Before I begin let me exercise the per-functionary 'help I'm not a network guy' sentence!
I have just bought 2 x N2048 L2 switches with stacking cables. I need to configure these to work with an existing stack of L3 PC 6224. the 6224 stack has 2 x 10GB sfp module up links and is configured as an access and management with all the VLANS terminated at a firewall.
the order for for the N2048 states (no inter-series stacking) the stacking is very different between these 2 switches so it's no surprising - so it looks like I should LAG these? - what would that look like?
The LAG (link aggregation) is simply two or more cables connecting between any two networking devices. A single cable connection can also work but using multiple cables can provide higher availability (backup in case one cable/port goes down) and higher bandwidth. LAGs (also known as channel groups or port channels) can be created across 2 or more ports of different stack member switches.
In your case it looks like you will want to go ahead and stack your N2000 switches using the stacking cables that came with them. Once that is done, you can use two or more cables to connect the two stacks together. Each stack will look like a single switch to any other network device that connects to it. So in this case, each of your stacks thinks it is only connecting to another switch even though it actually is being connected to another stack (multiple switches).
For high-availability, plugging one cable into one stack member (any port) and the second cable into a second stack member (any port) of the same stack is the best practice. Do the same for the other stack when connecting the two stacks. This way if one member goes down, connectivitiy between the two stacks will remain up. This example is just using a 2-port LAG, but the same could be done if using more ports.
I believe this should work. Be sure to use both N2000 stack cables, going from stack port 1 on one switch to stack port 2 on the other, then vice versa with the other stack cable.
Once stacked, only the master switch console port can be used for management. The second switch in the stack will then have interfaces that start with a 2, something like "interface ethernet 2/g47" as it will then be part of the larger switch.
vt1012
212 Posts
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Posted July 7th, 2015 08:00
Hi Rob!
The LAG (link aggregation) is simply two or more cables connecting between any two networking devices. A single cable connection can also work but using multiple cables can provide higher availability (backup in case one cable/port goes down) and higher bandwidth. LAGs (also known as channel groups or port channels) can be created across 2 or more ports of different stack member switches.
In your case it looks like you will want to go ahead and stack your N2000 switches using the stacking cables that came with them. Once that is done, you can use two or more cables to connect the two stacks together. Each stack will look like a single switch to any other network device that connects to it. So in this case, each of your stacks thinks it is only connecting to another switch even though it actually is being connected to another stack (multiple switches).
For high-availability, plugging one cable into one stack member (any port) and the second cable into a second stack member (any port) of the same stack is the best practice. Do the same for the other stack when connecting the two stacks. This way if one member goes down, connectivitiy between the two stacks will remain up. This example is just using a 2-port LAG, but the same could be done if using more ports.
-B