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Example: Setting Up a Full Mesh EX8200 Virtual Chassis with Two EX8200 Switches and Redundant XRE200 External Routing Engines

An EX8200 Virtual Chassis connects up to four EX8200 switches into a single network entity. The Virtual Chassis is formed by connecting the switches to an XRE200 External Routing Engine.

This example describes how to connect two EX8200 switches and two XRE200 External Routing Engines into a Virtual Chassis:

Requirements

This example uses the following hardware and software components:

  • Two XRE200 External Routing Engines

  • One EX8208 switch

  • One EX8216 switch

Before you begin:

Ensure that the external Routing Engines and the member switches are running the same version of Junos OS Release 10.4 or later. See Installing Software on an EX Series Switch with a Virtual Chassis or Single Routing Engine (CLI Procedure), Installing Software on an EX Series Switch with Redundant Routing Engines (CLI Procedure), or Upgrading Software on an EX6200 or EX8200 Standalone Switch Using Nonstop Software Upgrade (CLI Procedure) to upgrade software on EX8200 switches.

Overview and Topology

An EX8200 Virtual Chassis connects up to four EX8200 switches into a single virtual device, thereby simplifying network management, configuration, and troubleshooting.

In this example, two EX8200 switches are connected to an XRE200 External Routing Engine to form an EX8200 Virtual Chassis. A backup XRE200 External Routing Engine is also part of the topology and has connections to the primary external Routing Engine and both member switches. A Virtual Chassis port (VCP) link is also configured to connect the switches, thereby forming a full mesh topology that utilizes all possible VCP links within the Virtual Chassis topology.

This example shows an EX8200 Virtual Chassis composed of four devices: a primary XRE200 External Routing Engine, a backup XRE200 External Routing engine, an EX8208 member switch, and an EX8216 member switch.

Table 1 explains the components of the example EX8200 Virtual Chassis topology.

Table 1: Components of the EX8200 Virtual Chassis Topology
Property Settings

Hardware

  • Two XRE200 External Routing Engines

  • Member EX8208 switch

  • Member EX8216 switch

Member IDs and Roles

  • Primary external Routing Engine

    • Member ID: 8

    • Role: routing-engine

      Note:

      The primary external Routing Engine earned the primary role by having the longest uptime. This example assumes this external Routing Engine was up before the backup external Routing Engine.

  • Backup external Routing Engine

    • Member ID: 9

    • Role: routing-engine

  • Member EX8208 switch

    • Member ID: 0

    • Role: line-card

  • Member EX8216 switch

    • Member ID: 1

    • Role: line-card

Interfaces

The primary XRE200 External Routing Engine interfaces:

  • vcp-1/0—Connects to vcp-1/0 on the backup external Routing Engine (member 9).

  • vcp-1/1—Connects to vcp-0/0 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE0) on the EX8208 member switch (member 0).

  • vcp-1/2—Connects to vcp-0/0 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE0) on the EX8216 member switch (member 1).

The backup XRE200 External Routing Engine interfaces:

  • vcp-1/0—Connects to vcp-1/0 on the primary external Routing Engine (member 8).

  • vcp-1/1—Connects to vcp-0/1 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE1) on the EX8208 member switch (member 0).

  • vcp-1/2—Connects to vcp-0/1 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE1) on the EX8216 member switch (member 1).

The EX8208 member switch interfaces:

  • vcp-0/0(the MGMT port on the module in slot RE0)—Connects to vcp-1/1 on the primary external Routing Engine (member 8).

  • vcp-0/1 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE1)—Connects to vcp-1/1 on the backup external Routing Engine (member 9).

  • xe-3/0/2—Connects to xe-4/0/2 on the EX8216 member switch (member 1).

The EX8216 member switch interfaces:

  • vcp-0/0 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE0)—Connects to vcp-1/2 on the primary external Routing Engine (member 8).

  • vcp-0/1 (the MGMT port on the module in slot RE1)—Connects to vcp-1/2 on the backup external Routing Engine (member 9).

  • xe-4/0/2—Connects to xe-3/0/2 on the EX8208 member switch (member 0).

This example assumes that all devices in the Virtual Chassis are running the same version of Junos OS Release 10.4 or later. If you need to upgrade a device in the Virtual Chassis configuration to meet this requirement, perform that upgrade before performing this procedure.

Setting the EX8200 Switches as Virtual Chassis Members

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the EX8200 switches as Virtual Chassis members:

On the EX8208 switch:

On the EX8216 switch:

Preprovisioning the Virtual Chassis

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly preprovision the Virtual Chassis, log in to the primary external Routing Engine and enter the following commands:

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To preprovision the EX8200 Virtual Chassis:

  1. Log in to the primary external Routing Engine and specify the use of a preprovisioned configuration:

    Note:

    You must use a preprovisioned configuration to configure an EX8200 Virtual Chassis. Nonprovisioned configuration is not supported.

  2. Specify all members that you want to include in the Virtual Chassis configuration, listing each switch’s or external Routing Engine’s serial number with its desired member ID and role:

    Note:

    You must use the backplane serial number for EX8208 switches, and the midplane serial number for EX8216 switches.

Results

Check the results of the configuration:

Configuring a VCP Link from Member Switch 0 to Member Switch 1

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the VCP link between the member switches, log in to the EX8208 member switch (member ID 0) and enter

Note:

For information on which ports on EX8200 line cards can be configured as VCPs, see Line Card Model and Version Compatibility in an EX8200 Switch.

Configuring a VCP Link from Member Switch 1 to Member Switch 0

Procedure

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure the VCP link between the member switches, log in to the EX8216 member switch (member ID 1) and enter:

Note:

For information on which ports on EX8200 line cards can be configured as VCPs, see Line Card Model and Version Compatibility in an EX8200 Switch.

Verification

To verify that the Virtual Chassis is operational, perform this task:

Verifying That the Virtual Chassis Is Operational

Purpose

Verify that the Virtual Chassis is operational and that all VCP links in the Virtual Chassis are functioning properly.

Action

Enter the show virtual-chassis command:

Meaning

This output verifies that a Virtual Chassis composed of one EX8208 switch (member 0), one EX8216 switch (member 1), and primary and backup XRE200 External Routing Engines (members 8 and 9) is operational. The display shows the VCP connections and confirms that each member has a connection to all three other members to form a full-mesh EX8200 Virtual Chassis.

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