D-Link DGS-3100 user manual Managing Stacking Modes, Advanced Stacking, Allocating Unit IDs

DGS-3100 Series Gigabit Stackable Managed Switch User Manual

Managing Stacking

Stacking enhances network flexibility by building virtual switches with more ports then are available in a single device. Stacks are managed by stacking member which called Stack Master., All other stacking members serve as ports only.

The following paragraphs provide a stacking explanation for DGS-3100 series and include the following topics:

•Managing Stacking Modes

•Advanced Stacking

•Building Stacks – Quick Start

•Stack Management Examples

•Configuring Stacking

Managing Stacking Modes

A switch may operates in one of the following modes:

•Stand-Alone- Switches operating in stand-alone mode run as an independent unit. All ports of a stand-alone switch operate as normal Ethernet links except the HX ports which are Disabled.

NOTE: The DGS-3100 series family stacking connections have two HX ports.

•Stacking - Switches operating in Stack mode run as organized group member of switches known as a Stack. A stack consists of one Stack Master, a Backup Master, and up to four Stack Member Switches. However, in specific scenarios, a single unit can be considered a Stack of One. A Stack of One is a single unit which does not connected to any other stacking members.

Either stacking or stand-alone modes can be selected by the user before the next software boot which using CLI or the Embedded WEB Interface, the new mode takes effect after the unit is rebooted. If the unit is reset to the factory defaults, the unit is reloaded in stacking Auto-Numbering mode.

Advanced Stacking

This section provides information for understanding advanced stacking concepts, including:

•Unit ID and how they are allocated

•Stacking member start up process. This section contains the following topics:

•Allocating Unit IDs

•Assigning Unit IDs

Allocating Unit IDs

Switches are shipped from the factory without a Unit ID and in Auto Assign mode. All switches must be assigned a Unit ID before switches can operate as stacking members. More than one stacking member cannot receive the same Unit ID. Unit IDs are assigned by:

•Assigned by the system administrator. Unit IDs that are assigned by the system administrator and can only be changed manually by the system administrator.

•If the system administrator does not set the Unit IDs manually, the Auto Assign initializes the switches when they are powered up. From the switches who are automatically assigned a Unit ID, one of the stacking members is assigned the Unit ID 1. That stacking member is the Stack Master. If there were more than one switch in the stack, there is a Master Election and Backup Master Election process. Following the Master Election process, the other stacking members are assigned a Unit ID by the stack Master. For more information on the Master Election process, please see Electing a Stacking Master.

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