Should i stack switches

These are the switches especially the series that end user devices plug into. Phones, computers, APs, etc. These are not datacenter switches. That area is reserved for Nexus switches. The cons would come in at the distribution or core layers of Cisco's topology, because they were not designed to do that work.

That's the only reason those were chosen. If you know if anywhere else that I can get switches of that level at a fraction of the normal cost please let me know. Joe, that makes sense. I wasn't aware that these were chosen due to price. I've come across quite a few people who purchase S switches without being aware there is the X series available. I just assumed that this was the case as I didn't see it in the OP. You know what they say when you assume I apologize. I've never used that site, however I know there are other sites out there that work similarly.

I just wanted to make sure that if available you would look at the X series as opposed to the S series. They are still good switches. You still probably won't saturate the 40Gb backplane. The major con of stacks is that it does not provide full redundancy, so certain maintenance and failure scenarios require downtime. But in a smaller setup this can often not be a problem. Due to these reasons, administrators generally do not prefer this option.

Administrators usually prefer the second option as it not only reduces the cost but also utilizes the existing devices. But, the second option is not as easy as the first option. When you connect two or more Cisco switches on the uplink ports through the Ethernet cables, the following will happen after the connection. A Cisco switch has its own IOS and works as a separate device. It uses the MAC address table to make the frame forwarding decision. For easier and remote management an IP address can also be assigned to it.

If we connect switches to expand the network, these features and functions are not only used to manage the network but also used to secure the network from unauthorized access. If we connect switches to use them as a single large switch, these features and functions become the biggest obstacle. MLAG vs. Stacking: What Is Your Option?

This entry was posted in Enterprise Network and tagged Cisco stack switch , SFP switch , stack switch , stackable switch , switch stacking. Bookmark the permalink. Fiber Transceiver Solution.

Skip to content. Posted on December 21, by Admin. What Is Stack Switch? In stackable switches, the stack is usually built with cables that connect all the switches in a specific topology. The stacking topology also define the resiliency of the stacked solution, you can have typically different kind of cabling options depending on the switch vendor and models :.

For example, the Aruba Switch Series uses a dedicated stack module on the back and supports all those topologies the ring topology only with a single ring. Why Use Stacking? One of the major benefits of using stacking depending on the vendor is the logical switch view with a single management interface, which makes the management and operational tasks very easy.

Compared to the modular switch option, stackable switches provide a less expensive option especially for SMB use cases , but with similar scalability and usually with better flexibility. Resiliency and performance can be different worse or better depending on the implementation. With regards to flexibility, you can usually mix a combination of different port speed and media types, but also mix different models of switches with also different capabilities for example, some switches with PoE functions.