D-Link DXS-3610 User Manual - Page 113

DXS-3610 Series Layer 3 Stackable 10GbE Managed Switch Web UI Reference Guide  There are three classifications for Switches using SIM. The Commander Switch (CS), which is the master Switch of the group, Member Switch (MS), which is a Switch that is recognized by the CS a member of a SIM group, and a Candidate Switch (CaS), which is a Switch that has a physical link to the SIM group but has not been recognized by the CS as a member of the SIM group.  A SIM group can only have one Commander Switch (CS).  A SIM group accepts up to 32 Switches (numbered 1-32), not including the Commander Switch (numbered 0).  Members of a SIM group must be in the same Layer 2 network.  There is no limit to the number of SIM groups in the same IP subnet (broadcast domain); however, a single Switch can only belong to one group.  If multiple VLANs are configured, the SIM group will only utilize the management VLAN on any Switch.  SIM allows intermediate devices that do not support SIM. This enables the user to manage Switches that are more than one hop away from the CS. The SIM group is a group of Switches that are managed as a single entity. The Switch may take on three different roles:  Commander Switch (CS) - This is a Switch that has been manually configured as the controlling device for a group, and takes on the following characteristics: o It has an IP Address. o It is not a CS or member Switch of another SIM group. o It is connected to the member Switches through its management VLAN.  Member Switch (MS) - This is a Switch that has joined a SIM group and is accessible from the CS, and it takes on the following characteristics: o It is not a CS or MS of another SIM group. o It is connected to the CS through the CS management VLAN.  Candidate Switch (CaS) - This is a Switch that is ready to join a SIM group but is not yet a member of the SIM group. The Candidate Switch may join the SIM group of the Switch by manually configuring it to be a MS of a SIM group. A Switch configured as a CaS is not a member of a SIM group and will take on the following characteristics: o It is not a CS or MS of another Single IP group. o It is connected to the CS through the CS management VLAN The following rules also apply to the above roles:  Each device begins in a CaS state.  A CS must change its role to CaS and then to MS, to become a MS of a SIM group. Thus, the CS cannot directly be converted to a MS.  The user can manually configure a CS to become a CaS.  A MS can become a CaS by: o Being configured as a CaS through the CS. o If report packets from the CS to the MS time out.  The user can manually configure a CaS to become a CS  The CaS can be configured through the CS to become a MS. After configuring one Switch to operate as the CS of a SIM group, additional Switches may join the group by manually configuring the Switch to be a MS. The CS will then serve as the in-band entry point for access to the MS. The CS's IP address will become the path to all MSs in the group and the CS's administrator password, and/or authentication will control access to all MSs in the SIM group. With SIM enabled, the applications in the CS will redirect the packets instead of executing packets. The applications will decode the packet from the administrator, modify some data, and then send it to the MS. After execution, the CS may receive a response packet from the MS, which it will encode and send it back to the administrator. 102