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Chapter 6 Clustering Switches
Creating a Switch Cluster
If you did not enable a command switch during initial switch setup, launch Device Manager from a
command-capable switch, and sele ct Cluster > Create Cluster . Enter a cluster number (the default is 0),
and use up to 31 characters to name the cluster (see Figure 6-10). Instead of usin g C MS to en able a
comm an d s witc h, yo u ca n u se t he cluster enable global configurati on comm and.
Figure 6-10 Create Cluster Window

Adding Member Switches

As explained in the “Automatic Discovery of Cluster Candidates and Members” section on page 6-5, the
comm and s wi tc h aut om atic ally di scovers ca ndid ate swi tch es. W he n y ou add new clu ste r-capab le
switches to the network, the command switch discovers them and adds them to a list of candidate
switches. To display an updated cluster candidates list from the Add to Cluster window (Figure 6-11),
either relaunch CMS and redisplay this window, or follow these steps:
1. Close the Add to Clu ster window.
2. Select View > Refresh.
3. Select Cluster > Add to Cluster to redisplay the Add to Cluster window.
From C MS, the re ar e two ways to add swit ches t o a clus ter:
•Select Cluster > Add to Cluster, select a candidate switch from the list, click Add, and click OK.
To add more than one candidate switch, press Ctrl, and m ake yo ur c hoic es, o r pre ss Shift, and
choose th e first and last switch in a ra nge.
•Display the Topol ogy vi ew, rig ht-c lick a can dida te- switc h icon , an d se le ct Add to Cluster (see
Figure 6-12). In the Topol ogy view, ca ndid ate switch es are cyan, an d member switches ar e gree n.
To add more than one candidate switch, press Ctrl, and left-click the candidates that you want to
add.
Instead o f using CMS t o add memb er s to the cl uster, you can use the cluster member global
configuration command from the command switch. Use the password option in this command if the
candi date s wit ch h as a pa ssword.
You can select 1 or mo re swit ches as long as th e total num ber of switc hes in the cluster doe s not
exceed 16 (t his includes t he comman d switc h). When a cl uster has 1 6 members, the Add to Cluster
option is not available for that cluster. In this case, you must remove a member switch before adding a
new one.
If a p assword ha s b een co nfigured on a ca ndida te swi tch, y ou ar e pr omp ted to en ter it befo re it ca n be
added it to the cluster. If the can didate sw itch does not have a password, any entry is ignored.
If mul tip le ca ndida te s swi tches have the same p assword, y ou ca n sele ct them a s a g rou p, and ad d the m
at the same time.
Enter up to 31 characters
to name the cluster.
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