H3C Technologies H3C S3600 Series Switches - Manual (Page 790)

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IRF Fabric Configuration
When configuring IRF fabric, go to these sections for information you are interested in:
z Introduction to IRF
z IRF Fabric Configuration
z Displaying and Maintaining IRF Fabric
z IRF Fabric Configuration Example
Introduction to IRF
Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF), a feature particular to H3C S3600 series switches, is a new
technology for building the core of a network. This feature allows you to build an IRF fabric by
interconnecting several S3600 series switches to provide more ports for network devices and improve
the reliability of your network.
Advantages
IRF features the following advantages:
z Streamlined management. After an IRF is established, you can log in to the IRF system by
connecting to any port of any member to manage all IRF members.
z High reliability. An IRF system comprises multiple member devices: the master runs, manages and
maintains the IRF, whereas the slaves process services as well as functioning as the backups. As
soon as the master fails, the IRF system elects a new master immediately to prevent service
interruption and implement 1:N backup. Besides, the physical links between the IRF system and
the upper or lower layer devices can be aggregated, and thus the reliability of the IRF system is
increased through the link backup.
z Powerful network expansion capability. By adding member devices, the number of IRF ports and
network bandwidth of the IRF system can be easily expanded. Each member device has its own
CPU and they can process and forward protocol packets independently; therefore, the processing
capability of the IRF system also can be easily expanded.
Application and Advantages
Typically, you can use an IRF in the distribution layer; and you can also apply it in the access layer. An
IRF is a single logical device to the users and devices of the upper layer and lower layer, as shown in
Figure 1-1 .