Chapter 11 Avaya P330 Layer 2 Features

Stack Redundancy

In the unlikely event that a P330 switch or Octaplane link should fail, stack integrity is maintained if the redundant cable is connected to the stack. The broken link is bypassed and data transmission continues uninterrupted. The single management IP address for the stack is also preserved for uninterrupted management and monitoring. You can remove or replace any unit within the stack without disrupting operation or performing stack-level reconfiguration.

Since each P330 module has an integral SNMP agent, any module in a stack can serve as the stack Network Management Agent (NMA) while other NMAs act as redundant agents in “hot” standby. If the “live” NMA fails then a backup is activated instantaneously.

Stack Health

The P330 software provides a Stack Health feature for verifying the integrity of the P330 stack cascading module and cables.

Overview

The Stack Health feature will identify defective modules and cables that may be installed in the P330 stack. The Stack Health algorithm separately checks all stacking modules and the Octaplane connections (including Redundant cable).

Implementation of Stack Health in the P330 Family

When activating the Stack Health feature, the agents in all modules start sending special packets of various length via all stacking cables to one another. The Master module synchronizes this process and collects the results.

When the Redundant Cable is present, the user is prompted to disconnect one of the short Octaplane cables and the redundant connection will be checked. Then, when prompted, the cable should be reconnected and the test will run a second time to check the regular Octaplane connections.

The stack is reset after the Stack Health process completes. You should not load the stack with traffic during this test.

If the stack health process fails, try to fasten or replace the stack cable between the modules where the failure has occurred. If the problem persists, try to fasten or replace either or both of the stacking modules.

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Avaya P334T-ML manual Stack Redundancy, Implementation of Stack Health in the P330 Family