2960-X Switch Stack and IP Addressing

[reesejacobs]

I have four 2960-X switches that will be stacked. Before creating the stack, I ran Express Setup on all switches assigning them each a unique IP address. I then connected the switches to my existing network and used Network Assistant to load the most recent IOS release on all switches and to configure some basic settings such as switch name, location, etc. Once configured, I run the switches standalone for an extended period of time to make sure all switches are functioning properly before stacking them. I also chose one switch to be the stack master and set its priority to 15. I am now ready to stack the switches via the stack ports to form the 4-switch stack.

I understand that the switch stack will have a single IP address and that should be the IP address of the master. All switches will then be managed as a single switch using that IP address. My questions are as follows:

1. If a switch is removed from the stack, will it revert to the IP address configured for it prior to creating the stack?

2. Is it even necessary to assign an IP addresses and perform any configuration on a switch before adding it to an existing stack?

Thanks in advance for any information regarding IP address handling on switches that will be stacked.

[Julio E. Moisa]

Hi

No, you dont add the IP address again, if you execute show switch, you will see other switch as standby, it will be ready to replace the current master switch once it is down, the management IP will be kept. 

About the second question, no you dont have to add the any IP or configuration, the switch can be inserted without configuration. The new switch should have the same IOS like the rest to avoid mismatch version.

A good practice is have an order with priorities on the switches. 15,14,13.... 

Hope it is useful

:-)

[reesejacobs]

Thanks for the information - very helpful. I always make sure the switches are running the same version of IOS before inserting them into the stack. Thanks again.

[Julio E. Moisa]

It was a pleasure,

Have a good day

:-)