Stackable Switch - Terminology

Terminology

Here are other terms associated with stackable switches:

• Stacking backplane: Used to describe the connections between stacked units, and the bandwidth of that connection. Most typically, switches that have primarily Fast Ethernet ports would have at minimum Gigabit connections for its stacking backplane; likewise, switches that primarily have Gigabit Ethernet ports would have at minimum 10-Gigabit connections.
• Clustering: The term sometimes used for a stacking approach that focuses on unified management with a single IP address for multiple stackable units. Units can be distributed and of multiple types.
• Stack Master or Commander: In some stack architectures, one unit is designated the main unit of the stack. All management is routed through that single master unit. Some call this the master or commander unit. Other units in the stack are referred to as slave or member units.