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Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-11380-05
Chapter 6 Clustering Switches
Planning a Switch Cluster
Management VLAN
Communication with the switch management interfaces is through the command-switch IP address. The
IP address is associated with the management VLAN, which by default is VLAN 1. To manage switches
in a cluster, the command switch, member switches, and candidate switches must be connected through
ports assigned to the command-switch management VLAN.
Note • If the command switch is a Catalyst 2950 running Release 12.1(9)EA1 or later, candidate and
member switches can belong to different management VLANs. However, they must connect to the
command switch through their management VLAN.
• Catalyst 2950 standby command switches running Release 12.1(9)EA1 or later can connect to
candidate and member switches in VLANs different from their management VLANs.
If you add a new, out-of-box switch to a cluster and the cluster is using a management VLAN other than
the default VLAN 1, the command switch automatically senses that the new switch has a different
management VLAN and has not been configured. The command switch issues commands to change the
management VLAN of the new switch to the one the cluster is using. This automatic VLAN change only
occurs for new, out-of-box switches that do not have a config.text file and that have no changes to the
running configuration. For more information, see the “Discovery of Newly Installed Switches” section
on page 6-11.
You can change the management VLAN of a member switch (not the command switch). However, the
command switch will not be able to communicate with it. In this case, you will need to manage the switch
as a standalone switch.
You can globally change the management VLAN for the cluster as long as each member switch has either
a trunk connection or a connection to the new command-switch management VLAN. From the command
switch, use the cluster management vlan global configuration command to change the cluster
management VLAN to a different management VLAN.
Caution You can change the management VLAN through a console connection without interrupting the console
connection. However, changing the management VLAN ends your CMS session. Restart your CMS
session by entering the new IP address in the browser Location field (Netscape Communicator) or
Address field (Microsoft Internet Explorer), as described in the release notes.
For more information about changing the management VLAN, see the “Management VLAN” section on
page 6-19.
LRE Profiles
A configuration conflict occurs if a switch cluster has Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) switches that use both
private and public profiles. If one LRE switch in a cluster is assigned a public profile, all LRE switches
in that cluster must have that same public profile. Before you add an LRE switch to a cluster, make sure
that you assign it the same public profile used by other LRE switches in the cluster.
A cluster can have a mix of LRE switches that use different private profiles.