Scenario 3 - Manually configuring a three member traditional stack in a ring topology

If you are connecting units that have been individually configured for stacking and want unit IDs to be assigned based on physical sequence, you may want to configure the stack manually.

1. Power on the devices. Do not connect the stacking cables at this point.
2. Assign a priority of 255 to unit 1 and a priority of 240 to unit 2 using the priority command. It is not mandatory to set a lower priority for the third unit. Enter the stack enable command on each device.

   Unit 1

   device# configure terminal
   device(config)# stack unit 1
   device(config-unit-1)# priority  255
   device(config-unit-1)# stack  enable
   Enable stacking. This unit actively participates in stacking
   device(config-unit-1)# write memory
   Write startup-config done.
   Flash Memory Write (8192 bytes per dot) .Flash to Flash Done.
   device(config-unit-1)# end
   

   Unit 2

   device# configure terminal
   device(config)# stack suggested-id 2
   device(config)# stack unit 1
   device(config-unit-1)# priority  240
   device(config-unit-1)# stack enable
   Enable stacking. This unit actively participates in stacking
   device(config-unit-1)# end
   

   Unit 3

   device# configure terminal
   device(config)# stack suggested-id 3
   device(config)# stack enable
   Enable stacking. This unit actively participates in stacking
   Write startup-config done.
   Flash Memory Write (8192 bytes per dot) .Flash to Flash Done.
   device(config-unit-1)# end
   

3. Connect the devices in a stack topology. The active controller retains its ID. The rest of the units are assigned unique ID numbers depending on the sequence in which you connected them.

   For more information about cabling the devices, refer to the appropriate hardware installation guide.

   NOTE

   This method does not guarantee sequential stack IDs if you do not configure the optional stack suggested-id command on each standalone unit. If you want to change stack IDs to make them sequential, you can use secure-setup. Refer to Renumbering stack units.

   NOTE

   You can configure the stack suggested-id command in a standalone unit before using the stack enable command to cause the unit to join the stack. A unit is assigned the suggested ID if no other unit in the stack has that ID.