Connect the physical IRF ports on the switches. Use SFP+ transceiver modules
and fibers to connect 10-Gigabit SFP+ ports over a long distance, or use SFP+

cables to connect 10-Gigabit SFP+ ports over a short distance.
All switches except the master switch automatically reboot, and the IRF fabric is

established.

Planning IRF fabric setup

Planning IRF fabric size and the installation site

Choose S5830 switch models and identify the number of required IRF member switches, depending on
the user density and upstream bandwidth requirements. The switching capacity of an IRF fabric equals

the total switching capacities of all member switches.
Plan the installation site depending on your network solution, as follows:

•

Place all IRF member switches in one rack for centralized high-density access.

•

Distribute the IRF member switches in different racks to implement the top-of-rack (ToR) access

solution for a data center.

NOTE:

To increase the switching capacity without any topology change or replacement, you can plug an S5830
switch into an IRF fabric.

Identifying the master switch and planning IRF member IDs

Determine which switch you want to use as the master for managing all member switches in the IRF fabric.
An IRF fabric has only one master switch. You configure and manage all member switches in the IRF

fabric at the command line interface of the master switch.