MS225 - Switch Stack

[Q313]

Hi team,

     Hoping someone has experience with this scenario.  

I have two MS-225 switches that are in production.

I've been tasked with putting these into a stack (physical).

Documentation says to power down switches, remove links, add cables, and power switches back up.

Meraki support states I can plug the stack cables in, and no outage is required...very different response from what the documentation states.

Do I have to power down the MS225's to do this?

How does this change impact the current switch configurations that are running (going from stand alone to stacked) ?

Let me know if you have any questions and thank you.

[alemabrahao]

Take a look at this discussion.

https://community.meraki.com/t5/Switching/Deleting-a-switch-stack/m-p/154937

[GIdenJoe]

The only thing you need to be aware of is that you will have to remove the uplink of that switch before adding the stack links or you could have a spanning-tree issue because stack ports keep forwarding.  You will also have a warning on the switch for a couple of hours after linking it.  Even when you configure it as part of the stack it will take a little while before the warning goes away and the switch will  have a green status in dashboard.

[PhilipDAth · Accepted solution]

Plan for an outage.

There is a pretty good chance one of them might reboot.  There is a reasonable chance that things won't work 100% properly until both are rebooted.

[Q313]

Thank you.  I decided to plan for an outage and run the tasks during an approved maintenance window.  I just didn't want anything lingering afterwards, so the advice is solid..  I also took advice of caution given from @GldenJoe in regards to uplink connectivity and the potential for issues there.  Last thing, I called Meraki support and kept a tech on the line during process in the event an issue did occur.  Tech was good and was able to provide updates on backend activity during the process.  It would also be a good idea to confirm the health of your switches and download port configuration before starting.  All went well, and the entire process took less than 20-30min for two switches.  Thanks again.  Hope this helps someone else!