Dell manual PowerConnect B-FCX Switch Hardware Installation Guide

2 Preparing the installation site

In a linear stack topology there is a single stack cable connection between each switch that carries two-way communications across the stack. In ring stack topology, an extra cable is connected between the top and bottom switches forming a “ring” or “closed-loop.” The closed-loop cable provides a redundant path for the stack link, so if one link fails, stack communications can be maintained. Figure 5 illustrates a ring-topology stacking configuration.

You can form a stack containing up to eight PowerConnect B-FCX units. To connect switches in a stack, perform the following steps:

1.Plug one end of a stack cable into one of the CX4 stacking ports of the top unit.

2.Plug the other end of the stack cable into one of the stacking ports of the next unit.

3.Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each unit in the stack. Form a simple chain starting with a stacking port on the top unit and ending at a stacking port on the bottom unit (stacking up to eight units).

4.(Optional) To form a ring stack topology, plug one end of a stack cable into the remaining stacking port on the bottom unit and the other end into the remaining stacking port on the top unit.

FIGURE 22 Connecting switches in a linear (top) and ring (bottom) topology stack

22	PowerConnect B-FCX Switch Hardware Installation Guide
	53-1002267-01