Supervisor Missing
Jul 08,2008 00:00 by admin

Supervisor Missing

One of the more frustrating troubleshooting events is when a Supervisor disappears from the chassis. It is usually the standby Supervisor. To fix the problem, you must have console access to the Catalyst switch. Typically, a bad configuration is involved; for example, the boot variable field may have an incorrect software filename. As a result, the Supervisor is in ROMMON mode. To help mitigate boot issues, first do a dir bootflash to see what Catalyst OS software is available on the box and then select and boot the file using the boot bootflash command.

A supervisor can also be forced into ROMMON mode if the Catalyst OS image is corrupted. Two solutions can be implemented to fix this problem:

  • Load the desired image on a PCMCIA card from a different switch and then place the PCMCIA card on the bad supervisor. Next, attempt to boot the image using the boot disk command.

  • Move the Supervisor to a working Catalyst switch and let it synchronize with that switch's supervisor.

Software caveats in rare situations can also cause a Supervisor to disappear from the chassis. A quick search through available Catalyst OS caveats can help determine potential switching problems.

Like any other hardware product, sometimes the device breaks down. A quick check of the light emitting diodes (LEDs) provides the status of the module. If no LED lights, the Supervisor more than likely is faulty. Table 12-1 shows LED states and their meaning.