Switch stacking is the process of combining multiple switches into a logical device that participates in data forwarding as a whole, in order to expand the number of ports, simplify networking, increase reliability, and extend the system's processing power and bandwidth. Motel Labs takes Huawei S series switches as an example to show you the specific configuration and performance of switch stacking:
      Before stacking, you need to confirm whether the target switch supports stacking, and the stacking card/service port stacking support (check the official website for documents related to switch configuration and tuning).
S6700EI device service port support stacking situation
Figure 1 S6700EI device service port support stacking situation
 
      This test uses two Huawei S series switches of the same model for stacking, and the stacking can support up to nine switches; the following table shows the switches and stacking cables used for this stacking.
Table 1 Device and Cable Information
Item Description
Switch A Model S6700-24-EI
Switch A System Version 5.150 (S6700 V200R005C00SPC500)
Switch B Model S6700-24-EI
Switch B System Version 5.130 (S6700 V200R003C00SPC300)
Huawei Specialized Stacking Cables SFP-10G-CU0M5 02311VGK
Huawei high-speed cable SFP-10G-CU3M 02310MUP
 
 
        Before stacking, the two switches logically and physically belong to independent devices, and you need to connect the serial port to log in to the device for configuration respectively.
Table 2 Stacking Configuration
Item Configure Switch A Configure Switch B
Configure stacking port
Enter the logical ports and add the physical ports to the logical ports as stacking ports. The switch selects the stacking ports as ports 1 and 8, so ports 1~8 become stacking physical member ports and can not be used as normal service ports.

Enter the logical ports and add the physical ports to the logical ports as stacking ports. the switch selects the stacking ports as ports 2 and 7, then ports 1~8 all become stacking physical member ports and cannot be used as normal service ports.

Configuring Priority  Configure the switch priority to 200 (the default priority is 100), which is conducive to being elected as the master switch;

Modify the switch slot for distinguishing between the two switches;

Save and Reboot  Save the current configuration, access the stacking cables, and reboot the switch;

Save on the current configuration, access the stacking cables, and reboot the switch;

 
 
 
      Switch A completes the reboot in priority and is elected as the primary switch; Switch B's system is automatically updated/synchronized to Switch A's system during the reboot process and becomes the backup switch.
Election process
Figure 2 Election process
 
      After the reboot is completed, the stacking ports connected by cables LINK UP and play the role of connecting switches to establish stacking; at this time, if any one cable is removed, the stacking will still be established, the main purpose of using two cables for stacking is to prevent one of them from failing to lead to the failure of the stacking and to increase the reliability.
Stacking member switch connections
Figure 3 Stacking member switch connections
 
      In system view mode, execute the command "display stack" to view the stacking switch member information; at this time, both S6700 switches are in this directory, indicating that the stacking is successful.
Stacking member information
Figure 4 Stacking member information
 
      After successful stacking, connect any switch through console to manage all stacked switches; execute the command "display interface brief", you can see that the stacked switches have logically become a whole, and all switch ports are displayed.
Viewing ports after stacking
Figure 5 Viewing ports after stacking
 
      Remove the two cables connected to the stacking, and the stacking is physically lifted; access the Motek 10G DAC in the stacking port, and the stacking can be re-established.
Stacking with Motek 10G DAC
Figure 6 Stacking with Motek 10G DAC
 
      For more details, please refer to the official document: Switch Stacking Best Practices.
10G DAC products of   Moduletek Limited can be used for Huawei switch stacking, welcome to buy it.
      If you have any questions about the above content, you can contact us by Email : web@moduletek.com