Can I create and configure a stack before physically setting it up?

[BrandonS]

Previously I have always followed the stacking guide and plugged in each switch individually to connect to the dashboard first and then power them down, connect cables, restart with a single uplink and configure it, but I have a project that needs to move fast and was thinking to try configuring it all before the gear arrives on site.

It seems possible, but I am not sure if I should bother trying or not.  Has anyone here tried this or have any thoughts?

Thanks.

[NolanHerring]

No clue as I've never tried it that way. Not sure if the second switch in your stack (that doesn't have an uplink) will be able to communicate by default with the first switch if you connect the stacking cables.

That being said, were talking like 5 ... 10 minutes to do it the right way. If that window isn't big enough I'd have to say your booking yourself too tight lol 😃

[BrandonS]

Yeah.  Since I posted this I have become less and less concerned :). I just wanted to get all switch port configuration and tags, names, etc. done in advance and I feel I still can.  I will just save the step of creating the stack in the dashboard for after the gear is physically installed.  I think I am assuming correctly that none of the configuration I do in advance on the switches will change when I put them in a stack.

[CWB]

You can prebuild everything before they arrive - when you get the Order number just add the devices and go to Organization > Your Network > Switches > Switch Stacks and add them together in the dashboard.

Then we always coordinate things by switch MAC so we build the stack, rename the devices in the dashboard to something meaningful (like HUB1 11:76, where 11:76 is the last 4 of MAC), and then when the actual hardware comes in we match the dashboard name with the physical switch, connect them as defined in dashboard, plug em all in and go.

I would second the advice to connect them up locally first before going to the customer site. They take a while to update firmware and download  configs and (this only happened once) but there was breaking firmware update that took forever to get patched thru (had to do with hardware that shipped with old SSL certs during .. heartbleed I think?)

[PhilipDAth]

We frequently pre-configure the kit.

Definitely plug all the switches in at once so they can get onto the same firmware.  Otherwise it could easily cost you 40 minutes on site.

After that chuck in all the stacking cables and stack them in the dashboard.  They take to site.

[BlakeRichardson]

Thats the beauty of Meraki. Most of our equipment is configured before it even arrives in the country!

[rhbirkelund]

It seems I may be the nay-sayer here. I've done a handful of Meraki stacks now, and I've yet to have an installation that really went smooth. 

I did a project with a single hotel, having 6 stacks, one on each floor.

Each took a good 1-1,5 hour setting up, by redoing the stacks multiple times, and having to remove my pre-configured stack in the dashboard.

I set up the main stack first, and from this in a star topology to each floor stack. They are connected to the main stack by fiber.

I followed the procedure as described in the video below, and still went south. 

Just yesterday I was booked to add another switch to the main stack at the same customer. Two hours later, I was done, after spending the first hour, getting it to sign in on the Cloud.