Configuring an EX4650 or a QFX Series Virtual Chassis
To configure a Virtual Chassis through Juniper Mist Wired Assurance, use the instructions in the following topic: Configure a Virtual Chassis Using EX2300, EX4650, or QFX5120 Switches.
This topic discusses configuring an EX4650 or a QFX Series Virtual Chassis. For information on configuring a Virtual Chassis Fabric (VCF), see Understanding Virtual Chassis Fabric Configuration.
You configure a Virtual Chassis by configuring Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) on the member switches and interconnecting the switches using the VCPs. The VCPs pass all data and control traffic between member switches in the Virtual Chassis. See Understanding QFX Series Virtual Chassis and Understanding Mixed EX Series and QFX Series Virtual Chassis for details on the switches that can be interconnected into a Virtual Chassis, and the ports on those switches that can be used as VCPs.
When you set up a Virtual Chassis, ideally all the proposed member switches should have the default factory configuration and operating in standalone mode.
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All the switches interconnected into a Virtual Chassis must be running the same version of Junos OS. See Installing Software Packages on QFX Series Devices.
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For QFX3500 or QFX3600 switches in a Virtual Chassis, you must download the Junos OS image that supports Virtual Chassis—an image that includes “jinstall-qfx-3-” in the filename when the Junos OS image is downloaded from the Software Center. QFX3500 and QFX3600 switches that are node devices in a QFabric system cannot be part of a Virtual Chassis.
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For QFX5100 and EX4300 switches in a QFX5100 Virtual Chassis, you must download the software image for the standalone switch. EX Series and QFX switches that are in a Junos Fusion cannot be part of a Virtual Chassis.
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For a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis with both QFX5110 and QFX5100 switches, all the switches must be running the same Junos OS image that includes “-qfx-5e-” in the Junos OS software package filename.
CAUTION:You must upgrade QFX5100 switches running a Junos OS image with “-qfx-5-” in the software package filename to a “-qfx-5e-” image filename before adding them to a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis, or the Virtual Chassis will not form. See Upgrading a QFX5100 Switch with a USB Device to Join a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or Virtual Chassis Fabric.
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For a QFX5120-48YM Virtual Chassis, you need to enable HGoE mode on the switches using the
request virtual-chassis mode hgoecommand. Reboot the switches after converting them to HGoE mode.
You can set up the Virtual Chassis with either:
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A preprovisioned configuration—With preprovisioning, you deterministically control the member ID and role assigned to a member switch by tying it to its serial number.
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A nonprovisioned configuration—Without provisioning, the primary sequentially assigns a member ID to other member switches, and determines the role of each member switch using the primary-role priority value and other factors in the primary-role election algorithm.
A Virtual Chassis configuration has two switches acting in the Routing Engine role—the
primary switch and the backup switch. With any Virtual Chassis configuration, we recommend
that you always use commit synchronize rather than simply
commit to save configuration changes. This make sure the configuration
changes are saved to both switches acting as Routing Engines.
Be sure that all switches that are interconnected into a Virtual Chassis are running the same version of Junos OS. See Installing Software Packages on QFX Series Devices.
Understanding the Licensing Requirements for a Virtual Chassis
Feature licenses are required to configure higher tier features on a Virtual Chassis. WIth Juniper Flex licensing, a license is required on all members of a Virtual Chassis.
For information on the feature licensing requirements for a Virtual Chassis, see Licenses for EX Series or Software Features That Require Licenses on the QFX Series.
You can install the feature licenses after configuring the Virtual Chassis.
Configuring an EX4650 or QFX Series Virtual Chassis with a Preprovisioned Configuration
Preprovisioning a Virtual Chassis configuration allows you to assign the member ID and role for each switch in the Virtual Chassis.
Before you begin, note that you can configure a Virtual Chassis while the cables are or are not physically connected. However, when committing a preprovisioned configuration on the member switches, under certain conditions the switches will autoprovision the ports cabling the member switches together, which means that those ports are automatically converted into Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs) when the Virtual Chassis members detect the link. Conditions for autoprovisioning include having LLDP enabled on the interfaces being used for the VCP links, and neither side of the link already has the port set as a VCP.
Automatic conversion of VCP links can cause links to come up unexpectedly, so if you want to control when the VCP links become active during Virtual Chassis configuration on the member switches, before you start the configuration, you can disable the VCP auto-conversion feature or any of the conditions required for the feature. See Automatic Virtual Chassis Port (VCP) Conversion for details. If the conditions for autoprovisioning the links are not present, you must manually set the ports connecting the member switches as VCPs as described in this procedure.
To set up a Virtual Chassis using a preprovisioned configuration:
You cannot modify the primary-role priority when you are using a preprovisioned configuration. The primary-role priority values are generated automatically and controlled by the role that is assigned to the member switch in the configuration file. The two Routing Engines are assigned the same primary-role priority value. However, the member that was powered on first has higher priority according to the primary-role election algorithm. See Understanding How the Primary in a Virtual Chassis Is Elected.
If you want to change the member ID of a preprovisioned
member switch later, you must re-configure the member information
for that member switch using the member configuration statement.
For example, to re-configure member 3 (which has serial number “jkl012”)
to have 6 as its new member ID, you associate member ID 6 with the
serial number of member 3, and then delete the configuration item
for member ID 3, as follows:
[edit virtual-chassis] user@switch# set member 6 serial-number jkl012 user@switch# delete member 3
The request virtual-chassis
renumber command can only be used to change a Virtual
Chassis member ID in a nonprovisioned Virtual Chassis.
Configuring an EX4650 or a QFX Series Virtual Chassis with a Nonprovisioned Configuration
You can use a nonprovisioned configuration to set up an EX4650 or a QFX Series Virtual Chassis.
To configure the Virtual Chassis using a nonprovisioned configuration:
You can configure the Virtual Chassis while the cables are or are not physically connected.
If you don’t set primary role priorities on any
member switches, the default primary-role priority value is128. If the primary role priorities are the same on all members, the
primary-role election algorithm determines the member switches in
the primary and backup Routing Engine roles based on the other factors
in the algorithm. You control the role settings by configuring the
primary-role priority to a higher number on the switches you want
to be the primary and backup members. .(see Configuring Primary Role of a Virtual Chassis). We recommend
that you specify the same primary-role priority value for the members
you want to be the primary and backup members. This example assigns
the highest possible primary-role priority to two members. However,
the member that was powered on first has higher priority according
to the primary-role election algorithm. See Understanding How the Primary in a Virtual Chassis Is Elected for details on all the factors considered when electing the primary.
The other members have the default primary-role priority in this example,
and they become linecard role members.
If you want to change the member ID that the primary automatically
assigned to a member switch, use the request virtual-chassis renumber command.