Hi, I have had the same problem with the user manual instructions. They talk of options that don't exist in the web interface as already mentioned. The also say nothing about removing cables. In fact it seems to indicate you need to connect the two switches prior to following the example. I tried several permutations of trying to follow the instructions and stack two switches and could not get it to work. The instructions are either outdated or not written correctly. I would offer the follow enhancement request to HP and that would be to have a stacking menu option and just three questions. What ports do you want to use for stacking, which is the master and if you want chain or ring type linking. That's all that should be required. The switches should be able to detect each other and setup the stack. I have used other enterprise switches and simply plugging them in with the stacking port will automatically create the stack without any user configuration required. Of course you can go in and change the configuration after the fact, but It's nice that the firmware was smart enough to automatically detect and setup a default stack.
I'm going to follow your instructions to see if they work. In regards to the User guide web interface instructions, can your instructions be tranlated to the exact same thing in the web interface? I would like to know where I was missing the boat with the instructions in the user guide. It may be the fact that the switches should not be cabled together initially.
Update: I followed the instructions listed above but did the equivalent through the web interface. I can't get my two switches to stack. I have switch 1 configured with a member ID of 2 and switch 2 configured with a member ID of 3. I have the IRF port 1 configured to use port 51 and IRF port 2 using port 52. I know that IRF Port 2 isn't needed for just two switches, but I have a third switch on back order, so I will have 3 total eventually. I have switch two configured the same except it has a priority of 4 where as switch 1 has a priority of 10 so that it is the Master. The higher the number the higher the priority for being the Master from what I read. So what am I missing? After saving the config and plugging in the cable of switch 1 port 51 to switch 2 port 52 no reboot occurs on any of the switches. I manually rebooted switch 2, but still no stacking. My firmware version is 7.1.045 release 3109P05
Update #2: Without changing anything with the configuration power cycling both switches seemed to do the trick and created the stack. Neither of the switches automatically rebooted according to the instructions after plugging in the cable. Manually rebooting switch 2 did not create the stack. It wasn't until both switches were power cycled did the stack actually get created. So if you are pulling your hair out following the directions and the reboot doesn't happen automatically as stated, power cycle both switches.