MCT Board Type Compatibility

Multi-Chassis Trunking (MCT) requires similar functionality between peer devices to ensure compatibility. A type-length-value (TLV) is introduced to differentiate the board types used in some hardware devices that can run the same software versions but have different functional capabilities.

The ICX 7550, ICX 7650, and ICX 7850 devices can run the same software versions although some of their capabilities are different. If these devices are used as MCT peers, some basic MCT functionality, such as the MAC table size, can differ between peers. To avoid any issues, the device board type information is added in new fields as a TLV in the version information message used during the handshake signal, and this identifies the hardware. The board type check is performed before the Cluster Communication Protocol (CCP) is activated to prevent any unnecessary connection operations.

The show cluster command output displays a message to explain when the CCP is down because the board type does not match with the peer device as shown in the following example.

 Last Reason for CCP Down: Image version or board type doesn't match with peer
 Peer State: CCP Down (CCP is Down)
 Reason for CCP Down: Image version or board type doesn't match with peer