User Manual for the NETGEAR 7300S Series Layer 3 Managed Switch Software
Managing Switch Stacks 12-15
202-10088-01, March 2005
Preconfiguration
1. General Information: All configuration on the stack except unit numbers is stored on the
management unit. This means that a stack unit may be replaced with another device of the
same type without having to reconfigure the switch. Unit numbers are stored independently on
each switch, so that after power cycling the stack the units always come back with the same
unit numbers. The unit type associated with each unit number may be learned by the
management unit automatically as the units are connected or preconfigured by the
administrator.
2. Issue the member <unit-id> <switchindex> command to preconfigure a unit. Supported unit
types are shown by the show supported switchtype command.
3. Next, configure the unit you just defined with configuration commands, just as if the unit were
physically present.
4. Ports for the preconfigured unit come up in “detached” state and can be seen with the show
port all command. The detached ports may now be configured for VLAN membership and
any other port-specific configuration.
5. After a unit type is preconfigured for a specific unit number, attaching a unit with different unit
type for this unit number causes the switch to report an error. The show switch command
indicates “config mismatch” for the new unit and the ports on that unit don’t come up. To
resolve this situation the customer may change the unit number of the mismatched unit or
delete the preconfigured unit type using the no member <unit-id> command.
Upgrading Firmware
1. New code is downloaded via TFTP or xmodem to the management unit using the copy
command. Once code is successfully loaded on the management unit, it automatically
propagates the code to the other units in the stack. If some error occurs during code
propagation to stack units then the archive command (in stack configuration mode) may be
issued to make another attempt to copy the software to the unit(s) that did not get updated.
Errors during code propagation to stack members could be caused by stack cable movement or
unit reconfiguration during the propagation phase. An error could also occur in the presence of
excessive network traffic (such as a broadcast event).