Stacking Topologies - SMC Networks SMC6248M Installation Manual

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ONNECTING WITCHES IN A TACK

Stacking Topologies

Line Topology – All units in the stack must be connected via stacking
cable. You can connect units in a simple cascade configuration, connecting
Down ports to Up ports, from the top to bottom unit. Using this "line"
topology, if any link or unit in the stack fails, the stack is split into two
separate segments. The new stack segments will then reboot and resume
normal operation if a new segment contains the original Master unit, or if a
new segment now contains only one switch. In other words, a new
segment will resume normal operation unless it contains more than one
switch and the Master button is not depressed on any of these switches. If
the later case is true, and a segment fails to resume operation, you can
either replace the failed connection to restore operation to the original
stack, or depress the Master button on one of the switches in this segment.
When the stack reboots and resumes operations, the IP address will be set
either using DHCP (according to the factory defaults), or may be set to a
static address if you have configured one in the switch's startup file. To
avoid conflicting IP addresses on different segments, you can configure
each of the switches in the stack to boot up using DHCP, or set a unique
IP address in the startup file for each switch. Refer to the Management
Guide for further information on configuring the switch.
Ring Topology – If you are using a wrap-around stack topology, a single
point of failure in the stack will not cause the stack to fail. It would take
two or more points of failure to break the stack apart. The stack will
merely reboot to detect the new stack's topology, and then resume normal
operation.
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