Dell Force10 S50N Series Installing Manual

Also see for Force10 S50N Series: Configuration guide Quick start guide Implementation guide

Contents

Installing the Switch | 25Connecting Stack Ports (optional)The switch contains two expansion slots in the rear, in either of which you can insert stacking modulesfor converting the switch into a virtual slot in a single virtual switch, called a stack, comprised of any S-Series model running the same software. The S50V and S50N include two optional choices in stackingmodules — a single-port 24G module and a two-port 12G module. You cannot interconnect the twotypes. If you use single-port 24G modules, you can insert one in each expansion slot to accomplish thering topology.You can connect the switches while they are powered down or up. You can use either a ring topology orcascade topology connection (see Figure 4-3). Use the special stacking cables to connect them. DellForce10 recommends that you mount the switches before you make your stack port connections.Figure 4-3. Switch Stacking Topologies (showing dual-port modules)While the diagram, above, shows A-B port connections, the ports are bi-directional, so you can connect Ato A and/or B to B, as shown below in examples of two-switch (Figure 4-5) and three-switch (Figure 4-6)ring topologies.Figure 4-4 shows the use of 24G stacking ports in each of the two rear modules to create a ring. Of course,this topology does not allow the use of any rear modules for XFP ports. A cascade topology, removingthe stack port modules in the B slots of switches 1 and 2, would free those slots for use by XFP modules.A BSwitch 1Switch 2Ring Topology Cascade TopologyA BSwitch 1A BSwitch 2A BSwitch 3BABASwitch 3