HP 5500 Ei 5500 Si Switch Series Configuration Guide

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Connecting physical IRF ports 
When you connect two neighboring IRF members, connect the physical ports of IRF-port 1 on one 
member to the physical ports of IRF-port 2 on the other, as shown in Figure 9.  
 
 IMPORTANT: 
No intermediate devices are allo
wed between neighboring members. 
 
Figure 9 Connecting IRF physical ports 
 
 
Connection restrictions 
The switches support up to two physical IRF ports for an IRF port. 
Note the following IRF link binding restrictions when you connect physical...

16 
Figure 10 Daisy chain topology vs. ring topology 
 
 
Binding physical ports to IRF ports 
When you bind physical ports to IRF ports, follow the restrictions in Connection restrictions. 
On a ph
ysical port that has been bound to an IRF port, you can only use the  cfd, default , shutdown , 
description , and flow-interval  commands. For more information about these commands, see  Layer 
2—LAN Switching Command Reference.  
To bind physical ports to IRF ports: 
 
Step Command Remarks 
1.   Enter...

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Step Command Remarks 
7.  Return to system view. 
quit  N/A 
8.  Enter physical IRF port view.  interface 
interface-type 
interface-number   N/A 
9.
  Bring up the port. 
undo shutdown  N/A 
10. Return to system view. 
quit  N/A 
11. Save the running 
configuration.  save 
N/A 
12. Activate the IRF port 
configuration.  irf-port-configuration active  After this step is performed, the state 
of the IRF port changes to UP, the 
member switches automatically elects 
a master, and the subordinate switch...

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•  system-view 
•   debugging 
•   terminal debugging 
•   terminal logging 
•   terminal monitor 
•   terminal trapping 
Perform the following task in user view:  
 
Task Command Remarks 
Log in to a subordinate switch.  irf switch-to member-id  By default, you are placed at the 
masters CLI. 
 
To return to the masters CLI, use the 
quit command. 
Assigning an IRF domain ID to the IRF fabric 
This task is required for running LACP MAD or ARP MAD between two IRF fabrics. For BFD MAD, this 
task is...

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Figure 11 A network that comprises two IRF domains 
 
 
To assign a domain ID to an IRF fabric:  
Step Command Remarks 
1.  Enter system view. 
system-view N/A 
2.  Assign a domain ID to the 
IRF fabric.  irf domain
 domain-id  By d efa ult, the d oma in ID of an IRF fa b ric is 0. 
 
Configuring a member switch description 
You can configure a description for a member switch to identify its physical location, or for any other 
management purpose.  
To configure a description for a member switch:...

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source MAC address, destination MAC address, or a combination of them. If a criteria combination is 
not supported, the system displays an error message. 
Configure the IRF link load sharing mode for IRF links in system view or IRF port view. 
•  In system view, the configuration is global and takes effect on all IRF ports. 
•   In IRF port view, the configuration is port specific and takes effect only on the specific IRF port. 
An IRF port preferentially uses the port-specific lo ad sharing mode. If...

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bridge MAC address change due to a device reboot, transient link failure, or purposeful link 
disconnection. 
•   irf mac-address persistent always —Bridge MAC address of the IRF fabric does not change after 
the master leaves.  
•   undo irf mac-address persistent —Bridge MAC address of the new master replaces the original one 
as soon as the old master leaves. 
 
  IMPORTANT: 
If ARP MAD is used, configure the 
undo irf mac-address persistent command to enable immediate brid
ge
MAC address change...

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Step Command Remarks 
1.  Enter system view. 
system-view  N/A 
2.  Enable the software 
auto-update function.   irf auto-update enable  By default, this function is 
disabled.  
 
In an IRF fabric enabled with software auto-update, 
if a software upgrade requires upgrading the Boot 
ROM image, use the following upgrading procedure:  
1.  Download the new system software image to the master device.  
2. Use the  bootrom update  command to upgrade the Boot ROM image on the master.  
This step...

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These MAD detection mechanisms operate independently. You can configure all of them for an IRF 
fabric. 
Tabl e  1 pr
ovides a reference for you to make a MAD mechanism selection decision. 
Table 1 A comparison of the MAD mechanisms 
MAD 
mechanism  Advantages Disadvantages Application scenario 
LACP MAD 
•
 Detection speed is fast. 
• Requires no MAD-dedicated 
physical ports or interfaces.
 
Requires an intermediate HP 
device that supports LACP 
MAD packets.   Link aggregation is used 
between the...

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Step Command Remarks 
1.  Enter system view. 
system-view  N/A 
2.  Assign a domain ID to the IRF 
fabric.  irf domain 
domain-id  The default IRF domain ID is 0. 
3.  Create an aggregate 
interface and enter 
aggregate interface view. 
• Enter Layer 2 aggregate interface 
view:   
interface bridge-aggregation 
interface-number 
•  Enter Layer 3 aggregate interface 
view:   
interface route-aggregation 
interface-number  Use either command. 
Perform this step also on the 
intermediate device.  
The...