Adding a Cisco 3750 Switch to an Existing Stack

Another simple task that Cisco doesn't quite make 100% clear.

Let's say you have an existing Cisco 3750 Switch Stack and you have had a bit of an office redesign and you now need to add another member to the stack to add additional port capacity for the new users moving in.

This is mostly simple to do, but there are several checks to make along your journey, and hopefully I can point them out clearly.

1. First, check the stacking status of your existing stack using the below command. It should say that the stack ring speed is "full". If it doesn't you need to ensure you have a complete stack "ring" thereby having redundant stacking paths on each switch.
   
   

   ZZStack#show switch stack-ring speed
   
   Stack Ring Speed        : 32G
   Stack Ring Configuration: Full
   Stack Ring Protocol     : StackWise

   
   
   See this publication for stack-wiring help:
   http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750/hardware/quick/guide/3750GSG3.html#wp49279
   
   
2. Once you know your stack is a complete ring("full") you can safely break this ring to insert your new switch. ENSURE YOUR NEW SWITCH IS POWERED OFF. Rack this new switch adjacent to your existing switches. "Break" the ring in one place so you can wire your new switch so it fits nice and neat in this new stack, following the wiring schema linked above. Once everything is wiring in place, you may NOW power on your new switch.
   
   
3. After a few minutes your switch will have booted and the existing stack should recognize it as joining the stack. You can verify its status with:
   
   

   ZZStack#show switch stack-ring speed
   
   Stack Ring Speed        : 32G
   Stack Ring Configuration: Full
   Stack Ring Protocol     : StackWise

   
   
   

   ZZStack#show switch
   Switch/Stack Mac Address : 0024.9803.8e80
                                              H/W   Current
   Switch#  Role   Mac Address     Priority Version  State
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   *1       Master 0024.9803.8e80     15     0       Ready
    2       Member 0023.ac0f.7880     1      0       Ready
    3       Member 001a.e267.0080     1      0       Version Mismatch

   
   
   In this example switch 3 was added to the stack, the stack ring looks good, but on the switch status output, instead of saying "Ready" it says "Version Mismatch." You now need to ensure your switch gets the same IOS version as its stack-mates and reboots for this to take effect(see below).
   
   If your stack says your new switch is in the "Ready" state, you are in luck and you are done! (except for configuring your new user ports)
   
   
4. Automatic Upgrade is a great thing in theory, but I've not had the best of luck with it. From what I can tell if your existing stack and this new member you are adding are running different IOS featuresets, the automatic upgrade will NOT WORK.
   
   To check to see if its working or not, check the log. If you see log entries resembling any of the below, it appears automatic upgrade is working as it should.
   

   ZZStack#show log
   ---snip---
   Nov 24 16:58:36.388 EST: %IMAGEMGR-6-AUTO_COPY_SW_INITIATED: Auto-copy-software process initiated for switch number(s) 3

   
   This shows that it has started the auto upgrade process. You can check the status with the "show archive status" command or by continually checking the log.
   
   If you see the below it was successful and is now rebooting this member switch so the correct IOS loads and it can finally join the stack as it should(and you should be done):
   

   ---snip---
   Nov 24 17:06:04.453 EST: %IMAGEMGR-6-AUTO_COPY_SW: Software successfully copied to
   Nov 24 17:06:04.453 EST: %IMAGEMGR-6-AUTO_COPY_SW: system(s) 3
   Nov 24 17:06:04.453 EST: %IMAGEMGR-6-AUTO_COPY_SW: Done copying software
   Nov 24 17:06:04.453 EST: %IMAGEMGR-6-AUTO_COPY_SW: Reloading system(s) 3

   
   
   If you don't see any of the above log entries, go on to the next step.
   
   
5. This is the step they don't really explain well. Thankfully, the "Version Mismatch" state, while not activating any of its ports, does allow you to manipulate the flash filesystem of the inconsistent member so you can stage it from the main stack interface.
   
   If you made it to this step, it probably means there is a featureset mismatch(or some other problem) and you need to force this new member to take the IOS version that the stack is currently running. In this scenario, even the "archive copy-sw" command does not work, so you must either load the IOS bin file manually or use use the appropriate "archive download-sw" command with the "/allow-feature-upgrade" switch to load the IOS to the ENTIRE STACK again, including this new member(but you only need to reboot the new member). I prefer to use the archive command, its slow but its so easy!
   
   Here's the link to the software upgrade caveats/howtos for stack configurations(if it seems like I breezed through this last step):
   http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps5023/products_configuration_example09186a00804799d7.shtml