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Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3130 for Dell Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter5 Managing Switch Stacks
Understanding Switch Stacks
Connectivity to the Switch Stack Through an IP Address
The switch stack is managed through a single IP address. The IP address is a system-level setting and is
not specific to the stack master or to any other stack member. You can still manage the stack through the
same IP address even if you remove the stack master or any other stack member from the stack, provided
there is IP connectivity.
Note Stack members retain their IP addresses when you remove them from a switch stack. To avoid a conflict
by having two devices with the same IP address in your network, change the IP addresses of any switches
that you remove from the switch stack.
For related information about switch stack configurations, see the “Switch Stack Configuration Files”
section on page 5-16.
Connectivity to the Switch Stack Through an SSH Session
The Secure Shell (SSH) connectivity to the switch stack can be lost if a stack master running the
cryptographic software image and the IP base or IP services feature set fails and is rep la ced by a switch
that is running the noncryptographic image and the same feature set. We recommend that a switch
running the cryptographic software image and the IP base or IP services feature set be the stack master.
Encryption features are unavailable if the stack master is running the noncrypt og raphic software image.
Connectivity to the Switch Stack Through Console Ports or Ethernet Management Ports
You can connect to the stack master by using one of these methods:
•You can connect a terminal or a PC to the stack master through the console port of one or more stack
members.
•You can connect a PC to the stack master through the Ethernet management ports of one or more
stack members. For more information about connecting to t he swit ch s ta ck t hrou gh Et hern et
management ports, see the “Using the Internal Ethernet Managem en t Port” se ction on pag e 10-12.
Be careful when using multiple CLI sessions to the stack master. Commands that you enter in one session
are not displayed in the other sessions. Therefore, it is possible that you might not be able to id entify the
session from which you entered a command.
We recommend using only one CLI session when managing the switch stack.
Connectivity to Specific Stack Members
If you want to configure a specific stack member port, you must include the stack m ember number in the
CLI command interface notation. For more information, see the “Using Interface Configuration Mode”
section on page 10-7.
To debug a specific stack member, you can access it from the stack master by using the session
stack-member-number privileged EXEC command. The stack member number is appended to the system
prompt. For example, Switch-2# is the prompt in privileged EXEC mode for stack member 2, and the
system prompt for the stack master is Switch. Only the show and debug commands are available in a
CLI session to a specific stack member.