Some switches claim to support stacking but in practice support only “clustering,” meaning that each switch must still be managed and configured individually. Cisco 550 Series switches provide true stacking capability, allowing you to configure, manage, and troubleshoot all switches in a stack as a single unit; with a single IP address for up to a maximum of 48*8=384 10G Ethernet ports. A true stack delivers a unified data and control plane, in addition to management plane, providing flexibility, scalability, and ease of use because the stack of units operates as a single entity constituting all the ports of the stack members. This capability can radically reduce complexity in a growing network environment while improving the resiliency and availability of network applications. True stacking also provides other cost savings and administrative benefits through features such as cross-stack QoS, VLANs, LAGs, and port mirroring, which clustered switches cannot support.

Using standard 10G fiber or copper connections, the Cisco 550 Series supports both local and horizontal stacking deployments and the flexibility of ring or chain topology. The switches also have the capability to use link aggregation port as the stacking port, providing even higher stacking bandwidth for demanding applications.

The more detailed comparison you can visit: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/550x-series-stackable-managed-switches/compare-model.html

The NEW Cisco 550X Series switches provide true stacking, allowing you to configure, manage, and troubleshoot all switches in a stack as a single unit. Some competing switches claim to support stacking, but require you to configure and manage each switch individually.

If you wanna get more details of Cisco 550X Series Stackable Managed Switches, you can read its newest data sheet by visiting http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/550x-series-stackable-managed-switches/datasheet-c78-735874.html

Our new switches offer 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity for high-performance server access and network aggregation. They act as a solid foundation for the latest technologies, such as server virtualization, storage network convergence, multigigabit wireless, and more. The Cisco 550X Series offers:

10-Gigabit Ethernet delivers 10 times the performance increase to your network to promote higher productivity and business efficiency. The 550X Series breaks the barrier of 10-Gigabit Ethernet adoptions with exceptional affordability.

A variety of energy-saving features, including energy detect, cable length detection, and Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) provide an eco-friendly and cost-effective network solution without compromising performance.

The 550X Switches include capabilities and management options you need to support applications today and in the future. Examples include: