Nortel FAST Stacking

Nortel FAST Stacking or Flexible Advanced Stacking Technology (FAST), [ [http://products.nortel.com/go/product_assoc.jsp?segId=0&parId=0&rend_id=2583&contOid=100175856&prod_id=42140&locale=en-us Ethernet Routing Switch 5510 FAQ] ] is a Nortel switch technology that allows eight Nortel ERS 5500 series switches to operate as one 640-Gbit/s switch.

One 55x0 series switch in the stack will function as the base switch for managing, configuring and monitoring all the other switches in the stack. The base switch is selectable by toggelling a small switch in the rear of the switch or by a front panel configuration pushbutton. The entire stack can be manages from the base switch by several methods: Console into the base switch and use command line or a menu; telnet/SSH into the IP address of the base switch IP address and use command line or menu; SNMP into the IP address of the base switch to use the GUI configuration tools; or HTTP/HTTPS into the base switch to use the web configuration and management tools. When the base unit is upgraded/downgraded with new software or configuration files the base unit will appropiately load all the other switches in the stack.

All switches in the stack share configuration files, if one switch fails the remaining switches continue to function and wrap the traffic around the failed unit.

The Auto Unit Replacement (AUR) allows the maintainer to hot swap (replace) any switch (including the master) in the stack without powering down the stack or rebooting the stack. The new unconfigured switch will be integrated into the stack and be reconfigured to match the removed switch.

See also

* Nortel ERS 5500
* List of Nortel Products and Protocols
* Power over Ethernet
* List of Nortel Technologies

References