Creating an AOS-CX Stack Using Template

In Aruba Central (on-premises), you can create stacks through the template. Before creating a stack, you must physically connect the members of the stack in the chain or ring topology on the ports reserved for auto-stacking. For auto-stacking to work, the members should be connected in the direction of the higher denomination port to the lower denomination port.

The following ports are reserved for auto-stacking:

  • 24-port switch models— Ports 25 and 26
  • 48-port switch models— Ports 49 and 50

Auto-stacking peer discovery is a uni-directional process. It starts with the VSF link containing the higher denomination VSF port. Member discovery starts on the higher-numbered port for each member in line. For a three-member stack in the ring topology, use the following connection example for auto-stacking to work:

  • Connect port 50 of member 1 to port 49 of member 2
  • Connect port 50 of member 2 to port 25 of member 3
  • Connect port 26 of member 3 to port 49 of member 1

For more information on VSF configuration, refer to the AOS-CX Virtual Switching Framework (VSF) Guide.

To create a stack using the template, complete the following steps:

  1. In Aruba Central (on-premises), assign the switches to the template from any of the following pages:
    • Device Inventory page under Global Settings in Account Home.
    • Groups page under Maintain > Organization, in the Network Operations app.

      For more information on assigning a stack, see Assigning Devices to Groups.

  2. Create a configuration template in the template group for the AOS-CX VSF stack.

    The following example shows the sample VSF configuration template snippet for a three-member stack.

    It is recommended to configure the VSF split-detection method in the template during stack creation. Also, ensure that the conductor and standby conductor are connected to the management interface. If the split-detection method is configured, during a split, the fragment that has the conductor becomes the active fragment and keeps its front plane (non-VSF) interfaces up and running. The other fragment becomes inactive and all non-VSF interfaces on the inactive fragment are brought down to avoid network disruption.

    vsf split-detect mgmt vsf secondary-member 2 vsf member 1 type jl660a link 1 1/1/26 link 2 1/1/25 vsf member 2 type jl664a link 1 2/1/25 link 2 2/1/26 vsf member 3 type jl664a link 1 3/1/25 link 2 3/1/26

  3. Save the template.
  4. Connect the uplink to the switch that should act as the conductor. The switch will connect to Aruba Central (on-premises) as a standalone device and will be added to the assigned template group.

    Once the switch is added to the template group, Aruba Central (on-premises) pushes the template group configuration to the switch. After the configuration is pushed, starting with the second switch, each switch in the stack reboots automatically and joins the stack one after another. Each member may take up to 10 minutes to join the stack.

    If the switch is not assigned to any group, then the switch will be added to the default group or unprovisioned group. The factory default switch is added to the default group and non-factory default switch will be added to the unprovisioned group. You can verify the serial number of the switch once it is onboarded and move the switch to the template group as required.

  5. Verify the status of the stack formation using switch monitoring pages. For more information, see Switch > Overview > Summary and Monitoring AOS-CX Switch Stacks.