Avaya M770 User Manual

Chapter 1

Introduction

Avaya M770 ATM Switch User’s Guide

Master Agent and Sub Agent

The M770 ATM Switch is a fully distributed ATM switch. Each module has its own
switching and CPU power. In order to present the switch as a single and united
entity, one module is automatically elected as a Master Agent while the other
modules are Sub Agents. The Master Agent status is shown by the Network
Management Agent (NMA) LED.
The Master Agent is the module hosting the Management LEC with all its
functionality: IP address and switch-wide information. The Master Agent is also a
regular module with all the functionality of a Sub-Agent such as controlling the
physical ports, virtual ports and download.
The Master and Sub Agents have slightly different CLI options. For example, the
Master Agent has the “ip” command and the “access” command which will enable
you to access a Sub Agent from the Master Agent. A simple way to find out whether
you are currently communicating with a Master Agent is to type

help

at the

command line and check whether there is an “access” command option.
All the information configured to the Master Agent (IP, ATM Prefix) is backed up
by all the Sub Agents, so if the Master Agent is removed, another module will be
elected and all previous configuration settings will be kept.