EX2200 Virtual Chassis - Now supported

[martinbrown2k]

I seem to recall reading a post not too long ago asking about whether Virtual Chassis was available on the EX2200.

As you may have noticed, Junos 12.2 has just been released and with it, it adds virtual chassis for the EX2200 for up to 4 switches (Along with other key features of course).

If anyone wants this feature, they can read about it here: 

http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/en_US/junos12.2/topics/concept/virtual-chassis-ex4200-overview.html

Or you can find the release notes here:

http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/en_US/junos12.2/information-products/topic-collections/release-notes...

[martinbrown2k]

Further to my last post, here is a screen shot where I am configuring the VCP on a EX2200.

Obviously, there are no inbuilt VCP, so you need to dedicate a switchport as a VCP.  As you can see, you cannot just use any port, you must use an SFP based port.

[cosx]

So what's the deal with EX2200 (maybe) requiring a license? When we tried to put a "virtual-chassis" stanza in the configuration, the commit complained about missing licenses, and sure enough the EX license page for 12.2,

http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/en_US/junos12.2/topics/concept/ex-series-software-licenses-overview....

Says that EX2200 need a license for "Virtual Chassis Lite." And what is Virtual Chassis Lite? Can't find that name anywhere else.

That all said, you can run a VC without anything in the actual configuration file. Our pair of EX2200s seem to be humming along fine in a VC with no license, no virtual-chassis config,

--- JUNOS 12.2R1.8 built 2012-08-25 01:01:34 UTC
{master:0}
cosx@vc-untrust> show virtual-chassis 

Virtual Chassis ID: cede.dead.beef
Virtual Chassis Mode: Enabled
                                           Mstr           Mixed Neighbor List
Member ID  Status   Serial No    Model     prio  Role      Mode ID  Interface
0 (FPC 0)  Prsnt    CW02110XXXXX ex2200-24t-4g 128 Master*   NA  1  vcp-255/1/0
1 (FPC 1)  Prsnt    CW02110YYYYY ex2200-24t-4g 128 Backup    NA  0  vcp-255/1/0

Member ID for next new member: 2 (FPC 2)

[martinbrown2k]

Hi Cosx

In a VC with EX2200 switches, you can have a maximum of 4 switches in the VC, whereas with the EX3300, 4200 etc, you can have 10.  This is what they would mean by 'lite'.  It's not a full blown VC.

With reference to the license.  What will happen is, your log will be filled with messages stating you don't have a license.  If your switches were connected to a syslog server, then it would become a nuisance and could also slow your switch down. This is the same when running PIM or OSPF on the EX2200 without a license.

Hope this helps.

[abrissonnet]

Hi,

Good news except the licence for this feature....
What about the EX2200-C, does it support VC lite on the combo uplink port ? RJ45 or SFP ?

Thanks in advance

[martinbrown2k]

Absolutely, the EX2200-C supports VC too and in addition can be interconnected with either other EX2200-C and/or with EX2200.  Connectivity is via the uplink ports only, but that can be either via RJ45 or Fibre SFP.

[martinbrown2k]

In case you'd like to have a read, here's a link with a little more information:  

http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/en_US/release-independent/junos/topics/concept/ex2200-virtual-chassi...

[bipingiri]

Hi,

I have just configured VC in EX2200. While commiting it said license error but still the commit completes successfully and VC is in effect. There is now two different alarm related to licencing. Does VC in EX2200 require license?? If yes what is the cost for it and where can I make a purchase??

Thank You

[martinbrown2k]

Hi there,

To stop the alarms you would need to purchase the Enhanced Feature License (EFL) for your switches.  As there are 3 sizes of EX2200, 12 port, 24 port and 48 port, you would select the corresponding part number.  These are:

EX-12-EFL

EX-24-EFL

EX-48-EFL

To purchase these, you would need to go through your local reseller or google the part number and select a supplier local to you.  Price varies between regions, but as an example, here is the 24 port version from a reseller based in Florida, USA:

http://www.vology.com/shop/juniper-ex-24-efl-26830

[ohadzamir]

Hello,

How many licenses would i need to form a VC array?

One license per switch or one per VC?