Solved: Hi Rizwan Siddiqi,

Rizwan · ‎03-09-2016

Hi,

I have Cisco switches of two different models for stacking one Cisco 2960-S and other Cisco 2960-X switch.

Cisco 2960-S is running IOS version 12.2 and Cisco 2960-X is running IOS version 15.0

Currently Cisco 2960-S is working in a stack of three switches and I want to add one more switch of 2960-X model

Should it will work if I upgrade IOS for 2960-S switch?

Mark Malone · ‎03-10-2016

Just make sure the major and minor numbers match up when stacking different models or you wont get all the features end up with partial stack.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/ios-nx-os-software/ios-software-releases-12-4-mainline/whitepaper_C11-719867.html

Major Version Number Incompatibility Among Switches

Switches with different major Cisco IOS software versions usually have different stack protocol versions. Switches with different major version numbers are incompatible and cannot exist in the same switch stack.

Minor Version Number Incompatibility Among Switches

Switches with the same major version number but with a different minor version number are considered partially compatible. When connected to a switch stack, a partially compatible switch enters version-mismatch (VM) mode and cannot join the stack as a fully functioning member. The software detects the mismatched software and tries to upgrade (or downgrade) the switch in VM mode with the switch stack image or with a tar file image from the switch stack flash memory. The software uses the automatic upgrade (auto-upgrade) and the automatic advise (auto-advise) features. For more information, see the "Understanding Auto-Upgrade and Auto-Advise" section

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750x_3560x/software/release/12-2_55_se/configuration/guide/3750xscg/swstack.html#wp1223384

View solution in original post

Kevin_W · ‎03-10-2016

Hi Rizwan Siddiqi,

on page 5 you can see, that it should be possible to stack both models with each other:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-2960-x-series-switches/white_paper_c11-728327.pdf

But like you said, I would bring them on the same IOS level before.
By the way: do all models have the same feature set (Lan-Base)?

Mark Malone · ‎03-10-2016

Just make sure the major and minor numbers match up when stacking different models or you wont get all the features end up with partial stack.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/ios-nx-os-software/ios-software-releases-12-4-mainline/whitepaper_C11-719867.html

Major Version Number Incompatibility Among Switches

Switches with different major Cisco IOS software versions usually have different stack protocol versions. Switches with different major version numbers are incompatible and cannot exist in the same switch stack.

Minor Version Number Incompatibility Among Switches

Switches with the same major version number but with a different minor version number are considered partially compatible. When connected to a switch stack, a partially compatible switch enters version-mismatch (VM) mode and cannot join the stack as a fully functioning member. The software detects the mismatched software and tries to upgrade (or downgrade) the switch in VM mode with the switch stack image or with a tar file image from the switch stack flash memory. The software uses the automatic upgrade (auto-upgrade) and the automatic advise (auto-advise) features. For more information, see the "Understanding Auto-Upgrade and Auto-Advise" section

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750x_3560x/software/release/12-2_55_se/configuration/guide/3750xscg/swstack.html#wp1223384

Stacking different model switches