Example: Connecting EX4500 Member Switches in a Virtual Chassis Across Wiring Closets

An EX4500 switch can be a member of an EX4500 Virtual Chassis or a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis. An EX4500 Virtual Chassis can be composed of two to ten EX4500 switches in different wiring closets or locations. A mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis can be composed of EX4200 and EX4500 switches in different locations or wiring closets provided that at least one EX4200 switch is connected to one EX4500 switch using the dedicated Virtual Chassis port (VCP) connections available on both switches.

You connect EX4500 member switches in a Virtual Chassis that are in different wiring closets by cabling them together using a 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connection. You then must configure the 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connection as a Virtual Chassis port (VCP).

This example shows how to use the 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ ports on EX4500 switches to connect two EX4500 member switches that are located too far apart to be connected using the dedicated VCPs in a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis. The procedure to connect two EX4500 switches in an EX4500 Virtual Chassis is identical to the procedure shown in this example.

Note:

Any 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connection on an EX4500 switch can be configured as a VCP. An EX4500 switch has network and uplink ports that support 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ transceivers.

This example describes how to connect two EX4500 member switches across wiring closets:

Requirements

This example uses the following hardware and software components:

Junos OS Release 11.1 or later for EX Series switches

Note:
You must use Junos OS Release 11.4 or later if you are including three or more EX4500 switches in an EX4500 Virtual Chassis or a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis.
Two EX4500 member switches
Four EX4200 member switches

Before you interconnect the members of the Virtual Chassis configuration across wiring closets, be sure you have:

Preprovisioned the Virtual Chassis. See Configuring a Mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 Member Switches (CLI Procedure) for details.
(Optional) Configured SWA-0 with the virtual management Ethernet (VME) interface if you want remote, out-of-band management of the Virtual Chassis configuration. See Configuring the Virtual Management Ethernet Interface for Global Management of an EX Series Virtual Chassis (CLI Procedure).
Interconnected SWA-0, SWA-1, and SWA-2 using the dedicated VCPs.
Interconnected SWA-3, SWA-4, and SWA-5 using the dedicated VCPs.

Overview and Topology

In this example, two EX4500 switches and four EX4200 switches are interconnected in a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis configuration. One EX4500 switch (SWA-0) and two EX4200 switches (SWA-1 and SWA-2) are located in wiring closet A, and the other EX4500 switch (SWA-3) and the other two EX4200 switches (SWA-4 and SWA-5) are located in wiring closet B.

For ease of monitoring and manageability, we want to interconnect all six switches as members of a Virtual Chassis configuration.

Topology

We have interconnected the switches in wiring closet A and also interconnected the ones in wiring closet B using the dedicated VCPs. The interfaces for the dedicated VCPs are operational by default. They do not need to be configured.

However, the Virtual Chassis cables that interconnect the dedicated VCPs of member switches within a single wiring closet are not long enough to connect member switches across wiring closets. Instead, we will use a 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connection to interconnect the member switches in wiring closet A to the member switches in wiring closet B. You only need to interconnect one member switch in wiring closet A to one in wiring closet B to form the Virtual Chassis configuration. In this example, this connection will be made by connecting the EX4500 switches in each wiring closet together by configuring a 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connection as a VCP.

We will preprovision the entire Virtual Chassis to set the roles for all member switches.

We will first power on SWA-0 and preprovision the Virtual Chassis. We will then cable the Virtual Chassis before powering on the other member switches.

Table 1 shows the Virtual Chassis configuration settings for a Virtual Chassis composed of member switches in different wiring closets.

Table 1: Components of a Virtual Chassis Interconnected Across Wiring Closets
Switch	Model	Member ID	Role	Location
SWA-0	EX4500 switch	0	Primary	Wiring closet A
SWA-1	EX4200 switch	1	Linecard	Wiring closet A
SWA-2	EX4200 switch	2	Linecard	Wiring closet A
SWA-3	EX4500 switch	3	Backup	Wiring closet B
SWA-4	EX4200 switch	4	Linecard	Wiring closet B
SWA-5	EX4200 switch	5	Linecard	Wiring closet B

Figure 1 shows the different types of interconnections used for this Virtual Chassis configuration. The rear view shows the member switches within each wiring closet interconnected to each other using the dedicated VCPs. The front view shows the uplink VCPs interconnected across the wiring closets.

Figure 1: Mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis Interconnected Across Wiring Closets

Configuration

To configure the Virtual Chassis across wiring closets, perform this task:

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure a Virtual Chassis across wiring closets:

Power on SWA-0 (the EX4500 switch acting as member 0).
Power on SWA-3 (the EX4500 switch acting as member 3).
Set the PIC mode to the Virtual Chassis mode on both SWA-0 and SWA-3:
Power on the remaining switches.
Configure all switches individually as members of the mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis:
Reboot all switches:
Log back into SWA-0 after the reboot has completed.
Run EZSetup on SWA-0 to set the parameters for the entire Virtual Chassis. See Connecting and Configuring an EX Series Switch (CLI Procedure).

Preprovision the Virtual Chassis from SWA-0. Specify all members for the Virtual Chassis configuration, listing each switch’s serial number with the desired member ID and the desired role.

Commit the configuration:

Prepare the members in wiring closet A for interconnecting with the member switches in wiring closet B by setting the 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ interfaces on SWA-0 as VCPs:

Prepare the members in wiring closet B for interconnecting with the member switches in wiring closet A by setting the 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ interfaces on SWA-3 as VCPs:

Physically interconnect SWA-0 with SWA-1, then interconnect all switches in wiring closet A.
Physically interconnect SWA-0 with SWA-3 across wiring closets using the 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ connections.
Physically interconnect all switches in wiring closet B.

Note:
We recommend that you use the commit synchronize command to save any configuration changes that you make to a Virtual Chassis.

Results

Display the results of the configuration on SWA-0:

Verification

To confirm that the configuration is working properly, perform these tasks:

Verifying the Member IDs and Roles of the Member Switches

Purpose
Action
Meaning

Purpose

Verify that all the interconnected member switches are included within the Virtual Chassis configuration and that their roles are assigned appropriately.

Action

Display the members of the Virtual Chassis configuration:

Meaning

The show virtual-chassis command lists the member switches interconnected as a Virtual Chassis configuration with the member IDs that have been assigned by the primary and the roles. It also displays the neighbor members with which each member is interconnected.

Troubleshooting

To troubleshoot a Virtual Chassis configuration that is interconnected across wiring closets, perform these tasks:

Troubleshooting Nonoperational VCPs

Problem
Solution

Problem

A user-configured VCP shows a status of down.

Solution

Check the cable to make sure that it is properly and securely connected to the ports.
Make sure the VCP that it has been explicitly set as an uplink VCP.
Make sure that you have specified the options (pic-slot, port, and member) correctly.

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