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QUICK TIPS: Installing Multiple Cisco Switches

January 7, 2016

In the Field - I was working with a project team installing over 100 Cisco switches across three towers. Daunting as that is, it was also an active construction site, which means power is not reliable and in some cases and no elevators were available.

In this blog we will go over a quick tip that may be useful when installing multiple switches.

The project was for me and another consultant to rack and configure as many switches as we could within a three week period. The contractor I was working with was not too interested in installing the equipment (I appreciated his honesty), so we did one rack together so he can at least see what is involved.

Being more seasoned, I volunteered to rack the remaining switches and he could configure them, which was the short end of the stick from my perspective. Racking the switches involved physically retrieving the equipment from the storage room in the basement, transporting it to the relevant floors, unboxing, installing, labelling, discarding the empty boxes and wrapping the equipment with bags to protect against dust. If we had power, the other consultant configured the equipment. If we didn’t have power, we noted it and moved on.

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The next day the project manager asked me if I would be able to manage the project since the other consultant would not be in that day. I asked what exactly he was talking about. He thought the two of us were racking the switches on all the floors. I chuckled and explained that one person can do it. The project manager was shocked and said that he spoke to a few network analysts and all of them said it was a two person job. He then asked if I mind showing him exactly how it did it.

As you may know, the little tips you pick up tend to go a long way. Some people call it a “lifehack,” “a hack,” but I prefer a tip or trick. 

Check out this “Quick Tip” on Installing Multiple Cisco Switches:

 

What I couldn’t show you in the video is that it doesn’t matter if you need to install one or five switches, it the same process. The only difference is with more than one switch, start with the bottom one and use the existing switch as a shelf to support the new switch and work your way up.


Want to learn more about the many network tools that help you manage your network? Download Network Connectivity A Go-To Guide

 

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Heartbeats Packets Inside the Bypass TAP

If the inline security tool goes off-line, the TAP will bypass the tool and automatically keep the link flowing. The Bypass TAP does this by sending heartbeat packets to the inline security tool. As long as the inline security tool is on-line, the heartbeat packets will be returned to the TAP, and the link traffic will continue to flow through the inline security tool.

If the heartbeat packets are not returned to the TAP (indicating that the inline security tool has gone off-line), the TAP will automatically 'bypass' the inline security tool and keep the link traffic flowing. The TAP also removes the heartbeat packets before sending the network traffic back onto the critical link.

While the TAP is in bypass mode, it continues to send heartbeat packets out to the inline security tool so that once the tool is back on-line, it will begin returning the heartbeat packets back to the TAP indicating that the tool is ready to go back to work. The TAP will then direct the network traffic back through the inline security tool along with the heartbeat packets placing the tool back inline.

Some of you may have noticed a flaw in the logic behind this solution!  You say, “What if the TAP should fail because it is also in-line? Then the link will also fail!” The TAP would now be considered a point of failure. That is a good catch – but in our blog on Bypass vs. Failsafe, I explained that if a TAP were to fail or lose power, it must provide failsafe protection to the link it is attached to. So our network TAP will go into Failsafe mode keeping the link flowing.

Glossary

  1. Single point of failure: a risk to an IT network if one part of the system brings down a larger part of the entire system.

  2. Heartbeat packet: a soft detection technology that monitors the health of inline appliances. Read the heartbeat packet blog here.

  3. Critical link: the connection between two or more network devices or appliances that if the connection fails then the network is disrupted.

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