HP FlexFabric 5700 series User manual

HP FlexFabric 5700 Switch Series
IRF
Configuration Guide
Part number: 5998-6684
Software version: Release 2416
Document version: 6W100-20150130

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herein.

i
Contents
Setting up an IRF fabric ··············································································································································· 1
Overview············································································································································································1
Network topology ·····························································································································································2
Basic concepts···································································································································································2
IRF member roles ······················································································································································2
IRF member ID···························································································································································2
IRF port ······································································································································································2
IRF physical interface ···············································································································································2
MAD ··········································································································································································3
IRF domain ID ···························································································································································3
IRF split ······································································································································································3
IRF merge ··································································································································································4
Member priority························································································································································4
Interface naming conventions ··········································································································································4
File system naming conventions·······································································································································5
Configuration synchronization ········································································································································6
Master election··································································································································································6
Multi-active handling procedure······································································································································7
Detection ···································································································································································7
Collision handling ····················································································································································7
Failure recovery ························································································································································7
MAD mechanisms ·····························································································································································8
LACP MAD ································································································································································8
ARP MAD ··································································································································································9
ND MAD ································································································································································ 10
Hardware compatibility················································································································································· 11
General restrictions and configuration guidelines······································································································ 11
Software requirements ·········································································································································· 12
IRF physical interface requirements ····················································································································· 12
Connecting IRF ports ············································································································································· 13
Feature compatibility and configuration restrictions·························································································· 13
Configuration backup ··········································································································································· 14
Setup and configuration task list ·································································································································· 14
Planning the IRF fabric setup········································································································································· 15
Assigning a member ID to each IRF member device ································································································· 15
Specifying a priority for each member device············································································································ 16
Connecting IRF physical interfaces······························································································································· 16
Binding physical interfaces to IRF ports ······················································································································· 17
Accessing the IRF fabric ················································································································································ 19
Configuring a member device description·················································································································· 19
Configuring IRF link load sharing mode······················································································································ 19
Configuration restrictions and guidelines ··········································································································· 19
Configuring the global load sharing mode ········································································································ 20
Configuring a port-specific load sharing mode ································································································· 20
Configuring IRF bridge MAC persistence···················································································································· 20
Enabling software auto-update for software image synchronization ······································································· 22
Configuration prerequisites ·································································································································· 22
Configuration procedure ······································································································································ 22
Setting the IRF link down report delay ························································································································· 23

ii
Configuring MAD··························································································································································· 23
Configuring LACP MAD········································································································································ 24
Configuring ARP MAD·········································································································································· 24
Configuring ND MAD··········································································································································· 26
Excluding a port from the shutdown action upon detection of multi-active collision······································ 27
Recovering an IRF fabric ··············································································································································· 27
Displaying and maintaining an IRF fabric··················································································································· 29
Configuration examples ················································································································································ 29
LACP MAD-enabled IRF configuration example································································································· 29
ARP MAD-enabled IRF configuration example··································································································· 34
ND MAD-enabled IRF configuration example···································································································· 38
Setting up an eIRF system··········································································································································44
Overview········································································································································································· 44
Basic concepts ······················································································································································· 46
eIRF operating mechanisms·································································································································· 47
Hardware compatibility················································································································································· 48
Configuration restrictions and guidelines···················································································································· 49
PEX physical interface requirements···················································································································· 49
PEX cabling requirements ····································································································································· 49
Configuring the operating mode of the device··········································································································· 49
Configuring the device as a PEX ························································································································· 50
Configuring the device as an independent switch ···························································································· 50
Support and other resources ·····································································································································51
Contacting HP ································································································································································ 51
Subscription service ·············································································································································· 51
Related information························································································································································ 51
Documents······························································································································································ 51
Websites································································································································································· 51
Conventions ···································································································································································· 52
Index ···········································································································································································54

1
Setting up an IRF fabric
Overview
HP Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) technology virtualizes multiple physical devices at the same layer
into one virtual fabric to provide data center class availability and scalability. IRF virtualization
technology offers processing power, interaction, unified management, and uninterrupted maintenance
of multiple devices.
Figure 1 shows an IRF fabric that has two devices, which appear as a single node to the upper-layer and
lower-layer devices.
Figure 1 IRF application scenario
IRF provides the following benefits:
•Simplified topology and easy management—An IRF fabric appears as one node and is accessible
at a single IP address on the network. You can use this IP address to log in at any member device
to manage all the members of the IRF fabric. In addition, you do not need to run the spanning tree
feature among the IRF members.
•1:N redundancy—In an IRF fabric, one member acts as the master to manage and control the entire
IRF fabric. All the other members process services while backing up the master. When the master
fails, all the other member devices elect a new master from among them to take over without
interrupting services.
•IRF link aggregation—You can assign several physical links between neighboring members to their
IRF ports to create a load-balanced aggregate IRF connection with redundancy.
•Multichassis link aggregation—You can use the Ethernet link aggregation feature to aggregate the
physical links between the IRF fabric and its upstream or downstream devices across the IRF
members.

2
•Network scalability and resiliency—Processing capacity of an IRF fabric equals the total
processing capacities of all the members. You can increase ports, network bandwidth, and
processing capacity of an IRF fabric simply by adding member devices without changing the
network topology.
Network topology
An IRF fabric can use a daisy-chain or ring topology. IRF does not support the full mesh topology. For
information about connecting IRF member devices, see "Connecting IRF physical interfaces."
Basic concepts
IRF member roles
IRF uses two member roles: master and standby (called subordinate throughout the documentation).
When devices form an IRF fabric, they elect a master to manage and control the IRF fabric, and all the
other devices back up the master. When the master device fails, the other devices automatically elect a
new master. For more information about master election, see "Master election."
IRF member ID
An IRF fabric uses member IDs to uniquely identify and manage its members. This member ID information
is included as the first part of interface numbers and file paths to uniquely identify interfaces and files in
an IRF fabric. For more information about interface and file path naming, see "Interface naming
conventions" and "File system naming conventions."
If two devices have the same IRF member ID, they cannot form an IRF fabric. If the IRF member ID of a
device has been used in an IRF fabric, the device cannot join the fabric.
IRF port
An IRF port is a logical interface that connects IRF member devices. Every IRF-capable device supports
two IRF ports. The IRF ports are named IRF-port n/1 and IRF-port n/2, where nis the member ID of the
device. The two IRF ports are referred to as IRF-port 1 and IRF-port 2 in this book.
To use an IRF port, you must bind a minimum of one physical interface to it. The physical interfaces
assigned to an IRF port automatically form an aggregate IRF link. An IRF port goes down only if all its IRF
physical interfaces are down.
IRF physical interface
IRF physical interfaces connect IRF member devices and must be bound to an IRF port. They forward the
IRF protocol packets between IRF member devices and the data packets that must travel across IRF
member devices.
For more information about physical interfaces that can be used for IRF links, see "IRF physical interface
requirements."

3
MAD
An IRF link failure causes an IRF fabric to split in two IRF fabrics operating with the same Layer 3 settings,
including the same IP address. To avoid IP address collision and network problems, IRF uses multi-active
detection (MAD) mechanisms to detect the presence of multiple identical IRF fabrics, handle collisions,
and recover from faults.
IRF domain ID
One IRF fabric forms one IRF domain. IRF uses IRF domain IDs to uniquely identify IRF fabrics and prevent
IRF fabrics from interfering with one another.
As shown in Figure 2, IRF fabric 1 contains Device A and Device B, and IRF fabric 2 contains Device C
and Device D. Both fabrics use the LACP aggregate links between them for MAD. When a member
device receives an extended LACPDU for MAD, it checks the domain ID to see whether the packet is from
the local IRF fabric. Then, the device can handle the packet correctly.
Figure 2 A network that contains two IRF domains
IRF split
IRF split occurs when an IRF fabric breaks up into multiple IRF fabrics because of IRF link failures, as
shown in Figure 3. The split IRF fabrics operate with the same IP address. IRF split causes routing and
forwarding problems on the network. To quickly detect a multi-active collision, configure a minimum of
one MAD mechanism (see "Configuring MAD").

4
Figure 3 IRF split
IRF merge
IRF merge occurs when two split IRF fabrics reunite or when two independent IRF fabrics are united, as
shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 IRF merge
Member priority
Member priority determines the possibility of a member device to be elected the master. A member with
higher priority is more likely to be elected the master.
Interface naming conventions
An interface is named in the chassis-number/slot-number/port-index format.
•chassis-number—IRF member ID of the switch. This argument defaults to 1. The IRF member ID
always takes effect, whether or not the device has formed an IRF fabric with other devices. If the
device is alone, the device is considered to be a one-chassis IRF fabric.
•slot-number—Slot number of the front panel. This argument is fixed at 0.
•port-index—Index of the port on the device. Port index depends on the number of ports available
on the device. To identify the index of a port, examine its port index mark on the chassis.
For example:
•On the single-chassis IRF fabric Sysname, Ten-GigabitEthernet 1/0/1 represents the first port on
the device. Set its link type to trunk, as follows:
<Sysname> system-view
[Sysname] interface ten-gigabitethernet 1/0/1
[Sysname-Ten-GigabitEthernet1/0/1] port link-type trunk
•On the multi-chassis IRF fabric Master, Ten-GigabitEthernet 3/0/1 represents the first fixed port on
member device 3. Set its link type to trunk, as follows:
<Master> system-view
[Master] interface ten-gigabitethernet 3/0/1

5
[Master-Ten-GigabitEthernet3/0/1] port link-type trunk
File system naming conventions
On a single-chassis fabric, you can use its storage device name to access its file system.
On a multichassis IRF fabric, you can use the storage device name to access the file system of the master.
To access the file system of any other member device, use the name in the
slotmember-ID#storage-device-name format.
For example:
To access the test folder under the root directory of the flash memory on the master device:
<Master> mkdir test
Creating directory flash:/test... Done.
<Master> dir
Directory of flash:
0 -rw- 43548660 Jan 01 2011 08:21:29 system.ipe
1 drw- - Jan 01 2011 00:00:30 diagfile
2 -rw- 567 Jan 02 2011 01:41:54 dsakey
3 -rw- 735 Jan 02 2011 01:42:03 hostkey
4 -rw- 36 Jan 01 2011 00:07:52 ifindex.dat
5 -rw- 0 Jan 01 2011 00:53:09 lauth.dat
6 drw- - Jan 01 2011 06:33:55 log
7 drw- - Jan 02 2000 00:00:07 logfile
8 -rw- 23724032 Jan 01 2011 00:49:47 switch-cmw710-system.bin
9 drw- - Jan 01 2000 00:00:07 seclog
10 -rw- 591 Jan 02 2011 01:42:03 serverkey
11 -rw- 4609 Jan 01 2011 00:07:53 startup.cfg
12 -rw- 3626 Jan 01 2011 01:51:56 startup.cfg_bak
13 -rw- 78833 Jan 01 2011 00:07:53 startup.mdb
14 drw- - Jan 01 2011 00:15:48 test
25 drw- - Jan 01 2011 04:16:53 versionInfo
524288 KB total (365292 KB free)
To create and access the test folder under the root directory of the flash memory on member device 3:
<Master> mkdir slot3#flash:/test
Creating directory slot3#flash:/test... Done.
<Master> cd slot3#flash:/test
<Master> pwd
slot3#flash:/test
Or:
<Master> cd slot3#flash:/
<Master> mkdir test
Creating directory slot3#flash:/test... Done.
To copy the file test.ipe on the master to the root directory of the flash memory on member device 3:
# Display the current working path. In this example, the current working path is the root directory of the
flash on member device 3.

6
<Master> pwd
slot3#flash:
# Change the current working path to the root directory of the flash memory on the master device.
<Master> cd flash:/
<Master> pwd
flash:
# Copy the file to member device 3.
<Master> copy test.ipe slot3#flash:/
Copy flash:/test.ipe to slot3#flash:/test.ipe?[Y/N]:y
Copying file flash:/test.ipe to slot3#flash:/test.ipe... Done.
For more information about storage device naming conventions, see Fundamentals Configuration Guide.
Configuration synchronization
IRF uses a strict running-configuration synchronization mechanism. In an IRF fabric, all devices obtain
and run the running configuration of the master. Any configuration change is automatically propagated
from the master to the remaining devices. The configuration files of these devices are retained, but the
files do not take effect. The devices use their own startup configuration files only after they are removed
from the IRF fabric.
For more information about configuration management, see Fundamentals Configuration Guide.
Master election
Master election occurs each time the IRF fabric topology changes in the following situations:
•The IRF fabric is established.
•The master device fails or is removed.
•The IRF fabric splits.
•Independent IRF fabrics merge.
NOTE:
Master election does not occur when two split IRF fabrics merge.
Master election selects a master in descending order:
1. Current master, even if a new member has higher priority.
When an IRF fabric is being formed, all members consider themselves as the master. This rule is
skipped.
2. Member with higher priority. If all members have the same priority, this rule is skipped.
3. Member with the longest system uptime.
Two members are considered to start up at the same time if the difference between their startup
times is equal to or less than 10 minutes. For these members, the next tiebreaker applies.
4. Member with the lowest CPU MAC address.
For the setup of a new IRF fabric, the subordinate devices must reboot to complete the setup after the
master election.

7
For an IRF merge, devices must reboot if they are in the IRF fabric that fails the master election.
Multi-active handling procedure
The multi-active handling procedure includes detection, collision handling, and failure recovery.
Detection
MAD identifies each IRF fabric with a domain ID and an active ID (the member ID of the master). If
multiple active IDs are detected in a domain, MAD determines that an IRF collision or split has occurred.
For more information about the MAD mechanisms and their application scenarios, see "MAD
mechanisms."
Collision handling
When MAD detects a multi-active collision, it sets all IRF fabrics except one to the Recovery state. The
fabric that is not placed in Recovery state can continue to forward traffic. The Recovery-state IRF fabrics
are inactive and cannot forward traffic.
LACP MAD uses the following process to handle a multi-active collision:
1. Compares the number of members in each fabric.
2. Sets all fabrics to the Recovery state except the one that has the most members.
3. Compares the member IDs of the masters if all IRF fabrics have the same number of members.
4. Sets all fabrics to the Recovery state except the one that has the lowest numbered master.
5. Shuts down all physical network ports in the Recovery-state fabrics except for the following ports:
{IRF physical interfaces.
{Ports you have specified with the mad exclude interface command.
In contrast, ARP MAD and ND MAD do not compare the number of members in fabrics. These MAD
mechanisms use the following process to hand a multi-active collision:
1. Compare the member IDs of the masters in the IRF fabrics.
2. Set all fabrics to the Recovery state except the one that has the lowest numbered master.
3. Take the same action on the network ports in Recovery-state fabrics as LACP MAD.
Failure recovery
To merge two split IRF fabrics, first repair the failed IRF link and remove the IRF link failure.
•If the IRF fabric in Recovery state fails before the failure is recovered, repair the failed IRF fabric and
the failed IRF link.
•If the active IRF fabric fails before the failure is recovered, enable the inactive IRF fabric to take over
the active IRF fabric. Then, recover the MAD failure.

8
MAD mechanisms
IRF provides MAD mechanisms by extending LACP, ARP, and IPv6 ND.
IMPORTANT:
You can configure ARP MAD and ND MAD together in an IRF fabric for prompt IRF split detection.
However, do not configure any of these mechanisms together with LACP MAD, because they handle
collisions differently.
Table 1 compares the MAD mechanisms and their application scenarios.
Table 1 Comparison of MAD mechanisms
MAD
mechanism Advantages Disadvantages Application scenario
LACP MAD
•Detection speed is fast.
•Does not require
MAD-dedicated physical
links or Layer 3 interfaces.
Requires an intermediate
device that supports
extended LACP for MAD.
Link aggregation is used
between the IRF fabric
and its upstream or
downstream device.
For information about
LACP, see Layer 2—LAN
Switching Configuration
Guide.
ARP MAD
•No intermediate device is
required.
•Intermediate device, if used,
can come from any vendor.
•Does not require MAD
dedicated ports.
•Detection speed is slower
than LACP MAD.
•The spanning tree feature
must be enabled.
Spanning tree-enabled
non-link aggregation IPv4
network scenario.
For information about
ARP, see Layer 3—IP
Services Configuration
Guide.
ND MAD
•No intermediate device is
required.
•Intermediate device, if used,
can come from any vendor.
•Does not require MAD
dedicated ports.
•Detection speed is slower
than LACP MAD.
•The spanning tree feature
must be enabled.
Spanning tree-enabled
non-link aggregation IPv6
network scenario.
LACP MAD
As shown in Figure 5, LACP MAD has the following requirements:
•Every IRF member must have a link with an intermediate device.
•All the links form a dynamic link aggregation group.
•The intermediate device must be a device that supports extended LACP for MAD.
The IRF member devices send extended LACPDUs that convey a domain ID and an active ID. The
intermediate device transparently forwards the extended LACPDUs received from one member device to
all the other member devices.

9
•If the domain IDs and active IDs sent by all the member devices are the same, the IRF fabric is
integrated.
•If the extended LACPDUs convey the same domain ID but different active IDs, a split has occurred.
LACP MAD handles this situation as described in "Collision handling."
Figure 5 LACP MAD scenario
ARP MAD
ARP MAD detects multi-active collisions by using extended ARP packets that convey the IRF domain ID
and the active ID.
You can set up ARP MAD links between neighbor IRF member devices, or between each IRF member
device and an intermediate device (see Figure 6). If an intermediate device is used, you must also run the
spanning tree feature between the IRF fabric and the intermediate device.

10
Figure 6 ARP MAD scenario
Each IRF member compares the domain ID and the active ID in incoming extended ARP packets with its
domain ID and active ID.
•If the domain IDs are different, the extended ARP packet is from a different IRF fabric. The device
does not continue to process the packet with the MAD mechanism.
•If the domain IDs are the same, the device compares the active IDs.
{If the active IDs are different, the IRF fabric has split.
{If the active IDs are the same, the IRF fabric is integrated.
ND MAD
ND MAD detects multi-active collisions by using NS packets to transmit the IRF domain ID and the active
ID.
You can set up ND MAD links between neighbor IRF member devices or between each IRF member
device and an intermediate device (see Figure 7). If an intermediate device is used, you must also run the
spanning tree protocol between the IRF fabric and the intermediate device.

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Figure 7 ND MAD scenario
Each IRF member device compares the domain ID and the active ID in incoming NS packets with its
domain ID and active ID.
•If the domain IDs are different, the NS packet is from a different IRF fabric. The device does not
continue to process the packet with the MAD mechanism.
•If the domain IDs are the same, the device compares the active IDs.
{If the active IDs are different, the IRF fabric has split.
{If the active IDs are the same, the IRF fabric is integrated.
Hardware compatibility
An HP FlexFabric 5700 switch can form an IRF fabric only with devices in the same series.
General restrictions and configuration guidelines
For a successful IRF setup, follow the restrictions and guidelines in this section and the setup procedure
in "Setup and configuration task list."

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Software requirements
All IRF member devices must run the same software image version. Make sure the software auto-update
feature is enabled on all member devices.
IRF physical interface requirements
Use 10-GE, SFP+, or QSFP+ ports for IRF links.
Selecting transceiver modules and cables
When you select transceiver modules and cables, follow these restrictions and guidelines:
•Use Category 6A (or above) twisted-pair cables to connect 10-GE ports in a short distance.
•Use SFP+/QSFP+ DAC cables to connect SFP+/QSFP+ ports in a short distance.
•Use SFP+/QSFP+ transceiver modules and fibers to connect SFP+/QSFP+ ports in a long distance.
•The transceiver modules at the two ends of an IRF link must be the same type.
For more information about the SFP+/QSFP+ transceiver modules, see HP Comware-Based Devices
Transceiver Modules User Guide.
NOTE:
The SFP+/QSFP+ modules and SFP+/QSFP+ DAC cables available for the switch are subject to chan
g
e
over time. For the most up-to-date list of SFP+/QSFP+ modules and DAC cables, contact HP technical
support or marketing staff.
10-GE port restrictions for the HP FlexFabric 5700-32XGT-8XG-2QSFP+ Switch and HP FlexFabric
5700-32XGT-8XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch
When you use the 10-GE ports on the HP FlexFabric 5700-32XGT-8XG-2QSFP+ Switch (JG898A) and
HP FlexFabric 5700-32XGT-8XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch (JG899A) as IRF physical interfaces,
follow these restrictions and guidelines:
•The 10-GE ports are grouped by port number in order, starting from 1. Each group contains four
ports. If you use one port in a group for IRF links, you must also use all the other ports in the group
for IRF links. However, you can bind the ports to different IRF ports.
•Before you bind a 10-GE port to an IRF port or remove it from the IRF port, you must shut down all
the 10-GE ports in the same group.
•Bring up the ports after you complete the operation.
QSFP+ port restrictions for the HP FlexFabric 5700 switch
You can use a QSFP+ port as an IRF physical interface, or use the using tengige command to split a
QSFP+ port into four 10-GE breakout interfaces.
When you use the breakout interfaces of a 40-GE port for IRF links, follow these restrictions and
guidelines:
•You must use all or none of the four 10-GE breakout interfaces as IRF physical interfaces. The four
breakout interfaces can be bound to different IRF ports.
•Before you bind one 10-GE breakout interface to an IRF port or remove it from the IRF port, you must
shut down all the other 10-GE breakout interfaces. If any of the breakout interfaces are in up state,
the bind or remove action will fail.

13
•Bring up the breakout interfaces after you complete the operation.
SFP+ port restrictions for the HP FlexFabric 5700-40XG-2QSFP+ Switch and HP FlexFabric
5700-40XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch
When you use the SFP+ ports on the HP FlexFabric 5700-40XG-2QSFP+ Switch (JG896A) and HP
FlexFabric 5700-40XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch (JG897A) as IRF physical interfaces, follow these
restrictions and guidelines:
•The SFP+ ports are grouped by port number in order, starting from 1. Each group contains four ports.
If you use one port in a group for IRF links, you must also use all the other ports in the group for IRF
links. However, you can bind the ports to different IRF ports.
•Before you bind an SFP+ port to an IRF port or remove it from the IRF port, you must shut down all
the SFP+ ports in the same group.
•Bring up the ports after you complete the operation.
SFP+ port restrictions for the HP FlexFabric 5700-48G-4XG-2QSFP+ Switch and HP FlexFabric
5700-48G-4XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch
When you use the SFP+ ports on the HP FlexFabric 5700-48G-4XG-2QSFP+ Switch (JG894A) and HP
FlexFabric 5700-48G-4XG-2QSFP+ TAA-compliant Switch (JG895A) as IRF physical interfaces, follow
these restrictions and guidelines:
•If you use one SFP+ port for IRF links, you must also use all the other SFP+ ports for IRF links.
However, you can bind the ports to different IRF ports.
•Before you bind an SFP+ port to an IRF port or remove it from the IRF port, you must shut down all
the SFP+ ports.
•Bring up the ports after you complete the operation.
Connecting IRF ports
When you connect two neighboring IRF members, follow these restrictions and guidelines:
•You must connect the physical interfaces of IRF-port 1 on one member to the physical interfaces of
IRF-port 2 on the other.
•Do not connect physical interfaces of both IRF ports on one member device to the physical
interfaces of both IRF ports on the other device.
Feature compatibility and configuration restrictions
Make sure the feature settings in Table 2 are the same across member devices.
Table 2 IRF and feature compatibility
Feature Command Remarks
Enhanced ECMP mode ecmp mode enhanced See Layer 3—IP Routing Configuration
Guide.
Maximum number of ECMP
routes max-ecmp-num See Layer 3—IP Routing Configuration Guide.
System operating mode system-working-mode See Fundamentals Configuration Guide.

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Configuration backup
HP recommends that you back up the next-startup configuration file on a device before adding the device
to an IRF fabric as a subordinate.
A subordinate device's next-startup configuration file might be overwritten if the master and the
subordinate use the same file name for their next-startup configuration files. You can use the backup file
to restore the original configuration after removing the subordinate from the IRF fabric.
Setup and configuration task list
HP recommends the basic IRF setup procedure in Figure 8. Perform the tasks in this figure on each
member device.
Figure 8 Basic IRF setup flow chart
To set up an IRF fabric, perform the following tasks:
Tasks at a glance Remarks
1. (Required.) Planning the IRF fabric setup N/A
2. (Required.) Assigning a member ID to each IRF member device Perform this task on each member
device.
3. (Required.) Specifying a priority for each member device Perform this task on each member
device.
4. (Required.) Connecting IRF physical interfaces N/A
5. (Required.) Binding physical interfaces to IRF ports
Perform this task on each member
device.
When you complete IRF port
binding and activation on all IRF
member devices, the IRF fabric is
formed.
6. (Required.) Accessing the IRF fabric
When you log in to the IRF fabric,
you are placed at the master's CLI,
where you complete subsequent
IRF settings and configure other
features for the member devices as
if they were one device.
7. (Optional.) Configuring a member device description N/A
Assign the device a
member ID and a
priority Reboot the device Connect IRF
physical interfaces
Bind the physical
interfaces to IRF
ports
Save the
configuration Activate IRF ports Subordinate devices automatically reboot IRF fabric is set up

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Tasks at a glance Remarks
8. (Optional.) Configuring IRF link load sharing mode:
{Configuring the global load sharing mode
{Configuring a port-specific load sharing mode
N/A
9. (Optional.) Configuring IRF bridge MAC persistence N/A
10. (Optional.) Enabling software auto-update for software image
synchronization
HP recommends enabling
software auto-update to ensure
system software image
synchronization.
11. (Optional.) Setting the IRF link down report delay N/A
12. (Required.) Configuring MAD:
{Configuring LACP MAD
{Configuring ARP MAD
{Configuring ND MAD
{Excluding a port from the shutdown action upon detection of
multi-active collision
MAD mechanisms are
independent of one another. You
can configure multiple MAD
mechanisms for an IRF fabric.
13. (Optional.) Recovering an IRF fabric N/A
Planning the IRF fabric setup
Consider the following items when you plan an IRF fabric:
•Hardware compatibility and restrictions.
•IRF fabric size.
•Master device.
•IRF physical interfaces.
•Member ID and priority assignment scheme.
•Fabric topology and cabling scheme.
For more information about hardware and cabling, see the switch installation guide.
Assigning a member ID to each IRF member device
CAUTION:
In an IRF fabric, chan
g
in
g
IRF member IDs mi
g
ht cause undesirable confi
g
uration chan
g
es and even data
loss. Before you do that, back up the confi
g
uration and make sure you fully understand the impact on your
network. For example, all member devices in an IRF fabric are the same model. If you swapped the IDs of
any two members, their interface settings would also be swapped.
To create an IRF fabric, you must assign a unique IRF member ID to each member device.
To prevent any undesirable configuration change or data loss, avoid changing member IDs after the IRF
fabric is formed.

16
The new member ID takes effect at a reboot. After the device reboots, the settings on all member
ID-related physical resources (including common physical network ports) are removed, regardless of
whether you have saved the configuration.
To assign a member ID to a device:
Step Command Remarks
1. Enter system view. system-view N/A
2. Assign a member ID to a
member device.
irf member member-id renumber
new-member-id The default IRF member ID is 1.
3. (Optional.) Save the
configuration. save
If you have bound physical
interfaces to IRF ports or
assigned member priority, save
the configuration before
rebooting the device so these
settings can continue to take
effect after the reboot.
4. Reboot the device. reboot [ slot slot-number ] [ force ]N/A
Specifying a priority for each member device
IRF member priority represents the possibility for a device to be elected the master in an IRF fabric. The
higher the priority, the higher the possibility.
A change to member priority affects the election result at the next master election. However, it does not
cause an immediate master re-election.
To specify a priority for a member device:
Step Command Remarks
1. Enter system view. system-view N/A
2. Specify a priority for the
device. irf member member-id priority priority
The default IRF member priority
is 1.
Connecting IRF physical interfaces
When you connect two neighboring IRF members, connect the physical interfaces of IRF-port 1 on one
member to the physical interfaces of IRF-port 2 on the other (see Figure 9).
For example, you have four chassis: A, B, C, and D. IRF-port 1 and IRF-port 2 are represented by A1 and
A2 on chassis A, represented by B1 and B2 on chassis B, and so on. To connect the four chassis into a
ring topology of A-B-C-D(A), the IRF link cabling scheme must be one of the following:
•A1-B2, B1-C2, C1-D2, and D1-A2.
•A 2- B 1, B 2- C 1, C 2- D 1, a n d D 2- A 1.
IMPORTANT:
No intermediate devices are allowed between neighboring members.