Stacking, IRF, three 1950 switches.

[BluewaterCG]

I have three 1950 switches I want to stack. They are running firmware Version 7.1.045, Release 3109P01 upgraded from 3108P02 at the sugesstion of HP support. Case number 4754970160. They have been no help so far.

I tried following the directions in the manaual https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=c04657809 there are some steps in the directions that do not exsist on the switch.

for example on page 95 step 1 section c it says set binding mode to normal. There is no option on the switch for that.

Then on step 1 section d it says enable auto merge. that does not exsist either.

There is also a step where you at the ports to IRF port 1. It wants you to shutdown the port first. There is no mention of that in the manual.

We got these switches two weeks ago and we are looking to deploy them next week. I need to get these switches stacked.

Does any one have any idea how to do this?

[Note: broken link updated by Mod]

[EricAtHP]

I don't have 1950s in front of me but this process should work. Let's assume you are going to create a ring of three 24 port 1950's using the 10Gig-T ports, #27 & 28. Switch 1 port 27 would connect to switch 2 port 28, switch 2 port 27 would connect to switch 3 port 28, and switch 3 port 27 would connect back to switch 1 port 27.

These steps work on a switch with a CLI. You will have to do the same thing using the web interface. I did look through the config example on page 94 of the guide you referenced and it seems accurate. The difference is that you are creating a 3 member ring instead of a 2 member chain. On each switch, one physical port will be connected to each IRF port, irf-port x/1 and x/2.

1. Shut down ports 27 & 28 on all switches and remove any cables that may be connected to those ports.
2. On switch 2 and 3, renumber the switches: "irf member 1 renumber 2" & "irf member 1 renumber 3". Save the config and reboot.
3. On each switch go to the irf port x/1 context. 1/1 on member 1, 2/1 on member 2 and 3/1 on member 3 using the "irf-port x/1" command. Then add port 27 to the irf port: "port group interface Tenx/27".
4. Do the same thing for irf port x/2, "irf-port x/2" and then add port 28 to the irf port "port group interface Tenx/28".
5. Enable ports 27 and 28 on all switches.
6. Save the configuration on all switches.
7. Plug in a cable from switch 1 port 27 to switch 2 port 28. One of the switches will reboot.
8. Once the rebooted switch comes up, do a "display irf" and you should see two members.
9. plug in a cable from switch 2 port 27 to switch 3 port 28 and wait for switch 3 to reboot.
10. again verify with the "display irf" command.
11. Finally connect switch 3 port 27 to switch 1 port 28 and you are good to go.
12. save the config

It is important that IRF port x/1 connects to IRF port x/2. Following these instructions will do that but I just wanted to be clear just in case you have a slightly different config.

[BluewaterCG]

Eric,

Thank you very much. I was able to get it working.

The only varience I see is that the manual says to make both ports on switch one irf port1 and both ports on switch 2 irf port 2.

redgardless, Thanks again. Your directions are well written and easy to understand.

Paul

[EricAtHP]

Hi Paul,

I am glad to hear you have it working.

Here is a little more background if you like. With only two switches, there is no real concept of a ring. It is only with 3 or more switches that a ring starts to make sense. That said with two switches it is best practice to only use one IRF-Port on each switch, which follows the example in the book. With three or more switches, you use both IRF-Ports but one IRF-Port connect to one neighbor and the other IRF-Port connects to the other neighbor. Or another way to say it is that both IRF-Ports on a switch should not connect to the same neighbor.

That said, multiple physical links can be assinged to an IRF-Port to increase available bandwidth in both a ring and a chain. So in your case, with 3 switches, if you had 4 ten gig ports, all of the same type 10Gig-T or SFP+, then you could have two physical 10 gig ports assigned to each IRF-Port, effectively giving you a 20 Gig ring.

Cheers,

Eric

[BluewaterCG]

Thanks. I just got another stack with two switches online. Your last post, about two switches, was very helpful

Paul

[SachinS]

Hi,

I'm trying to configure IRF for 1950 switches (3 switches in a stack) using GUI. But, not able to see the correct results.

All the switches show as Master.

Can someone help me with the process/procedure to configure IRF using GUI.

Regards,

Sachin

[DaveMNCPA]

Hi, I have had the same problem with the user manual instructions.  They talk of options that don't exist in the web interface as already mentioned. The also say nothing about removing cables.  In fact it seems to indicate you need to connect the two switches prior to following the example.  I tried several permutations of trying to follow the instructions and stack two switches and could not get it to work. The instructions are either outdated or not written correctly.  I would offer the follow enhancement request to HP and that would be to have a stacking menu option and just three questions.  What ports do you want to use for stacking, which is the master and if you want chain or ring type linking.  That's all that should be required.  The switches should be able to detect each other and setup the stack.  I have used other enterprise switches and simply plugging them in with the stacking port will automatically create the stack without any user configuration required. Of course you can go in and change the configuration after the fact, but It's nice that the firmware was smart enough to automatically detect and setup a default stack.

I'm going to follow your instructions to see if they work.  In regards to the User guide web interface instructions, can your instructions be tranlated to the exact same thing in the web interface?  I would like to know where I was missing the boat with the instructions in the user guide.  It may be the fact that the switches should not be cabled together initially. 

Update: I followed the instructions listed above but did the equivalent through the web interface.  I can't get my two switches to stack.  I have switch 1 configured with a member ID of 2 and switch 2 configured with a member ID of 3.  I have the IRF port 1 configured to use port 51 and IRF port 2 using port 52.  I know that IRF Port 2 isn't needed for just two switches, but I have a third switch on back order, so I will have 3 total eventually.   I have switch two configured the same except it has a priority of 4 where as switch 1 has a priority of 10 so that it is the Master. The higher the number the higher the priority for being the Master from what I read.  So what am I missing?  After saving the config and plugging in the cable of switch 1 port 51 to switch 2 port 52 no reboot occurs on any of the switches.   I manually rebooted switch 2, but still no stacking.  My firmware version is 7.1.045 release 3109P05

Update #2:  Without changing anything with the configuration power cycling both switches seemed to do the trick and created the stack. Neither of the switches automatically rebooted according to the instructions after plugging in the cable. Manually rebooting switch 2 did not create the stack.  It wasn't until both switches were power cycled did the stack actually get created.  So if you are pulling your hair out following the directions and the reboot doesn't happen automatically as stated, power cycle both switches.

[dsshp]

HI we have purchased 4 1950 switches and we are trying to make IRF stack, with two units are JH295A aggreagation 10 GB 16 port switches and two is 48 port 1gbit JG961A.  We have sfp optical cables and dac cables. on 10g port but we have no succes with IRF stack. We are able only to stack 2 10 g unit and 2 1g units. Is there some way to stack this units to one IRF stack, or we have to be satisfied with two stacks?

[MarkosV]

Kind of late reply, but it may help somebody else.

Have a look here for GUI IRF setup (thanks @parnassus )

[Note: broken link removed by Mod]