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Understanding EX Series Virtual Chassis

This topic introduces EX Series Virtual Chassis. An EX Series Virtual Chassis is a supported combination of interconnected EX2200, EX2300, EX3300, EX3400, EX4200, EX4500, EX4550, EX4300, EX4400, EX4600, or EX4650 switches operating as one logical device and managed as a single chassis. Switches in a Virtual Chassis are called member switches.

For information on EX8200 Virtual Chassis, see Virtual Chassis User Guide for EX8200 Switches.

Virtual Chassis Support on EX Series Switches

In an EX Series Virtual Chassis, you can interconnect standalone switches in the following combinations into one logical device, and manage the logical device as a single chassis:

  • EX2200 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to four EX2200 switches.

  • EX2300 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to four EX2300 switches or up to four EX2300 multigigabit model switches (EX2300-24MP, EX2300-48MP). Starting in Junos OS Release 18.4R1, you can also combine EX2300 multigigabit model switches with other EX2300 switches in the same Virtual Chassis, which operates as a non-mixed Virtual Chassis. On EX2300 switches, the Virtual Chassis feature requires license. See Understanding Software Licenses for EX Series Switches.

  • EX3300 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX3300 switches.

  • EX3400 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX3400 switches.

  • EX4200 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4200 switches.

  • EX4300 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4300 switches, including multigigabit models (EX4300-48MP). An EX4300 Virtual Chassis operates as a non-mixed Virtual Chassis if it is composed of only EX4300 multigigabit model switches, or composed of any combination of any other EX4300 switches excluding the multigigabit models. An EX4300 Virtual Chassis operates as a mixed EX4300 Virtual Chassis if it is composed of EX4300 multigigabit model (EX4300-48MP) switches mixed with any other EX4300 model switches.

  • EX4400 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4400 switches (any EX4400 models, including EX4400 multigigabit models)

  • EX4500 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4500 switches

  • EX4550 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4550 switches

  • EX4600 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten EX4600 switches.

  • EX4650 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to two or up to four EX4650-48Y switches. Starting in Junos OS Release 19.3R1, an EX4650-48Y Virtual Chassis can have up to two member switches. Starting in Junos OS Release 20.1R1, an EX4650-48Y Virtual Chassis can have up to four member switches.

  • Mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten total EX4200 and EX4500 switches

  • Mixed EX4200 and EX4550 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten total EX4200 and EX4550 switches

  • Mixed EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten total EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 switches

  • Mixed EX4300 and EX4600 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten total EX4300 (excluding multigigabit models) and EX4600 switches. The member switches in the primary and backup Routing Engine roles must be EX4600 switches.

  • Mixed EX4500 and EX4550 Virtual Chassis, composed of up to ten total EX4500 and EX4550 switches

Table 1 and Table 2 list the initial Junos OS release for combinations of switches interconnected into an EX Series Virtual Chassis. “N/A” indicates the combination is not supported. Switches must be running the same version of Junos OS software to join a Virtual Chassis, although the actual images might be different on different types of switches when mixed hardware models are supported together in a Virtual Chassis.

Table 1: Minimum Junos OS Release For EX Series Switch Combinations in a Virtual Chassis

Switch

EX2300 Switch

EX3400 Switch

EX4300 Switch

EX4400 Switch

EX4600 Switch

EX4650

EX2300

15.1X53-D50, 18.1R2 for MP models, 18.4R1 for MP models combined with other models

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

EX3400

N/A

15.1X53-D50

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

EX4300

N/A

N/A

13.2X50-D10, 18.2R1 for MP models combined with other models

N/A

13.2X51-D25, excludes EX4300 MP models

N/A

EX4400

N/A

N/A

N/A

21.1R1, 21.2R1 for MP models combined with other models

N/A

N/A

EX4600

N/A

N/A

13.2X51-D25, excludes EX4300 MP models

N/A

13.2X51-D25

N/A

EX4650

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

19.3R1
Table 2: Minimum Junos OS Release for Legacy EX Series Switch Combinations in a Virtual Chassis

Switch

EX2200 Switch

EX3300 Switch

EX4200 Switch

EX4500 Switch

EX4550 Switch

EX2200

12.2R1

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

EX3300

N/A

11.3R1

N/A

N/A

N/A

EX4200

N/A

N/A

9.0R1

11.1R1

12.2R1

EX4500

N/A

N/A

11.1R1

11.1R1

12.2R1

EX4550

N/A

N/A

12.2R1

12.2R1

12.2R1

Basic Configuration of EX Series Virtual Chassis

Some EX Series switches can only form a Virtual Chassis with the same type of switches, while some can connect with other types of switches into a mixed-mode Virtual Chassis. See Understanding Mixed EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis for details on the different types of switches that can be mixed in a Virtual Chassis.

You set up an EX Series Virtual Chassis by configuring Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) on the member switches, and interconnecting the switches using the VCPs. VCPs are responsible for passing all data and control traffic between member switches in the Virtual Chassis. EX Series switches have one or more of the following VCP options:

  • Network or uplink ports that you can configure into VCPs.

  • Default-configured VCPs, which are configured as VCPs in the default factory configuration, but you can alternatively convert them into network or uplink ports if desired and reconvert them back into VCPs if needed.

  • Dedicated VCPs, which you can only use as VCPs.

See Virtual Chassis Port Options for details on which ports on different EX Series switches can be VCPs.

You can increase the VCP bandwidth between any two member switches by connecting multiple VCP links between the switches. When multiple VCP links interconnect the same two member switches, the links automatically form a Link Aggregation Group (LAG) bundle if they have the same speeds. For example, if you have four 40-Gbps links configured as VCPs between two member switches, the four links form a LAG with 160 Gbps of bandwidth. Similarly, connecting two 10-Gbps links configured as VCPs between two member switches creates a LAG with 2 member links at 20 Gbps total bandwidth. However, 10-Gbps and 40-Gbps links configured as VCPs between two Virtual Chassis member switches cannot be member links of the same VCP LAG.

Within a single wiring closet, you can add a new member switch to a Virtual Chassis by cabling the member switch into the Virtual Chassis using supported VCP links. You can also easily expand a Virtual Chassis configuration beyond a single wiring closet or over a longer distance by connecting member switches together using uplink ports that are supported as VCPs.

You can set up a Virtual Chassis using either a nonprovisioned or a preprovisioned configuration. If you want to deterministically control the role and member ID assigned to each member switch, use a preprovisioned configuration. Virtual Chassis member switches can have one of three roles: primary Routing Engine, backup Routing Engine, or linecard role. In some combinations of switches in a Virtual Chassis, we recommend or require that you configure certain switches into the Routing Engine roles. See Understanding Virtual Chassis Components for more information about Virtual Chassis roles.

You can simplify adding switches to a preprovisioned configuration by using the automatic VCP conversion feature (see Automatic Virtual Chassis Port (VCP) Conversion), which automatically converts uplink ports into VCPs on the member switches on both sides of the new VCP links as you cable them. This Virtual Chassis expansion method is also called autoprovisioning.

EX2200 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can connect up to four EX2200 and EX2200-C switches into an EX2200 Virtual Chassis. EX2200 switches can’t be mixed in a Virtual Chassis with any other type of switches.

You can configure and use any EX2200 1-Gigabit Ethernet optical interfaces as VCPs. All RJ-45 interfaces, including built-in network ports with 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet connectors and 1000BASE-T RJ-45 transceivers, can also be configured into VCPs. You can configure up to eight 1-Gpbs interfaces configured as VCPs into a single Link Aggregation Group (LAG) bundle, so in an EX2200 Virtual Chassis, you can have a VCP LAG with a bandwidth of up to 8 Gigabit Ethernet.

EX2200 Virtual Chassis do not support other high availability features such as Graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES), Nonstop bridging (NSB), Nonstop active routing (NSR), fast failover, and Nonstop software upgrade (NSSU).

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX2200 Virtual Chassis is configured and managed similarly to other EX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring a Virtual Chassis with EX2200 switches:

EX2300 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can connect up to four EX2300 switches into a Virtual Chassis. You can’t combine EX2300 switches into a mixed Virtual Chassis with any other EX Series or QFX Series switches, but you can create a non-mixed Virtual Chassis with different models of EX2300 switches as follows:

  • Any combination of up to four EX2300 and EX2300-C switches.

  • Any combination of up to four EX2300 multigigabit model (EX2300-24MP and EX2300-48MP) switches.

  • (Starting in Junos OS Release 18.4R1) Any combination of up to four EX2300 multigigabit model switches and other EX2300 or EX2300-C model switches. You do not need to set mixed mode.

Note:

In Junos OS releases prior to 18.4R1, you cannot mix EX2300 multigigabit model switches with other EX2300 or EX2300-C model switches in an EX2300 Virtual Chassis.

EX2300 switches do not have default or dedicated VCP ports, but you can configure the 10-Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports as VCPs, and use those to interconnect the switches into a Virtual Chassis.

You connect EX2300 switches or EX2300 multigigabit switches into an EX2300 Virtual Chassis by configuring uplink ports as VCPs and using SFP+ transceivers. The uplink ports on EX2300 switches also support SFP transceivers, but you can’t use SFP transceivers on uplink ports to form an EX2300 Virtual Chassis.

In all EX2300 Virtual Chassis, you can configure any EX2300 switch model into any member switch role (primary Routing Engine, backup Routing Engine, or linecard).

On EX2300 switches, the Virtual Chassis feature requires license. See Understanding Software Licenses for EX Series Switches.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX2300 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring or changing the members in an EX2300 Virtual Chassis:

EX3300 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can interconnect up to ten EX3300 switches into a Virtual Chassis. EX3300 switches can’t be mixed in a Virtual Chassis with any other type of switches.

Uplink ports 2 and 3 on EX3300 switches are configured as VCPs by default. You can change this default configuration or configure any of the other uplink ports as VCPs.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX3300 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring or expanding a Virtual Chassis with EX3300 switches:

EX3400 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can connect up to ten of any models of EX3400 switches into a Virtual Chassis. EX3400 switches can’t be in a Virtual Chassis with any other EX Series or QFX Series switches.

By default, the QFSP+ uplink ports on EX3400 switches are configured as VCPs, or you can configure any SFP+ uplink module ports on EX3400 switches as VCPs. You can’t use uplink ports with SFP tranceivers as VCPs to connect EX3400 switches into a Virtual Chassis.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX3400 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring or changing the members in an EX3400 Virtual Chassis:

EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can interconnect up to ten EX4200, EX4500, and EX4550 switches into a Virtual Chassis. You must set the Virtual Chassis to mixed mode if it is composed of EX4200 switches with EX4500 or EX4550 switches, but a Virtual Chassis with only one type of these switches or with only EX4500 and Ex4550 switches operates as a non-mixed Virtual Chassis.

EX4200 switches have two built-in dedicated VCPs. EX4500 or EX4550 switches have dedicated VCPs on the Virtual Chassis module, and the EX4500 or EX4550 switch must have the PIC mode set to Virtual Chassis mode to interconnect them into a Virtual Chassis. You can also configure any SFP, SFP+, and XFP uplink ports on all of these switches into VCPs. You can use the dedicated VCPs when the switches are close together, such as in the same wiring closet. Use uplink ports configured as VCPs for switches that located farther away, such as in different wiring closets.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX4200, EX4500, or EX4550 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring a Virtual Chassis with these switches:

For procedures on adding a new switch to a Virtual Chassis composed of any of these switches in a wiring closet, see:

EX4300 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can interconnect up to ten EX4300 switches to form an EX4300 Virtual Chassis. EX4300 switches can form a Virtual Chassis composed entirely of EX4300 switches (not multigigabit models) or entirely of EX4300 multigigabit model (EX4300-48MP) switches as a non-mixed Virtual Chassis.

You can also connect EX4300 multigigabit model switches and other EX4300 model switches together into an EX4300 Virtual Chassis by configuring all of the member switches into mixed mode. In this case, you must also configure the non-multigigabit EX4300 member switches with a special option (ieee-clause-82) when setting mixed mode. The member switches in the Routing Engine role must be multitigabit model switches, and you must configure the non-multigigabit EX4300 switches into linecard role. Multigigabit model EX4300 switches can’t be in a mixed Virtual Chassis with any other types of switches.

Note:

If you remove an EX4300 member switch from a mixed EX4300 Virtual Chassis with multigigabit model members, you must disable ieee-clause-82 port mode on the switch if you want to reconfigure it as a standalone switch or use it in any other type of mixed Virtual Chassis or any non-mixed Virtual Chassis. Otherwise, the VCPs will not connect with other members in the new Virtual Chassis.

You can have any EX4300 switches except multigigabit models in the linecard role in a mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4600 switches or QFX5100 switches. For more details on EX4300 member switches in a mixed Virtual Chassis, see Understanding Mixed EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis.

Note:

EX4300 switches (excluding multigigabit models) can also be included as leaf nodes in a Virtual Chassis Fabric (VCF). For information on EX4300 switches in a VCF, see Virtual Chassis Fabric Overview.

On EX4300 switches excluding the multitigabit models, all 40-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ optical ports are configured as VCPs by default, and you can also configure any 10-Gigabit Ethernet uplink module ports into VCPs as needed. As a result, an EX4300 Virtual Chassis can have either 40-Gbps or 10-Gbps VCP links, or a combination of both. You can easily add new switches to a Virtual Chassis whether the switch is installed in the same building or at a different site because the ports available to be used as VCPs are long-distance optical ports.

On EX4300 multigigabit models, the four 40-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ ports on the rear panel are dedicated VCPs. These are the only ports on EX4300 multigigabit model switches that you can use as VCPs, so any EX4300 Virtual Chassis that contains EX4300 multigigabit model switches can have only have VCP links that are 40-Gbps.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX4300 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring and changing the members in an EX4300 Virtual Chassis:

EX4400 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

You can interconnect up to ten EX4400 switches to form an EX4400 Virtual Chassis. All the member switches must be EX4400 switches (including EX4400 multigigabit models or any other EX4400 models); you can't mix EX4400 switches in a Virtual Chassis with any other type of switches.

You can use any of the EX4400 switch models in either the Routing Engine or linecard role in an EX4400 Virtual Chassis.

On EX4400 switches, by default, each of the two 100-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP28 ports on the rear panel are set as two logical 50-Gbps VCPs, forming four logical 50-Gbps VCP interfaces. You can't use any other ports on EX4400 switches as VCPs. The default VCPs are in PIC slot 1 on EX4400 switches, so the logical VCP interfaces are named vcp-255/1/0 through vcp-255/1/3.

If you don't need to use these ports as VCPs, you can convert them into network ports using the request virtual-chassis mode network-port command. In network port mode, you can use these ports as 100 Gigabit Ethernet network ports, or channelize them into four 25-Gigabit Ethernet or four 10-Gigabit Ethernet network ports. To disable network port mode and return these ports to their default settings as VCPs, use the request virtual-chassis mode network-port disable <reboot> command. You must reboot the switch for a network port mode change to take effect.

If you disable one of these ports as a VCP using the request virtual-chassis vc-port delete command, that action disables the port as a VCP but doesn't change the port to network port mode. You must use the request virtual-chassis mode network-port command to use the port as a network port. Also, specifying to disable vcp-255/1/0 disables both logical ports 0 and 1 (vcp-255/1/0 and vcp-255/1/1), and specifying to disable vcp-255/1/2 disables both logical ports 2 and 3 (vcp-255/1/2 and vcp-255/1/3).

Note:

You can't use one 100-Gigabit Ethernet port as a VCP and the other as a network port. The two ports must both simultaneously be used in VCP mode or network port mode. Use the show virtual-chassis mode command to see the current port mode and what the port mode will be the next time the switch is rebooted. The two values might be different if you changed the mode but have not rebooted the switch yet.

Aside from the VCP differences from other switches, you configure, monitor, and maintain an EX4400 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for details on configuring and changing the members in an EX4400 Virtual Chassis:

EX4600 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

EX4600 switches can act as member switches in a non-mixed Virtual Chassis—a Virtual Chassis composed entirely of EX4600 switches—and also operate in a mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4300 switches. You can interconnect EX4300 switches (except multigigabit models, EX4300-48MP) with EX4600 switches as a mixed EX4600 Virtual Chassis.

You can interconnect up to ten EX4600 switches or a combination of up to ten EX4600 and EX4300 switches into an EX4600 Virtual Chassis. However, in a mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4600 and EX4300 switches, EX4600 switches must be in the primary and backup Routing Engine roles, and EX4300 member switches must be in the linecard role. As a result, at least two of the member switches in a mixed EX4600 Virtual Chassis must be EX4600 switches in the primary and backup Routing Engine roles. See Understanding Virtual Chassis Components for more information about Virtual Chassis member roles.

EX4600 switches do not have any ports that are configured into VCPs by default, but you can configure any 40-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ and 10-Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ optical ports on an EX4600 switch into VCPs. Because EX4300 switches support similar VCP options, both non-mixed and mixed EX4600 Virtual Chassis can have 40-Gbps VCP links, 10-Gbps VCP links, or a combination of both.

You configure, monitor, and maintain an EX4600 Virtual Chassis in a similar way as other EX and QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for more details on configuring and changing the members in an EX4600 Virtual Chassis, including a mixed EX4600 Virtual Chassis with EX4300 switches:

EX4650 Switches in a Virtual Chassis

Starting in Junos OS Release 19.3R1, you can interconnect up to two EX4650 switches in an EX4650 Virtual Chassis. The two member switches must be in the primary and backup Routing Engine roles.

Starting in Junos OS Release 20.1R1, you can interconnect up to four EX4650 switches in an EX4650 Virtual Chassis. You should configure two member switches into the primary and backup Routing Engine roles, and the remaining member switches into the linecard role.

See Understanding Virtual Chassis Components for more information about Virtual Chassis member roles.

EX4650 switches can’t be combined with any other type of switches in a Virtual Chassis.

EX4650 switches do not have dedicated or default-configured VCPs, but you can set any of the 40-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ or 100-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP28 uplink ports on the front panel (non-channelized ports 48 through 55) as VCPs. You can’t use any of the other ports (network ports 0 through 47) as VCPs. Running the request virtual-chassis vc-port set command on the network ports doesn’t fail, but they will not function properly as VCPs.

An EX4650 Virtual Chassis operates the same as a QFX5120 Virtual Chassis, and you configure, monitor, and maintain it the same way as a QFX Series Virtual Chassis. See the following for more details on configuring and changing the members in an EX4650 Virtual Chassis:

Related Documentation

Release History Table
Release
Description
20.1R1
Starting in Junos OS Release 20.1R1, an EX4650-48Y Virtual Chassis can have up to four member switches.
19.3R1
Starting in Junos OS Release 19.3R1, an EX4650-48Y Virtual Chassis can have up to two member switches.
18.4R1
Starting in Junos OS Release 18.4R1, you can also combine EX2300 multigigabit model switches with other EX2300 switches in the same Virtual Chassis, which operates as a non-mixed Virtual Chassis.