Which stacking technology supports individual ISL links up to 400G?

Which stacking technology supports individual ISL links up to 400G?

• A. VSF
• B. VSX
• C. Both VSF and VSX
• D. Neither VSF nor VSX

Answer: (B)

The ability to carry very high-speed inter-switch traffic comes from how the stacking technology connects the switches. VSX is designed as a two-switch virtual stack that acts as a single logical switch with dedicated high-capacity inter-switch links between the pair. Those inter-switch links can operate at very high speeds, up to 400G per link, which is what makes VSX the right choice when you need 400G ISLs. VSF, on the other hand, provides a scalable stack where multiple switches act as one chassis, but the interconnects between members are not specified for 400G per link in the same way. The per-link bandwidth is typically lower and depends on the hardware, so it doesn’t meet the 400G per ISL requirement in the same way VSX does. So, for 400G per ISL inter-switch links, VSX is the appropriate stacking technology.

The ability to carry very high-speed inter-switch traffic comes from how the stacking technology connects the switches. VSX is designed as a two-switch virtual stack that acts as a single logical switch with dedicated high-capacity inter-switch links between the pair. Those inter-switch links can operate at very high speeds, up to 400G per link, which is what makes VSX the right choice when you need 400G ISLs.

VSF, on the other hand, provides a scalable stack where multiple switches act as one chassis, but the interconnects between members are not specified for 400G per link in the same way. The per-link bandwidth is typically lower and depends on the hardware, so it doesn’t meet the 400G per ISL requirement in the same way VSX does.

So, for 400G per ISL inter-switch links, VSX is the appropriate stacking technology.