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Stacking Dell Force10 MXL 10/40G Switches
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Additional stack members can immediately utilize existing configuration information such as routing
and switching configurations, VLANs, ACLs, port profiles, and security certificates.
Redundancy
By connecting a cable from the last switch in a stack back to the first switch, the operator ensures that
a stack has the protection of redundant paths for control and data traffic. Support for link aggregation
groups (LAG) configured across multiple switches provides yet another layer of redundancy as well as
adding bandwidth. This means that any single point of failure (a switch or a stack cable failure) will not
affect the overall operation of the remaining stack elements. This type of stacking topology is referred
to as a “ring topology”. The other stacking topology where the last and first switch are not connected
is referred to as a daisy-chain topology stack. This type of stack is much less resilient and not
recommended in most cases. Both topologies are mentioned several times in this document
Failover roles
If the stack Master fails (for example, loses power), it is removed from the stack topology. The Standby
unit detects the loss of peering communication and takes ownership of the stack management,
switching from Standby to Master. If a Standby was not set up by the administrator, the stack
automatically triggers an election within the remaining units to select a new Master. While a new
Master is being selected (either through election or pre-selection), a new Standy is also chosen from
the remaining members based on the same criteria as a Master selection (priority, then highest MAC
address).
After the former Master switch recovers, despite having a higher priority or MAC address, it does not
recover its Master role but instead take the next available role as Standy or Member.
Stacking LAG
When multiple links between stack members are used, the Dell Force10 MXL automatically bundles
them into a single logical link, or LAG, providing higher stacking bandwidth and redundancy. The
stacking LAG is established automatically without user configuration once all ports used in the LAG are
set in stacking mode. The LAG can lose link or gain links simply by removing or inserting the cables.
Enablement of LAG/LACP on blade servers
Another benefit of stacking MXL switches is that it allows a blade server to create LAGs to the stacked
switch. For example, if MXL switches are stacked in slots B1 and B2, then NICs on B1 and B2 on a given
server could be configured for LAGs/LACP.
Meta-data
The actual stack configuration used to stack switches during power-up is read from meta-data, not
from the startup configuration. It is applied at boot time prior to starting the switch firmware and
reading the startup configuration. Stack information shown in the startup and running configurations is
simply repeating information from the meta-data for the user’s knowledge. Therefore, if the startup
configuration is deleted and the switch is reloaded, it will not clear the stacking configuration and the
stack will remain intact after the reload. In order to remove the stacking configuration, the “no”
command will need to be implemented for each of the stack-unit commands that were used to create
the stack.