Describes the implementation of the Ethernet switch Stacking Module.

In order to meet the requirements of more storage platforms or host servers in the network, vswitches need to be expanded or replaced on a regular basis. The performance of large vswitches is superior to that of small vswitches, And the vswitches cannot be fully used.

When the number of ports that a single switch can provide is insufficient to meet the requirements of the network computer, more than two switches must provide the corresponding number of ports, which also involves the connection between switches. Basically, there are two ways to connect a vswitch: Ethernet switch stack and cascade.

GBIC and SFP

GBIC: CiscoGBIC (GigaStackGigabitInterfaceConverter) is a common and low-cost Gigabit Ethernet switch stack module that provides high-speed connections between Cisco switches. It can build Ethernet switch stacks with high-density ports, it can also be connected to a server or a gigabit trunk.

It provides a low-cost and high-performance solution for the transition from a fast Ethernet to a Gigabit Ethernet. In addition, optical fiber can also be used to connect to the Remote High-Speed Backbone Network. GBIC modules are divided into two categories: GBIC modules for common cascade use and GBIC modules for stacking Ethernet switches.

The GBIC modules of cascade GBIC modules can be divided into four types. One is the 1000Base-TGBIC module (1), which is applicable to cat5e or cat6 twisted pair wires with a maximum transmission distance of 100 meters; the second is the 1000Base-SXGBIC module (as shown in figure 2). It is applicable to multimode multi-fiber (MMF) and has a maximum transmission distance of 500 meters.

3. 1000Base-LX/LHGBIC module, applicable to single-mode optical fiber (SMF) with a maximum transmission distance of 10 km; 4. 1000Base-ZXGBIC, applicable to long-wave single-mode optical fiber with a maximum transmission distance of 70 km ~ 100 km. The GBIC module is installed in the GBIC slots of the Gigabit Ethernet module to provide gigabit connections to other switches and servers. 3 shows the GBIC installed in the ciscoft-st4006 Gigabit Ethernet module.

The GBIC module of the Ethernet switch stack is used to implement cheap Gigabit connection between switches. 4 shows the GigaStackGBIC Ethernet switch stack module for ciscoft-st2950/3550. It should be noted that GigaStackGBIC is specifically used for the stacking of Gigabit Ethernet switches between switches. The connection between GigaStackGBIC uses a dedicated Ethernet switch stack cable.

SFPSFP (SmallForm-factorPluggables) can be simply understood as an upgraded version of GBIC. The SFP module (as shown in Figure 5) is half the size of the GBIC module. You can configure more than twice the number of ports on the same panel. The SFP module is basically the same as that of GBIC, so it is also called Mini-GBIC by some switch manufacturers ).

The ethernet switch stack provides interfaces for Ethernet switch stack interfaces. Generally, the bandwidth of an Ethernet switch stack is dozens of times the speed of the switch port, for example, a Mbps switch.

After stacking, the bandwidth between the two switches can reach several hundred megabytes or even Gigabit. Multiple Ethernet switches are stacked by a multi-port stacked parent module that provides backplane bus bandwidth and a single-port stacked sub-module, and different switches are inserted to implement Ethernet switch stacking.

However, not all switches support Ethernet switch stacking, depending on the brand of the switch, or even whether the model supports Ethernet switch stacking. Ethernet switch stacking requires not only dedicated stacking cables, but also dedicated Ethernet switch stacking modules, such as CiscoGigaStackGBIC.

In addition, switches in the same stack must be of the same brand. Otherwise, there is no way to Stack Ethernet switches. Therefore, if you want to use the Ethernet switch stack to expand the port, you must make a purchase plan in advance. The stacking of switches is the quickest and most convenient way to expand ports. Ethernet switch Stack has many advantages, including the following:

Vswitches of different brands of high-density ports support different layers. Generally, two layers can be stacked, and up to eight layers can be stacked. Therefore, it can provide hundreds of ports for intensive computer networks in a small space.

To facilitate management, not only Switches of the same brand or different brands can be expanded through cascade, but also between switches and hubs can be cascade. Therefore, level-1 Unicom is often an effective means to connect vswitches of different brands.

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