Administrator Guide

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Stacking
Stacking is supported on the MXL switch platform.
Stacking is supported on a MXL 10/40GbE switch on the 40GbE ports (for the base module) or a 2-Port 40GbE QSFP+ module. You
can connect up to six MXL 10/40GbE switches in a single stack. Stacking provides a single point of management and network
interface controller (NIC) teaming for high availability and higher throughput.
Stacking MXL 10/40GbE Switches
A stack of MXL 10/40GbE switches operates as a virtual chassis with management units (primary and standby) and member units.
The Dell Networking operating software (OS) elects a primary (master) and secondary (standby) management unit; all other units
are member units. The forwarding database resides on the master switch; all other stack units maintain a synchronized local copy.
Each unit in the stack makes forwarding decisions based on their local copy.
The following example shows how you can stack four MXL 10/40GbE switches and the role played by each switch in the stack. The
MXL 10/40GbE switches are connected to operate as a single stack in a ring topology using only the 40GbE ports on the base
modules. You can use the 40GbE ports on the base module and FlexIO modules to create a stack in either a ring or daisy-chain
topology.
Figure 119. Four-Stacked MXL 10/40GbE Switches
Stacking
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