Brocade FastIron Ethernet Switch Stacking Configuration Guide - Manual (Page 36)

FCX traditional stack configuration
FCX devices cannot be intermixed with non-FCX devices, and FCX devices have more possible
stacking ports.
Every FCX-S and FCXS-F device contains two default 16 Gbps stacking ports on the rear panel and
two 10 Gbps ports on the front panel that can also be used as stacking ports.
NOTE
FCX-I and FCX-E devices can only be used for stacking if they have an optional 10 Gbps SFP+
module installed in the front panel. These devices do not have stacking ports on the rear panels.
An FCX traditional stack may contain up to eight 24-port and 48-port devices, using any combination
of the rear panel stacking ports and the front panel optional stacking ports. For FCX-S and FCXS-F
devices, to use ports other than the factory-default 16 Gbps ports, you must define the ports for each
device in the runtime configuration. You can also configure the 16 Gbps ports to operate as 10 Gbps
ports.
An FCX "clean unit" may contain a default port configuration, but it is still considered a clean unit. To
preserve this state, do not do a write memory on the unit before you build the stack. An FCX device
with the default port configuration is still considered a clean unit. To ensure that the device remains a
clean unit, do not do a write memory on the device. (Write memory adds a startup-config, and the
device is no longer a clean unit.)
NOTE
The automatic setup process will not work for FCX devices that do not contain the default port
information in their clean unit configurations.
Configuring FCX stacking ports
FCX-S and FCXS-F devices have two 10 Gbps ports on the front panel and two 16 Gbps ports on the
rear panel. All of these ports may be used as stacking ports, however the non-default ports must be
configured as stacking ports when setting up your FCX-S or FCXS-F traditional stack.
FCX-I and FCX-E devices do not have 16 Gpbs ports on the rear panel. These devices may be used
in traditional stack by installing the 10 Gbps 4-port SFP+ module in the module slot on the front panel.
Once you have installed one of these modules, ports 1 and 2 act as the default stacking ports.
However, you can also use these ports to pass regular traffic, after disabling the stacking default.
NOTE
If you are adding FCX-E or FCX-I devices to a stack containing FCX-S or FCXS-F devices, you must
reconfigure the stacking ports on the FCX-S or FCXS-F devices to be the 10 Gbps ports on the front
panel. You can then connect all of the devices in a stack using front panel ports.
Changing FCX-S and FCXS-F CX4 ports from 16 Gbps to 10 Gbps
You can configure the 16 Gbps CX4 ports to operate as 10 Gbps ports using the speed-duplex
command, as shown in the following example.
Syntax: speed-duplex { 10-full | 10-half | 100-full | 100-half | 1000-full-master | 1000-full-slave |
10g-full | auto }
FCX traditional stack configuration
34 FastIron Ethernet Switch Stacking Configuration Guide
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