Specific rules for commander, candidate, and member switch

Specific rules for commander, candidate, and member switch
 

IP Addressing and Stack Name

Number Allowed Per Stack

Passwords

SNMP Communities

Commander

IP Addr: Requires an assigned IP address and mask for access via the network.

Stack Name: Required

Only one Commander switch is allowed per stack.

The Commander's Manager and Operator passwords are assigned to any switch becoming a Member of the stack.

If you change the Commander's passwords, the Commander propagates the new passwords to all stack Members.

Standard SNMP community operation. The Commander also operates as an SNMP proxy to Members for all SNMP communities configured in the Commander.

Candidate

IP Addr: Optional. Configuring an IP address allows access via Telnet or WebAgent while the switch is not a stack member. In the factory default configuration the switch automatically acquires an IP address if your network includes DHCP service.

Stack Name: N/A

n/a

Passwords optional. If the Candidate becomes a stack Member, it assumes the Commander's Manager and Operator passwords.

If a candidate has a password, it cannot be automatically added to a stack. In this case, if you want the Candidate in a stack, you must manually add it to the stack.

Uses standard SNMP community operation if the Candidate has its own IP addressing.

Member

IP Addr: Optional. Configuring an IP address allows access via Telnet or WebAgent without going through the Commander switch. This is useful, for example, if the stack Commander fails and you need to convert a Member switch to operate as a replacement Commander.

Stack Name: N/A

Up to 15 Members per stack.

When the switch joins the stack, it automatically assumes the Commander's Manager and Operator passwords and discards any passwords it may have had while a Candidate.

Note: If a Member leaves a stack for any reason, it retains the passwords assigned to the stack Commander at the time of departure from the stack.

Belongs to the same SNMP communities as the Commander (which serves as an SNMP proxy to the Member for communities to which the Commander belongs). To join other communities that exclude the Commander, the Member must have its own IP address. Loss of stack membership means loss of membership in any community that is configured only in the Commander.

NOTE:

In the default stack configuration, the Candidate Auto Join parameter is enabled, but the Commander Auto Grab parameter is disabled. This prevents Candidates from automatically joining a stack prematurely or joining the wrong stack (if more than one stack Commander is configured in a subnet or broadcast domain). If you plan to install more than one stack in a subnet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise recommends that you leave Auto Grab disabled on all Commander switches and manually add Members to their stacks. Similarly, if you plan to install a stack in a subnet (broadcast domain) where stacking-capable switches are not intended for stack membership, you should set the Stack State parameter (in the Stack Configuration screen) to Disabled on those particular switches.