I completed my replacement process. Very smooth using the clone option for a single switch or clone stack member for a stack. You cannot clone stack members during production because it instantly removes the old switch and adds the replacement to the stack. However, you can clone an entire stack and power down the stack and power up the new stack in a single process. I did claim and new switches and power them on for a couple of hours allowing them to update their firmware and to cook a bit before actual installation to make sure they didn't have an immediate defect. During the physical replacement of the stacks, I would add the static IP information so when they powered up, they were 100% done. The dashboard usually would show an error about the switches not being part of a stack for 5 to 10 minutes after they came online but they worked and that error naturally went away. All very smooth other than having to physically do it which is a pain to find appropriate downtime for a network of 2500 users.
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