NETGEAR M4350-24F4V 24-Port 10G SFP+ Managed AV Network Switch - Manual (Page 37)

• Automatic management switch failover. Fully resilient stack with chain and ring
topology.
• Hot swapping (insertion and removal) of stack members.
Stack firmware synchronization and
upgrade
All stack members must run the same software version to ensure compatibility within
the stack. By default, if a unit is added to the stack and its software version is not the
same as the stack management switch, that unit is not allowed to join the stack. You can
enable the Stack Firmware Auto Upgrade feature, which automatically synchronizes the
firmware version on the new unit with the version running on the stack management
switch. The synchronization operation might result in either upgrade or downgrade of
firmware on the mismatched stack member.
Upgrading the firmware on a stack of switches is the same as upgrading the firmware
on a single switch. After you download a new image (see Update software or download
a file on page 886), the downloaded image is distributed to all the connected units of
the stack.
NOTE: We recommend that you set the active image for all stack members
the same as the active image of the stack management switch. In other words,
if image 1 is the active image on the stack management switch, all units must
use image 1 as the active image. For information about configuring the active
image, see Change the software image that loads when the switch starts or
reboots on page 896.
Stack configuration maintenance
The stack management switch stores and maintains the saved and running configuration
files for the switch stack. The configuration files include the system-level settings for the
switch stack and the interface-level settings for all stack members. Each stack member
retains a copy of the saved file for backup purposes. If the management switch is
removed from the stack or becomes unavailable, another member is elected
management switch and then runs from that saved configuration.
The stack management switch copies its running configuration to the stack member
configured as the standby unit whenever it changes (subject to some restrictions to
reduce overhead). This enables the standby unit to take over the stack operation with
minimal interruption if the stack management switch becomes unavailable. The
Main User Manual 37 Manage Stacking
Fully Managed Switches M4350 Series Main User Manual