Setting an Uplink Port on an EX Series or QFX Series Switch as a Virtual Chassis Port

You typically configure a port as a Virtual Chassis Port (VCP) for one of the following reasons:

• You are configuring a Virtual Chassis composed of switches that support Virtual Chassis but do not have default-configured VCPs or dedicated VCPs.

• You are using default-configured VCPs or dedicated VCPs to interconnect members in a Virtual Chassis, and want to add redundant VCP links between members using additional ports that can be configured into VCPs.

• You want to interconnect two switches into a Virtual Chassis that have dedicated VCPs but are located in different wiring closets or sites, and the switches are farther apart than the maximum length of a dedicated VCP cable.

• You previously changed a default-configured VCP to use it as a network or uplink port, and now you want to use it as a VCP again.

We recommend that you have two uplink VCP connections within each wiring closet for redundancy. VCPs automatically bundle into a Link Aggregation Group (LAG) when two or more ports operating at the same speed are configured into VCPs between the same two member switches. See Understanding Virtual Chassis Port Link Aggregation for details.

Before converting a port into a VCP and interconnecting the switch into a Virtual Chassis:

From the Virtual Chassis, you can set an uplink port on the local member or on a specified member as a VCP.

To set the uplink ports for the local member switch (for example, member 0) and for a different member switch (for example, member 1) to function as VCPs:

You can set an uplink VCP on a standalone switch before interconnecting the link into an existing Virtual Chassis. You must set the port as a VCP for the Virtual Chassis primary to detect the switch and complete the process of adding it as a member.

To set one uplink VCP on the potential member, which is currently operating as a standalone switch:

You might want to convert a VCP back into an uplink or network port if:

• You want to use a default-configured VCP on a switch as a network or uplink port instead of as a VCP.

• You want to add a new member switch or a new VCP link in an existing Virtual Chassis using autoprovisioning, where the VCP links form automatically when you cable them only if the ports on both sides of the link are not already set as VCPs. (See Automatic Virtual Chassis Port (VCP) Conversion for details.)

• You remove a switch from a Virtual Chassis and want to use it as a standalone switch again.

  Note:

  In this case, whenever possible we recommend that you revert the switch back to its default factory configuration to guarantee the smoothest transition back to standalone operation. See Removing or Replacing a Member Switch of a Virtual Chassis Configuration.

To remove the VCP setting on a port:

You usually do this on the switch with the VCP itself, so you don’t need to include the member member-id option because the command applies by default on the member where you run it.