How to specify switch stack master

Silas1066
Getting noticed

How to specify switch stack master

I added a MS350 to an existing stack of two switches recently, and the new one became the master of the stack.

 

This ended up creating issues, and I had to upgrade the firmware, power down the third switch, etc. in order to get things corrected.

 

Is there any way to specify that a particular switch remains the master of the stack (switch 1 for instance--the one with the uplink port to the Internet)? If I have to add a 4th switch, I don't want the same thing happening.

8 REPLIES 8
ww
Kind of a big deal
Kind of a big deal

no. 

switch with the lowest MAC address takes master role

Silas1066
Getting noticed

Do I need to worry about this creating a problem if I add a 4th switch to the stack? What if it becomes master?

BrandonS
Kind of a big deal


@ww wrote:

no. 

switch with the lowest MAC address takes master role


Really?  Is that documented somewhere?

- Ex community all-star (⌐⊙_⊙)
BrandonS
Kind of a big deal

When you had the issue did you follow the documented steps exactly? 

https://documentation.meraki.com/MS/Stacking/Switch_Stacks#Configuring_a_Physical_Switch_Stack

- Ex community all-star (⌐⊙_⊙)

Yes, but in this case it was a bit different

 

I was not creating a new stack: I was adding an already configured switch to an existing stack.

 

I made sure the firmware was all the same, powered down the stack (and the third switch), and then added the new switch by re-arranging the stacking cables in the correct order.

 

When the stack reloaded, I went to stack management and added the third switch to the existing stack.

 

Problem is, because the MAC address was lower on that switch, it took over the master role 

Adam
Kind of a big deal

You can also go to Switch>Switch Settings and set the STP Bridge Priority as the stack but I wasn't aware of making one priority over the other.  Once they are a stack they are basically one switch.  The vlans, routes etc will be on all switches in the stack. 

Adam R MS | CISSP, CISM, VCP, MCITP, CCNP, ITILv3, CMNO
If this was helpful click the Kudo button below
If my reply solved your issue, please mark it as a solution.
PhilipDAth
Kind of a big deal
Kind of a big deal

I think you missed a critical step - and that is to simply plug in the switch and add it to your network, and then leave it for 45 minutes to upgrade its software.

 

If the software version was the same you should not have had any issues.

That wasn't it

remember that this switch had been added to the network weeks before as a stand-alone and was running the same firmware revision as the others.
Get notified when there are additional replies to this discussion.
Welcome to the Meraki Community!
To start contributing, simply sign in with your Cisco account. If you don't yet have a Cisco account, you can sign up.
Labels