Cluster management configuration
Cluster management overview
Cluster management definition
With the growth of networks, a great number of access devices are needed at network borders.
Management for these devices is very complicated; moreover, each device needs an IP address and
wastes IP address resources. Problems can be solved by cluster, which is a group of network devices.
Cluster management is an effective way to manage large numbers of distributed network devices. Cluster
management offers the following advantages:
• Saves public IP address resource
• Simplifies configuration and management tasks. By configuring a public IP address on one device,
you can configure and manage a group of devices without the trouble of logging in to each device
separately.
• Provides a useful topology discovery and display function for network monitoring and debugging
• Allows simultaneous software upgrading and parameter configuration on multiple devices, free
from topology and distance limitations
Roles in a cluster
The devices in a cluster play different roles according to their different functions and status. You can
specify the following roles for the devices:
• Management switch (Administrator): Providing management interfaces for all devices in a cluster.
The only device configured with a public IP address. You can specify one and only one
management switch for a cluster. Any configuration, management, and monitoring of the other
devices in a cluster can only be implemented through the management switch. When a device is
specified as the management switch, it collects related information to discover and define
candidate switches.
• Member switch (Member): A device managed by the management switch in a cluster.
• Candidate switch (Candidate): A device that does not yet belong to any cluster but can be added
to a cluster. Different from a member switch, its topology information has been collected by the
management switch but it has not been added to the cluster.
105