Patent ID: 8135832

Claim:
A method for detecting multiple Active devices in a stack, comprising: generating, by a new Active device, a Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) packet when a stacking link is in failure, the LACP packet containing a bridge MAC address and a member number of the new Active device; transmitting, by the new Active device, the LACP packet to a stacking member through an access switch; and determining, by the stacking member, whether collision of multiple Active devices exists according to the bridge MAC address and the member number, wherein determining, by the stacking member, whether the collision of multiple Active devices exists according to the bridge MAC address and the member number comprises: determining the collision of multiple Active devices does not exist when a bridge MAC address of the stacking member is different from the bridge MAC address contained in the LACP packet; and determining the collision of multiple Active devices exists when the bridge MAC address of the stacking member is the same as the bridge MAC address contained in the LACP packet and a member number of the stacking member is different from the member number contained in the LACP packet.