Stacking (network technology)
Stacking (from the English stacking for "stacking" or "(on) layers") describes the connection of two or more network switches via an internal (stackable) data bus . In addition to the high port density, this has the stack-typical advantage that the interconnected devices are externally visible and maintainable as a system unit with only one IP address . This means that the fact that several units are doing their work here is transparent for the user - apart from the gain in performance . Devices connected in this way can be stacked via the internal bus in such a way that uplinks for the user data - i.e. connections between the stacked switches via network cables - are superfluous. Such connections are usually more broadband than individual connections via fiber optics or other network cables, in which only a single point-to-point connection - without an interposed (general) stack memory or (special) protocol stack - is used.
Web links
- Network Basics - Page at Abyter.de
- Netgear GSM7328S - device description at TecChannel