Allied Telesis 8100S Series - Manual (Page 39)

Stack Installation Guide for 8100S Series Switches
39
S1 and S2 Stacking Ports
The switch may be used as a stand-alone unit or as part of a stack in
which multiple units are interconnected via the S1 and S2 stacking ports
on the front panels. Compared to stand-alone switches, which function as
independent units, the switches of a stack synchronize their actions to
form a single, logical unit so that the switching operations, like spanning
tree protocols, virtual LANs, and static port trunks, are able to span across
all the units.
The two principal advantages of stacks are:
 You can manage multiple units simultaneously, thus simplifying
network management.
 You have more flexibility in how you configure some of the
features. For instance, a static port trunk on a stand-alone switch
has to consist of ports from the same switch. In contrast, a static
trunk on a stack may consist of ports from different switches in the
same stack.
For more information, refer to Chapter 2, “Stacking Overview” on page 51.
This guide explains how to install the units in a stack. For instructions on
how to install the switches as stand-alone units, refer to the Stand-alone
Switch Installation Guide for 8100L and 8100S Series Switches.