Alcatel OS6850-P48 User Guide - Page 197

Managing OmniSwitch 6850/6850E Series Stacks Reloading Switches No Switches In the Stack Have Saved Slot Information If a full reload is issued and no switches in the stack have unique slot numbers, slot numbers will be assigned beginning with the switch with the lowest MAC address. (This can occur if the boot.slot.cfg file has been deleted from each switch's /flash directory-e.g., by issuing the stack clear slot command for all modules in the stack.) The switch with the lowest MAC address is assigned slot number 1 and given the primary management role. The switch connected to stacking port A of the primary switch is automatically assigned slot number 2 and given the secondary management role. Stack cabling is then used to determine the dynamic slot numbering of the remaining modules in the stack. The switch immediately adjacent to slot 2 is assigned slot number 3 and given an idle role, etc. An illustrated example of this method for assigning slot numbers and management roles is provided on pages 6-23 and 6-24. Some Switches Have Saved Slot Information, Others Do Not If only some switches in the stack have boot.slot.cfg files in their /flash directories, the system software will first read the contents of these files and then dynamically assigns unique slot numbers to any switches that do not have saved slot information. The primary management role will be given to the switch with the lowest saved slot number. The secondary management role will be given to the switch with the secondlowest saved slot number. All other switches will be assigned to idle roles. When unique slot numbers are dynamically assigned by the system software, a boot.slot.cfg file is automatically generated with the new slot information. Because all switches now have unique saved slot information, any subsequent reload all commands issued will cause the stack to come up as described in the section, "All Switches Have Unique Saved Slot Information" on page 6-34. Two or More Switches Have Duplicate Slot Information If a full stack reboot is issued and the same slot number is found in the boot.slot.cfg file of two or more switches, the switch with the lowest MAC address is allowed to come up and operate normally. Meanwhile, any other switches with the duplicate slot number come up in pass-through mode. The pass-through mode is essentially an error state in which a switch has been denied primary, secondary, and idle roles within the stack. When a switch is in pass-through mode, its Ethernet are brought down and cannot pass traffic. It is for this reason that users should always check the current saved slot number for each switch before issuing the reload all command. To check the current saved slot information across the stack, use the show stack topology command. For detailed information on pass-through mode, refer to "Pass-Through Mode" on page 6-14. OmniSwitch 6850/6850E Series Hardware Users Guide June 2011 page 6-35