4108 Fault tolerance.

[Luis Hernandez_7]

Sorry, I had posted this question in the wrong forum.
This is my first posting here so thanks for your time.
I have two 4108gl's. Switch2 uplinks to Switch1 and the backbone connects to Switch1 as well.
Question: what is the best way to have fault tolerance?, connect the backbone to an extra switch and uplink Switch1 and Switch2 directly to this extra switch?, what model of switch can I use (has to be fiber)?
I have plugged my servers' nics to both switches (first and second nics), but as right now Switch2 uplinks to Switch1, if Switch1 dies I am on deep water, right?
Thanks to anyone for any suggestions. LH.

[André Beck]

Hi,

well, introducing a third switch (or any number of additional switches, for that matter) will not give you more fault tolerance, it will just move your SPOF and due to the increased overall number of devices it will actually *reduce* your summarized MTBF.

Actual increase in fault tolerance will require another uplink. As long as this is completely out of question, what remains is reserving a port on the second switch for the uplink to be manually plugged there should switch #1 ever fail. Warm standby with manual interaction is the best to get here.

[Luis Hernandez_7]

Andre, thank you for the reply. I'm sorry I didn't explain my current configuration properly. My backbone is a 4108gl which connects to 12 floors, each by fiber. Can I connect Switch2 to the backbone switch and leave the rest of the uplinks as they are now (I understand that Procurve switches support meshing)? Thank you again. LH.