Dell POWEREDGE M1000E - Manual (Page 154)

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Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3130 and 3032 for Dell Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 6 Managing Switch Stacks
Understanding Switch Stacks
Hardware Compatibility and SDM Mismatch Mode in Switch Stacks
The switch supports only the desktop Switch Database Management (SDM) templates.
All stack members use the SDM template configured on the stack master.
Version-mismatch (VM) mode has priority over SDM-mismatch mode. If a VM-mode condition and an
SDM-mismatch mode exist, the switch stack first attempts to resolve the VM-mode condition.
You can use the show switch privileged EXEC command to see if any stack members are in
SDM-mismatch mode.
For more information about SDM templates and SDM-mismatch mode, see Chapter 9, “Configuring
SDM Templates.”
Switch Stack Software Compatibility Recommendations
To ensure complete compatibility between stack members, use the information in this section and also
in the
“Hardware Compatibility and SDM Mismatch Mode in Switch Stacks” section on page 6-12 .
All stack members must run the same Cisco IOS software image and feature set to ensure compatibility
between stack members. For example, all stack members should run the cryptographic universal
software image and have the IP services feature set enabled for Cisco IOS Release 12.2(40)EX1 or later.
For more information, see the “Stack Protocol Version Compatibility” section on page 6-12 .
Stack Protocol Version Compatibility
Each software image includes a stack protocol version. The stack protocol version has a major version
number and a minor version number (for example 1.4, where 1 is the major version number and 4 is the
minor version number). Both version numbers determine the level of compatibility among the stack
members. You can display the stack protocol version by using the show platform stack-manager all
privileged EXEC command.
Switches with the same Cisco IOS software version have the same stack protocol version. Such switches
are fully compatible, and all features function properly across the switch stack. Switches with the same
Cisco IOS software version as the stack master immediately join the switch stack.
If an incompatibility exists, the fully functional stack members generate a system message that describes
the cause of the incompatibility on the specific stack members. The stack master sends the message to
all stack members. For more information, see the
“Major Version Number Incompatibility Among
Switches” procedure on page 6-12 and the “Minor Version Number Incompatibility Among Switches”
procedure on page 6-13 .
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.