Dell PowerConnect 8132 Manual page 13

Stacking Dell PowerConnect Switches: 8132, 8132F, 8164, 8164F
Figure 8. Stacking Dell PowerConnect 8100 series switches using 40G and 10G stack links
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Notice the top two switches are stacked together using four cables plugged into 10G ports. For each
remaining switch in the stack, one cable from a 40G stacking port on a switch is connected to a 40G
stacking port on the next switch. This process is repeated until all of the devices are connected. To
complete the ring topology for the stack, one stacking port on the last switch is connected to a
stacking port on the first switch.
Things to consider when cabling a stack together:

Only use interfaces with the same bandwidth to stack between members. It is not supported to
mix 40G QSFP+ ports with 10G SFP+ or 10Gbase-T ports on a switch when stacking. It is okay
however to use one interface type between two stack members, then a different interface type
between two other stacking members as shown in Figure 8.

A QSFP+ port is counted as one port when stacking. Therefore if stacking only two switches
together, all QSFP+ ports (including those on an expansion module) can be used to stack
between them when in 40G port mode.

Up to eight ports may be used on any switch for stacking purposes.
Connecting additional cables in parallel increases the stacking bandwidth. Up to eight ports can be
connected in parallel when only stacking two switches. When stacking three or more switches, up to 4
cables can be connected in parallel between members. It is recommended to have the same
bandwidth between the stack members. It is also recommended to connect the stack in a ring topology
for resiliency. Figure 9 shows an example of connecting four stack ports between each stacking peer.
Note: In a stack of three or more switches, Dell strongly recommends connecting the stack in a
ring topology so that each switch is connected to two other switches.
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