Cabletron Systems STS16-20D, STS16-20R manual Scenario using a Stacker Link and a Matrix Switch

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Figure 15. Scenario using a Stacker Link and a Matrix Switch

Figure 16 on the next page shows a network design where SmartStack STS16-20D/ STS16-20R uses network ports to connect to a remote SmartStack STS16-20RM switch. In many Token Ring networks, the cabling layout requires such remote extension of rings. When more than one network port at each end is used to connect the same two switches they can be configured as a CrossLink which allows for a data pipe with up to 32 Mbps times the number of ports in the pipe in bandwidth. For a description of CrossLinks, see the section “CrossLink” on page 110.

As a general rule of thumb, you should combine SmartStack STS16-20D/STS16- 20R with SmartStack STS16-20RM because SmartStack STS16-20RM gives the ultimate flexibility via its expansion module capability. Another good network design rule of thumb is to reduce the number of rings in a switched network - switched rings do not have the cabling limitations and the limitations on the number of ring stations as the shared media Token Rings. The reduction of the number of rings - ultimately leading to one single logical switched ring - may prove advantageous if you want to reduce the number of hops across source routing bridges, and limit the use of source routing bridging.

SmartStack STS16-20D/STS16-20R Token Ring Switches Installation and User Guide Preparing for Installation