Stacking Dell PowerConnect 7000 Series Switches
Scenario 3
The following example contains a similar condition with a master unit failover and consequent stack split with five units in the stack, as #Figure 5 shows.
Figure 5. Stack Split with Manager Failure
Switch 1
Switch 2
Switch 3
Switch 4
Switch 5 Standby
Stack 1
Switch 1
Switch 2
Switch 3
Switch 4
Switch 5 Master Stack 2
In this example, there is no link back to Switch 5 from Switch 1. In this case, if the manager of the stack goes down (failed/rebooted), the stack is split into two different stacks with units 1 and 2 in one stack and units 4 and 5 in another. With this condition, none of the stacks will have a working master within the stack, so both of the stacks will elect new masters for each stack through the process based on which unit has the highest base MAC address.
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