master
fails, the IRF virtual device automatically elects a new master from one of the slaves.

1-4
Master and slaves are elected through the role election mechanism. An IRF virtual device has only one
master at a time. Other members are the slaves. For more information about the role election process,
see Role Election.
Active SRPU of a member device
An active SRPU of a member device is an essential hardware configuration and manages the member
device.
When the device joins an IRF virtual device, its active SRPU plays double roles:
zThe role on the member device: The active SRPU manages the member device, such as, the
synchronization between the active SRPU and the standby SRPU, processing protocol packets,
and generation and maintenance of route entries.
zThe role on the IRF virtual device: The active SRPU processes IRF virtual device related events,
such as role election and topology collection.
Standby SRPUs of a member device
A standby SRPU of a member device is an optional hardware configuration and acts as the backup of
the active SRPU of the member device.
The active SRPU of an IRF virtual device
The active SRPU of an IRF virtual device is the active SRPU of the master and manages the whole IRF
virtual device.
Standby SRPUs of an IRF virtual device
A standby SRPU of an IRF virtual device is a backup of the active SRPU of the IRF virtual device. A
SRPU of a member device is a standby SRPU of the IRF virtual device unless it is the active SRPU of
the IRF virtual device.
IRF port
An IRF port is a logical port dedicated to the internal connection of an IRF virtual device. An IRF port can
be numbered as IRF-port1 or IRF-port2. An IRF port is effective only after it is bound to a physical IRF
port.
Physical IRF port
Physical ports used for IRF connection on devices are called physical IRF ports. On the S7500E series,
you can configure a 10 GE optical port as a physical IRF port.
By default, a 10 GE optical port functions as a common service port and forwards data traffic. When
bound with an IRF port, it acts as an IRF physical port and forwards packets among member devices.
Packets that can be forwarded include IRF-related negotiation packets, and data packets that need to
be forwarded cross-devices.
IRF virtual device merge
As shown in Figure 1-3, two IRF virtual devices operate independently and steadily. Connect them
physically and perform necessary configurations to make them form one IRF virtual device. This
process is called IRF virtual device merge.

1-5
Figure 1-3 IRF virtual device merge
IRF virtual device partition
As shown in Figure 1-4, when an IRF virtual device is formed, the failure of the IRF link causes physical
disconnection between the two members, and then the IRF virtual device is divided into two IRF virtual
devices. This process is called IRF virtual device partition.
Figure 1-4 IRF partition
Member priority
Member priority determines the role of a member during a role election process. A member with a
higher priority is more likely to be a master. The priority of a device defaults to 1. You can modify the
priority at the CLI.
Working Process
IRF virtual device management involves four stages: Physical Connections, Topology Collection, Role
Election, and IRF Virtual Device Management and Maintenance. The members of an IRF virtual device
are physically connected first, and then they perform topology collection and role election to establish
an IRF virtual device, which then enters the IRF virtual device management and maintenance stage.
Physical Connections
To establish an IRF virtual device, physically connect the physical IRF ports of member devices.
Then, you need to bind a physical IRF port to an IRF port.As a logical port, an IRF port can bind to one
physical IRF port or, to realize link backup, can bind to multiple physical IRF ports (known as aggregate
IRF port).
The S7500E series uses 10 GE optical ports as physical IRF ports. You can connect physical IRF ports
with fibers. Fibers connect physical devices located very far from each other and provide flexible
application.
An IRF virtual device typically has a daisy chain connection, which means IRF-port1 of a member is
connected to IRF-port2 of another, and the two devices are connected to form a single straight
connection, as shown in Figure 1-5.

1-6
Figure 1-5 Physical connections of IRF virtual device
The orange line in the figure represents the IRF link, which is different from a common Ethernet link. An
IRF link can be composed of either one physical cable or multiple physical links.
Topology Collection
Each member exchanges hello packets with the directly connected neighbors to collect topology of the
IRF virtual device. The hello packets carry the topology information, including IRF port connection
states, member IDs, priorities, and bridge MAC addresses.
Each member is managed by its active SRPU, which records its known topology information locally. At
the startup of a member device, the active SRPU of the member device records topology information of
the member device. When an IRF port of the member device becomes up, the active SRPU of the
member device performs the following operations:
1) Periodically sends its known topology information from this port.
2) Upon receiving the topology information from the directly connected neighbor, it updates the local
topology information.
3) If a standby SRPU is available on the member device, the active SRPU synchronizes its recorded
topology information to the standby SRPU to ensure that the topology information on both cards is
consistent.
After topology collection lasts for a period of time, all members have obtained the complete topology
information (known as topology convergence), and then the IRF virtual device enters the next stage:
role election.
Role Election
The process of defining the role (master or slave) of members is role election.
Role election is held when the topology changes, such as, forming an IRF virtual device, adding a new
member, leaving or failure of the master, or IRF virtual device merge. The master is elected based on
the rules below, in the order specified. If the first rule does not apply, a second rule is tried, and so on,
until the only winner is found.
zThe current master, even if a new member has a higher priority. (When an IRF virtual device is
being formed, all member devices consider themselves as the master, so this principle is skipped)
zA member with a higher priority.
zA member with the longest system up-time. (The system up-time information of each member
device is delivered through IRF hello packets)
zA member with the lowest bridge MAC address.
Then, the IRF virtual device is formed and enters the next stage: IRF virtual device management and
maintenance.

1-7
During the mergence, IRF election is held, and role election rules are followed. You need to manually
reboot the members of the loser side, and then they join the winner side as slaves.
IRF Virtual Device Management and Maintenance
After role election, an IRF virtual device is established: all member devices operate as one virtual
device, and all resources on the member devices are possessed by this virtual device and managed by
the master.
Member ID
An IRF virtual device uses member IDs to uniquely identify and manage its members. Member IDs are
used in interface numbering and file management:
zIn interface numbering: Assume an interface on the device that operates in standalone mode was
named GigabitEthernet 3/0/1. After the device joined an IRF virtual device, it got a member ID of
2, and the name of the interface changes to GigabitEthernet 2/3/0/1.
zIn file management: For example, when the device operates in standalone mode, the path of a file
was slot1#flash:/test.cfg. After the device joined an IRF virtual device, the path changes to
chassis1#slot1#flash:/test.cfg, which indicates that the file is saved on the card in slot 1 of member
device 1.
Therefore, to ensure the uniqueness of member IDs, you need to planand configure the member IDs of
devices uniformly before they join the IRF virtual device.
If the active SRPU and standby SRPU of a member device keep different member IDs of the device, the
member ID kept by the active SRPU is applied when the device starts up. If the device with the member
ID of 2 has only one active SRPU, after you plug in a standby SRPU that keeps a member ID of 3, the
member ID of the device is still 2 and the member ID kept on the standby SRPU is synchronized to 2.
IRF virtual device topology maintenance
Direct neighbors of an IRF virtual device periodically exchange hello packets. Adevice may not receive
hello packets if either of the following conditions occurs:
zThe link state is abnormal, that is, the link fails or is unidirectional.
zThe device is attacked.
Without receiving any hello packet from a direct neighbor within ten seconds, a member considers that
the hello packets timed out, and the slaves will reboot and try to join the IRF virtual device again.
Besides, if the IRF ports are not connected correctly (that is, IRF-port1 of a device is connected to
IRF-port2 of another device), the slaves will reboot and try to join the IRF virtual device again.

1-8
Therefore, to make the IRF virtual device operate normally, you need to make sure that the link state is
normal and connect the IRF ports of two devices correctly before configuring an IRF virtual device; after
the establishment of the IRF virtual device, configure necessary anti-attack policies to ensure device
safety.
Recovery of an IRF virtual device after IRF partition
If two member devices of an IRF virtual device cannot communicate with each other due to link failure,
the IRF virtual device is divided into two independent IRF virtual devices, each of which has only one
member device. Then, you need to repair the IRF link. After IRF link recovery, both of the two IRF virtual
devices prompt you that an IRF virtual device merge will happen, and then you can reboot one of the
two member devices to complete the merge. Then, the rebooted device joins the IRF virtual device
whose member device is not rebooted as the slave.
IRF Multi-Active Detection Mechanism
Alink disconnection causes an IRF virtual device to divide into two IRF virtual devices that operate with
the same global configuration. Because these IRF virtual devices cause address collision, network
failure probably extends. To address this problem, the multi-active detection (MAD) mechanism is
introduced. The MAD mechanism detects the presence of multiple identical IRF virtual devices and
handles the problem to decrease the influences to services caused by IRF virtual device partition. The
MAD mechanism provides the following functions:
zDetection: Enabled for an IRF virtual device, the MAD mechanism detects the network for multiple
active IRF virtual devices with the same global configuration. This is done with the Link
Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), and the Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) protocol.
zCollision handling: When an IRF virtual device is partitioned, if multiple identical active IRF virtual
devices are detected, the MAD mechanism keeps only the one with the lowest master ID to operate
normally (keeping the active state). The state of all the other IRF virtual devices is set to recovery
(disabled) and all physical ports (usually the ports for forwarding data traffic) are shut down except
for the reserved ones to make sure that these IRF virtual devices cannot forward data traffic.
zFailure recovery: The MAD mechanism prompts you for multi-active collision, and the device then
tries to repair the failed IRFlinks . If the reparation fails, you need to manually repair the failed links.
To make the partitioned IRF virtual devices merge again after the links are repaired, manually
restart the recovery IRF virtual device, and then it restores to the active state, and all disabled ports
come up to forward traffic.

1-9
zFor information about LACP, see Ethernet Link Aggregation Configuration in the Layer 2 - LAN
Switching Configuration Guide; for information about BFD, see BFD Configuration in the High
Availability Configuration Guide.
zWhen an IRF virtual device is partitioned, the system disables all service ports on the member
device of the IRF virtual device that transits to recovery state (that is equal to executing the
shutdown command on these ports). However, some ports are not disabled and are called
reserved ports. By default, only the physical IRF ports are reserved ports. To set other ports (such
as the port for telnetting) to reserved ports, configure them at the CLI.
IRF Virtual Device Configuration Task List
To establish an IRF virtual device, follow these steps:
1) Plan the network and determine which device will be the master, the member IDs, and physical
connections of devices.
2) Switch the operating mode of the devices to IRF (after this step, the devices reboot automatically).
3) Change the member IDs of member devices (reboot the devices to make the member IDs
effective).
4) Change the priorities of member devices (to enable a member device to be elected as the master
after the role election, specify the priority for the member device).
5) Configure IRF ports.
6) To make sure that IRF configurations can take effect after device reboot, save the current
configurations to the configuration file to be used at the next startup of the member devices.
7) Power off the IRF member devices and connect them with cables and make sure that physical IRF
ports are interoperable.
8) Reboot all member devices and the IRF virtual device is established.
Complete the following tasks to configure IRF virtual device:
Task Remarks
Switching Operating Mode Optional
Setting a Member ID for a Device Required
Specifying a Priority for a Member Device Optional
Configuring IRF Ports Optional
Specifying the Preservation Time of IRF Bridge MAC
Address Optional
Configuring an IRF Virtual
Device
Setting the Delay Time for the Link Layer to Report a
Link-Down Event Optional
Correctly connect the physical IRF ports with cables, and then reboot member devices.
Enabling BFD MAD detection OptionalConfiguring MAD Detection
Enabling LACP MAD detection Optional

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Task Remarks
Specifying the reserved ports Optional
Failure recovery Optional
Accessing the Master Required
Accessing an IRF Virtual
Device Accessing a Slave Optional
After establishing an IRF virtual device, you are recommended to configure the MAD detection function
to avoid the influences to the network caused by accidental partition of the IRF virtual device.
Switching Operating Mode
The device can operate in either IRF mode or standalone mode.
zIRF mode: When a device works in this mode, it interconnects with other devices to form an IRF
virtual device.
zStandalone mode: The device operates in a standalone manner. It does not form any IRF virtual
device with other devices. In this mode, the IRF function is disabled on the device, so the device
does not execute any IRF-related command.
When an EPON card is installed on an S7500E switch, the switch can work as an OLT device in an
EPON system. Note that:
zWhen the switch operates in standalone mode (in other words, IRF is not enabled on the switch),
the OLT function can operate normally; when the switch operates in IRF mode (in other words, IRF
is enabled on the switch), the OLT cards cannot start.
zFor more information about the OLT function, see EPON Configurarion and related chapters in the
Layer 2 - LAN Switching Configuration Guide.
If the device is operating in standalone mode and is to be added into an IRF virtual device, follow these
steps to configure it:
1) Switch the operating mode of the device to IRF mode, and then the device automatically reboots.
2) Set a member ID for the device and then reboot the device to make the configuration effective.
3) Configure IRF ports and save the configuration.
4) Power off the device and then physically connect it to another device that operates in IRF mode.
5) Power on the device, and then the device joins the IRF virtual device.
Follow these steps to switch the operating mode of the device to IRF mode:

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To do… Use the command… Remarks
Enter system view system-view —
Switch the operating mode of the
device to IRF mode chassis convert mode irf Required
By default, the device operates
in standalone mode.
The device automatically reboots as soon as you confirm the operation of switching the operating
mode.
Configuring an IRF Virtual Device
Setting a Member ID for a Device
The member ID of a device defaults to 1. Before an IRF virtual device is formed, you need to manually
number the two devices respectively to avoid member ID collision.
You are recommended to set the member ID for a newly added device in the following way:
1) Plan the member IDs in advance. You can view the member IDs of an IRF virtual device, and find
out an unused ID for the new device.
2) If the device is already an IRF member, plug out the cables.
3) Log in to the device to be added into the IRF virtual device, change the current member ID of the
device to the planned member ID.
Follow these steps to set a member ID for a device:
To do… Use the command… Remarks
Enter system view system-view —
Set a member ID for a device irf member member-id renumber
new-member-id
Optional
The member ID of a device
defaults to 1
zThe above setting takes effect after the reboot of the device.
zIn an IRF virtual device, member IDs are not only used to identify devices, but also used to
configure IRF ports and member priorities. Therefore, modifying a member ID may cause device
configuration changes or even losses. Please modify member ID with caution. For example,
suppose that you configure an IRFport, save the configuration, modify the member ID of the device,
and reboot the device. Since the first dimension of the interface name is the member ID, when the
member ID is changed, the configuration of the IRF port becomes invalid.

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Specifying a Priority for a Member Device
Each IRF member device has a priority. The greater the priority value, the higher the priority. Amember
with a higher priority is more likely to be a master.
The priority of a device defaults to 1. You can modify the priority at the CLI.
Follow these steps to specify a priority for a member device:
To do… Use the command… Remarks
Enter system view system-view —
Specify a priority for a member
device irf member member-id priority
priority
Optional
The priority of a member defaults
to 1.
Configuring IRF Ports
The S7500E series uses 10 GE optical ports, which are on the SRPU, or on SC, SD, or EB interface
card, as physical IRF ports to perform IRF connection. For more information about LPUs providing 10
GE optical ports, see the related information in the H3C S7500E Series Ethernet Switches Installation
Manual.
An IRF port is a logical port.An IRF virtual device can be effective on a device only when IRF ports are
configured (in other words, the IRF ports are bound to physical IRF ports). An IRF port can be bound to
either one or multiple physical IRF ports. The maximum number of physical IRF ports that can be bound
to an IRF port is eight on an S7500E switch.
Follow these steps to configure IRF ports:
To do… Use the command… Remarks
Enter system view system-view —
Create an IRF port and enter IRF
port view irf-port member-id/port-number
Required
By default, no IRF port is created
on the device.
If the IRF port is already created,
this command enters IRF port
view.
Bind physical IRF port(s) to an
IRF port
port group interface interface-type
interface-number [ mode { enhanced
| normal } ]
Required
By default, no IRF port is created
on the device.

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zAn IRF port that is bound with multiple physical IRF ports is an aggregation IRF port, which
increases the bandwidth and reliability on the IRF port.
zYou can bind multiple physical IRF ports to one IRF port by executing the port group interface
command for multiple times. In addition, the S7500E series allows you to bind multiple physical IRF
ports on different LPUs to one IRF port.
zBefore binding a physical IRF port to an IRF port or canceling such a binding, you must manually
disable the physical IRF port (in other words, execute the shutdown command on the port). After
finishing your operation, manually enable the physical IRF port (in other words, execute the undo
shutdown command on the port).
zThe mode keyword in the port group command specifies the working mode of a physical IRF port.
By default, the working mode of a physical IRF port is normal. An SC interface card does not
support configuration of the working mode of physical IRF ports as enhanced.
zPhysical IRF ports that connect two member devices of an IRF virtual device must be configured to
work in the same mode.
zTo use the virtual private LAN service (VPLS) function in an IRF virtual device, configure the
working mode of physical IRF ports as enhanced.
Specifying the Preservation Time of IRF Bridge MAC Address
A device uses the bridge MAC address when it communicates with the outside as a network bridge. A
bridge device on the network has its unique bridge MAC address. Some Layer 2 protocols (like LACP)
use bridge MAC addresses to identify different devices. During the forwarding of Layer 2 packets, if the
destination MAC address of a packet is the bridge MAC address of a device, it means that the packet is
sent to this device.
In an IRF virtual device, the bridge MAC address of a member device is called member bridge MAC
address. The IRF virtual device communicates with the outside as a single device; therefore, it also has
a bridge MAC address, which is called the bridge MAC address of the IRF virtual device. Typically, an
IRF virtual device uses the bridge MAC address of the master as its bridge MAC address.
You are recommended to configure the preservation time of bridge MAC address of the IRF virtual
device properly, otherwise, network problems will occur:
zIf a master leaves an IRF virtual device to join another IRF virtual device or to operate
independently and the IRF virtual device is configured to preserve the bridge MAC address
permanently, bridge MAC address collision occurs and thus causes network communication
problem.
zIf the master leaves the IRF virtual device because of reboot or link failure and the IRF virtual
device is configured to change the bridge MAC address of the IRF virtual device as soon as the
master leaves, the unnecessary switch of bridge MAC address occurs and thus causes flow
interruption.
Therefore, configure the preservation time of bridge MAC address of the IRF virtual device according to
your network status: