Dell 6248 Switch - shawfdong/hyades GitHub Wiki
The backbone of Hyades's Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) fabric is comprised of seven (7x) Dell PowerConnect 6248 switches, stacked in a ring topology. A Dell 6248 switch is based on two (2x) Broadcom BCM56314 ASICs, which predate the the Trident switch ASIC family[1].
Download the latest firmware from Drives and downloads for PowerConnect 6248;
Follow the instructions in PowerConnect 6224/6224F/6224P/6248/6248P Firmware Upgrade Procedure From Version 3.x.x.x to 3.3.13.1 or PowerConnect 6224/6224F/6224P/6248/6248P from 2.x.x.x to 3.3.13.1 Firmware Upgrade Procedure to upgrade the firmware on each Dell PowerConnect 6248 switch. The procedure is similar to Dell 8132F Switch Firmware Upgrade.
Stacking allows multiple PowerConnect 6248 switches to be combined together to act as a single, high-performance, highly resilient switching unit with a single management interface. We purchased a stacking module for each PowerConnect 6248, and installed it in rear Bay 1 of each switch. We connected the stacking modules, using CX-4 copper cables, to form a Ring topology. The aggregate bandwidth between the switches is 48 Gbps (2 ports, 12 Gbps Tx and Rx each)[2].
The 2 interfaces on each stacking module are 1/xg1 & 1/xg2, respectively. Their default Stack Mode is Ethernet (rather than Stack). Consequentially the switches won't form a stack[3].
In order to form a stack, perform the following steps on each switch:
log into the switch via the console;
Enter privileged EXEC mode:
console>enable
Display Stack Port information:
console#show stack-port
Change the Stack Mode of the interfaces to Stack:
console#configure console(config)#stack console(config-stack)#stack-port 1/xg1 stack console(config-stack)#stack-port 1/xg2 stack console(config-stack)#end
Save the running configuration:
console#copy running-config startup-config
Reboot the switch:
console#reload
Once all switches have been rebooted, we'll see that only one switch will have the Mater light on. We can log into that switch via the console, or telnet to the switch stack; and verify that stacking is working properly:
console#show switch
Management Standby Preconfig Plugged-in Switch Code
SW Status Status Model ID Model ID Status Version
--- ---------- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -----------
1 Stack Mbr PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
2 Stack Mbr PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
3 Stack Mbr Oper Stby PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
4 Stack Mbr PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
5 Stack Mbr PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
6 Stack Mbr PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5
7 Mgmt Sw PCT6248 PCT6248 OK 3.3.5.5