request virtual-chassis mode

Syntax

Description

Enable special device modes when operating as part of a Virtual Chassis or Virtual Chassis Fabric (VCF). Supported device modes include:

Fabric mode—Enable the device to operate as part of a VCF. You must set fabric mode on all of the devices in a VCF.
Mixed mode—Enable the device to operate in a mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF.
(EX4100 and EX4400 switches only) Network port mode—Enable the default Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) to operate as network ports instead of as VCPs.

You must reboot the standalone device, Virtual Chassis or VCF for this command to take effect, and the setting persists across subsequent reboot operations. You can use this command's reboot option to automatically reboot the device when setting or disabling a device mode.

Note:

For devices in a mixed VCF, you can set both mixed and fabric modes in the same command and then reboot the device once for both settings to take effect.

Mixed Mode Requirements and Best Practices
Network Port Mode (EX4100 and EX4400 Switches Only)

Mixed Mode Requirements and Best Practices

You must set mixed mode on all devices in a Virtual Chassis or a VCF when the devices have differences in how they interoperate. See Understanding Mixed EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis or Understanding Mixed Virtual Chassis Fabric for details on which devices can be combined to form a mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF.

Some combinations of different types of switches form non-mixed Virtual Chassis or VCFs because the devices can run the same software images. You don't need to configure mixed mode if the only devices in your Virtual Chassis are the following combinations of switches:

Only EX4500 and EX4550 switches in an EX Series Virtual Chassis.
EX2300 multigigabit switches (EX2300-24MP and EX2300-48MP models) with any other EX2300 model switches in an EX2300 Virtual Chassis.
EX4100 multigigabit switches (EX4100-24MP and EX4100-48MP models) with any other EX4100 model switches in an EX4100 Virtual Chassis.
EX4400 multigigabit switches (EX4400-24MP and EX4400-48MP models) with any other EX4400 model switches in an EX4400 Virtual Chassis.
Only QFX3500 and QFX3600 switches in a QFX Series Virtual Chassis.
QFX5110 and QFX5100 switches in a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or QFX5110 VCF.

However, EX4300 switches that are not multigigabit models combined with EX4300 multigigabit model (EX4300-48MP) switches form a mixed EX4300 Virtual Chassis. In this case, you must set mixed mode on all member switches. In addition, when you set mixed mode on the EX4300 non-multigigabit model member switches, you must include the ieee-clause-82 option with the mode command. This option sets a special port mode (IEEE Clause 82) on the Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) that enables them to communicate when interconnected with VCPs on EX4300 multigigabit switches.

Note:

If you remove an EX4300 member switch from a mixed EX4300 Virtual Chassis with multigigabit model members, you must disable ieee-clause-82 port mode on the switch if you want to reconfigure it as a standalone switch or use it in any other type of mixed Virtual Chassis or any non-mixed Virtual Chassis. Otherwise, the VCPs will not connect with other members in the new Virtual Chassis. To do this, use the request virtual-chassis mode mixed ieee-clause-82 disable command and then reboot the switch. To add the switch to any other type of mixed Virtual Chassis, enable mixed mode again without this option and reboot the switch again for the change to take effect.

Best practices when setting mixed mode include:

Don’t enable mixed mode on a standalone device or for a member switch that is in a non-mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF. Mixed mode reduces the maximum scaling numbers for some features on the standalone switch, Virtual Chassis, or VCF to accommodate different types of devices that can be interconnected.
To avoid potential traffic disruptions and configuration issues, on each device we recommend setting mixed mode for a mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF before cabling them into a mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF. You must then reboot the device, Virtual Chassis or VCF for the mode change to take effect.

Note:
The same best practice applies to setting fabric mode for a VCF—set this mode on the member devices before interconnecting them.
You can change mode settings manually after a device has been added to a Virtual Chassis or VCF if you determine the settings are not the same on all the devices.

However, if you set only some of the devices in a mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF to mixed mode, the mixed Virtual Chassis or VCF might not form. If you experience this issue, enter the request virtual-chassis mode mixed all-members command to force setting mixed mode on all devices in the Virtual Chassis or VCF. (Include the fabric mode option as well for a VCF.) You can then reboot the entire Virtual Chassis or VCF, or only the devices where the mode changed. The Virtual Chassis or VCF forms when the rebooted devices are online again.

Note:
On switches running Junos OS Release 11.4 or later, if you don’t set any of the switches in a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis to mixed mode, a mixed EX4200 and EX4500 Virtual Chassis forms where one of the switches assumes the primary role, and all other switches take on the linecard role. If you see this behavior, enter the request virtual-chassis mode mixed all-members command to set all members to mixed mode and reboot the Virtual Chassis.

Network Port Mode (EX4100 and EX4400 Switches Only)

If you are not using an EX4100 or EX4400 switch as a member switch in a Virtual Chassis, you can use this command with the network-port option to enable network port mode, which converts the default VCPs on the switch into network ports. By default, the two 100-Gigabit Ethernet QSFP28 ports on the rear panel are set as two logical 50-Gbps VCP interfaces each, forming a total of four logical 50-Gbps VCPs. (The default VCPs are in PIC slot 1, so the VCP interfaces are named vcp-255/1/0 through vcp-255/1/3.) If you convert these ports into network port mode, they become two 100 Gigabit Ethernet network ports, or you can channelize each of them into four 25-Gigabit Ethernet or four 10-Gigabit Ethernet network ports.

You can't use one of the rear panel 100-Gigabit Ethernet ports as a VCP and the other as a network port. When you use this command to enable network port mode, the mode affects both 100-Gbps ports together.

You can use the show virtual-chassis mode command to see the current port mode and what the port mode will be the next time the switch is rebooted. The two values might be different if you changed the mode but have not rebooted the switch yet.

To disable network port mode and return these ports to their default settings as VCPs, use the network-port and disable options with the request virtual-chassis mode command. You must reboot the switch for network port mode changes to take effect, so you can include the reboot option in the same command. For example:

You can use the request virtual-chassis vc-port delete command to disable one of these ports as a VCP, but that action doesn't change the port mode to network port mode. You must enter the request virtual-chassis mode network-port command (and reboot the switch) to use the port as a network port. Also, if you run the request virtual-chassis vc-port delete interface interface-name command to disable vcp-255/1/0, that command disables both logical ports 0 and 1 (vcp-255/1/0 and vcp-255/1/1). Similarly, specifying to disable vcp-255/1/2 disables both logical ports 2 and 3 (vcp-255/1/2 and vcp-255/1/3).

Options

all-members	(Optional) Set the Virtual Chassis mode for all members of the Virtual Chassis or VCF.
disable	Disable the specified Virtual Chassis mode setting if it was previously enabled. You must include at least one of the supported modes that you want to disable with this option: `fabric`, `mixed`, or `network-port`. The `request virtual-chassis mode mixed disable` command does not also automatically disable the mixed mode `ieee-clause-82` port mode option. To disable `ieee-clause-82` port mode on the device, you must include that option in the disable command as follows: `request virtual-chassis mode mixed ieee-clause-82 disable`
fabric	Set the device into fabric mode so it can participate as a member device in a VCF.
hgoe	(EX4400-24X) Configure the QSFP28 ports as VCPs in HGoE mode.
local	(Optional) Set the Virtual Chassis mode only on the member device where the command is issued.
member `member-id`	(Optional) Set the Virtual Chassis mode on the specified member of the Virtual Chassis or VCF.
mixed <ieee-clause-82>	Set the device into mixed mode so that the device can participate in a mixed Virtual Chassis or mixed VCF. You must set mixed mode with the `ieee-clause-82` option on EX4300 switches that are not multigigabit models when mixing them with EX4300 multigigabit (EX4300-48MP) model switches in an EX4300 Virtual Chassis.
network-port	(EX4400 switches only) Set an EX4400 switch into network port mode, which converts the default VCPs on the switch to network port mode so you can use them as network ports instead of VCPs.
reboot	After applying the mode change specified by the other options, reboot the device automatically. You must reboot the device for any mode change to take effect.

Required Privilege Level

system-control

Sample Output