Netgear GSM7228PS - ProSAFE 28 ports Gigabit Ethernet L2 Managed Stackable Switch with PoE Guía De Administador

The Stack Master and Stack Members

A switch stack is a set of up to 8 switches connected through their stacking ports. The switch 
that controls the operation of the stack is the stack master. The stack master and the other 
switches in the stack are stack members. Stack members use stacking technology to behave 
and work together as a unified system. Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols present the entire 
switch stack as a single entity to the network.The following figure shows an example of 
switches that are interconnected to form a stack. 

Connecting AX742 modules
with stacking cable

Stack Master

The stack master is the single point of stack-wide management. From the stack master, you 
configure:

System-level (global) features that apply to all stack members.

Interface-level features for all interfaces on any stack member.

A switch stack is identified in the network by its network IP address. The network IP address 
is assigned according to the MAC address of the stack master. Every stack member is 
uniquely identified by its own stack member number.

The stack master contains the saved and running configuration files for the switch stack. The 
configuration files include the system-level settings for the switch stack and the 
interface-level settings for all stack members. Each stack member retains a copy of the 
saved file for backup purposes. If the master is removed from the stack, another member is 
elected master, and then runs from that saved configuration.

All stack members are eligible stack masters. If the stack master becomes unavailable, the 
remaining stack members participate in electing a new stack master. A set of factors 
determine which switch is elected the stack master. The stack master is elected or re-elected 
based on one of these factors and in the order listed: