Alcatel Carrier Internetworking Solutions Omni Switch/Router - Manual (Page 165)

Page 6-1
6 Configuring Management
Processor Modules
The management processor module ( MPX on the Omni Switch/Router) coordinates control of
the Omni Switch/Router by providing access to the User Interface ( UI ) software, maintaining
user configuration information, downloading switching module software, managing basic
bridge functions, maintaining basic routing functions, and managing the
SNMP management
agent. Switching modules are dependent on the MPX for downloading software and for
receiving initialization and configuration information. In addition, the Network Management
System (
NMS ) depends on the MPX to send and receive SNMP messages for managing the
switch.
♦ Important Note ♦
All of the UI commands described in this chapter also
work with the Omni Switch/Router MPX .
The Omni Switch/Router also support two MPXs with one acting as the primary and with one
acting as the secondary. If the primary MPX fails, the secondary MPX can take over automati-
cally. Operating with redundant MPXs can also help avoid network downtime.
♦ Note ♦
When you have two MPX s in one chassis, they must be
installed in slots 1 and 2, and only one will be active.
The primary MPX executes all the commands and, when needed, sends requests to the
secondary MPX . The secondary MPX continuously monitors the primary MPX . For more infor-
mation on MPXs , see Chapter 2, “The Omni Switch/Router MPX .”
The UI provides commands to configure the serial port, to configure the Ethernet manage-
ment port, and a set of commands to monitor and configure primary and secondary MPXs .
These commands are described in the pages that follow.