're running in VSS, we don't have a partner. That will be resolved when we configure and reboot the right switch: 6509-VE-Left#sho redundancy Redundant System Information : Available system uptime = 3 minutes Switchovers system experienced = 0 Standby failures = 0 Last switchover reason = none Hardware Mode = Simplex Configured Redundancy Mode = sso Operating Redundancy Mode = SSO Maintenance Mode = Disabled Communications = Down Reason: Simplex mode [-- output truncated --] Installing VSS We can see the status of the VSS cluster with the show switch virtual role command: 6509-VE-Left#sho switch virtual role Switch Switch Status Preempt Priority Role Session ID Number Oper (Conf) Oper (Conf) Local Remote LOCAL FALSE (N 100(100) ACTIVE In dual-active recovery mode: No Based on the configuration we've created for the left switch, here's the configuration for the right switch: redundancy mode sso switch virtual domain 100 switch 2 switch 2 priority 100 mac-address use-virtual int port-channel 20 switch virtual link 2 int range ten 3/4-5 , ten 5/4-5 channel-group 20 mode on no shut After I add this configuration, the switches will be capable of melding into a single logical switch. Once the switches have been converted to VSS mode, each needs to again be rebooted. When the switches have been configured for VSS, the 10 Gbps VSL link will be recognized and brought online before other module initializations. This is only important during the initial configuration and should not be a concern during normal operation. When booting a VSS cluster, you can see these links come up before the rest of the switch. Here's a snippet of output from a booting VSS pair: *Sep 23 15:23:47.856: %PFREDUN-6-ACTIVE: Initializing as ACTIVE processor for this switch *Sep 23 15:23:53.912: %VSL_BRINGUP-6-MODULE_UP: VSL module in slot 5 switch 1 brought up *Sep 23 15:24:28.191: %VSLP-5-RRP_ROLERESOLVED: Role resolved as STANDBY by VSLP *Sep 23 15:24:28.195: %VSL-5-VSLCNTRL LINK: New VSL Control Link 5/5 *Sep 23 15:24:28.712: %VSLP-5-VSL UP: Read