<s>
A	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
network	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
that	O
is	O
fully	O
functional	O
operating	O
standalone	O
but	O
which	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
set	O
up	O
to	O
operate	O
together	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
other	O
network	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
,	O
with	O
this	O
group	O
of	O
switches	O
showing	O
the	O
characteristics	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
switch	O
but	O
having	O
the	O
port	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
sum	O
of	O
the	O
combined	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
common	O
characteristic	O
of	O
a	O
stack	O
acting	O
as	O
a	O
single	O
switch	O
is	O
that	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
single	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
remote	B-Protocol
administration	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
stack	O
as	O
a	O
whole	O
,	O
not	O
an	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
the	O
administration	O
of	O
each	O
unit	O
in	O
the	O
stack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
are	O
customarily	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
rack-mounted	B-Application
,	O
managed	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
of	O
1	O
–	O
2	O
rack	B-Application
unit	O
(	O
RU	O
)	O
in	O
size	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
fixed	O
set	O
of	O
data	O
ports	O
on	O
the	O
front	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
is	O
distinct	O
from	O
a	O
standalone	O
switch	O
,	O
which	O
only	O
operates	O
as	O
a	O
single	O
entity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
is	O
distinct	O
from	O
a	O
switch	O
modular	O
chassis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
have	O
these	O
benefits	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Simplified	O
network	O
administration	O
:	O
Whether	O
a	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
operates	O
alone	O
or	O
“	O
stacked	O
”	O
with	O
other	O
units	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
always	O
just	O
a	O
single	O
management	B-Architecture
interface	I-Architecture
for	O
the	O
network	O
administrator	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deployment	O
flexibility	O
:	O
Stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
can	O
operate	O
together	O
with	O
other	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
or	O
can	O
operate	O
independently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improving	O
backplane	B-Architecture
:	O
A	O
series	O
of	O
switches	O
,	O
when	O
stacked	O
together	O
,	O
improves	O
the	O
backplane	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
switches	O
in	O
stack	O
also	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
with	O
a	O
modular	O
chassis	O
switch	O
,	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
have	O
these	O
drawbacks	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
associated	O
with	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
can	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Single	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
multiple	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiple	O
switches	O
can	O
share	O
one	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
administrative	O
purposes	O
,	O
thus	O
conserving	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stack-level	O
views	O
and	O
commands	O
can	O
be	O
provided	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
Command	B-Application
Line	I-Application
Interface	I-Application
(	O
CLI	O
)	O
and/or	O
embedded	O
Web	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Link	B-Architecture
aggregation	I-Architecture
of	O
ports	O
on	O
different	O
units	O
in	O
the	O
stack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
stacking	O
technologies	O
allow	O
for	O
link	B-Architecture
aggregation	I-Architecture
from	O
ports	O
on	O
different	O
stacked	O
switches	O
either	O
to	O
other	O
switches	O
not	O
in	O
the	O
stack	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
a	O
core	O
network	O
)	O
or	O
to	O
allow	O
servers	O
and	O
other	O
devices	O
to	O
have	O
multiple	O
connections	O
to	O
the	O
stack	O
for	O
improved	O
redundancy	O
and	O
throughput	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
all	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
support	O
link	B-Architecture
aggregation	I-Architecture
across	O
the	O
stack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
companies	O
call	O
their	O
switches	O
stackable	O
if	O
they	O
support	O
a	O
single	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
multiple	O
units	O
even	O
if	O
they	O
lack	O
other	O
features	O
from	O
this	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Here	O
are	O
other	O
terms	O
associated	O
with	O
stackable	B-Protocol
switches	I-Protocol
:	O
</s>
<s>
Stacking	O
backplane	B-Architecture
Used	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
connections	O
between	O
stacked	O
units	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
bandwidth	O
of	O
that	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
typically	O
,	O
switches	O
that	O
have	O
primarily	O
Fast	O
Ethernet	O
ports	O
would	O
have	O
at	O
minimum	O
Gigabit	O
connections	O
for	O
its	O
stacking	O
backplane	B-Architecture
;	O
likewise	O
,	O
switches	O
that	O
primarily	O
have	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
ports	O
would	O
have	O
at	O
minimum	O
10-Gigabit	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clustering	O
The	O
term	O
sometimes	O
used	O
for	O
a	O
stacking	O
approach	O
that	O
focuses	O
on	O
unified	O
management	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
for	O
multiple	O
stackable	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
