Technologies: Stacking

Scalable management architecture

Managing switches is an essential part of network administration, so with Cisco Meraki there are no expensive feature or support licenses to pay for and no requirement for proprietary cables either. Large networks can be assembled using a combination of standalone, physically stacked and aggregation layer switches. Redundancy is supported in hardware and software with hot-swappable power supplies and fans plus link aggregation and warm spare functionality.

Stack switches physically or virtually

Rather than separately managing each switch, switches can be grouped together into virtual stacks using tags, or even managed all at once. An organization may wish to group switches by floor or building within a campus, or perhaps by department. In this way, switches can be managed as a single logical entity, regardless of how physically dispersed those switches may be. For high performance and management convenience, switches can also be physically stacked together and managed as a single entity.

Zero-touch deployments

Leverage the power of centralized cloud management to pre-stage switches and virtual stacks before they are even deployed. Using this approach, switch deployment becomes a zero-touch, ‘plug-and-play’ exercise, even by non-technical staff. Bulk changes and software updates are straightforward to push out, eliminating the requirement to be physically present at each switch or stack.