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In-depth Analysis: Cisco Switch Stack Vs. Aruba VSF

November 17, 2021 ,

In-depth Analysis: Cisco Switch Stack Vs. Aruba VSF 

There are two solutions which we are going to discuss today that let many switches function as a single logical device: Aruba VSF and Cisco Switch Stacks. They are similar and different in terms of scalability, performance, and features.

Lets start with the Cisco Switch Stack first followed by Aruba VSF (Virtual Switching Framework)

⭐Aruba VSF (Virtual Switching Framework)👇

Aruba Virtual Switching Framework (VSF) technology offers high availability and scalability by virtualizing up to eight physical devices in the same layer into a single virtual fabric. Thus, a virtual fabric is made up of several physical devices that utilize VSF technology inside the same layer.

Aruba VSF
Fig 1.1- Aruba SFP

With the use of the VSF function, a user may stack up to eight devices of any SKU together, even combining several SKUs in one stack. Standard Ethernet connections are used to link the switches in these stacks. VSF links are these connections made between member switches. 

Up to eight separate VSF ports can be included in each VSF link, and traffic between two members will automatically be load-balanced across all of the linked ports. There can be two VSF connections per switch. All of the switches act as one virtual switch. A maximum of four 10G ports are supported by 2930F.

⭐Cisco Switch Stack👇

A switch stack is a collection of up to nine Catalyst switches connected via StackWise ports. 

The stack master is one of the switches that governs the operation of the stack. Stack members include the stack master and the other switches in the stack. To act and collaborate as a cohesive system, the stack members employ Cisco StackWise technology. Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols show the full switch stack to the network as a single entity.

Stack masters are available to all stack members. If the stack master is no longer available, the surviving stack members vote to choose a new stack master from among themselves. A number of criteria influence which switch is chosen as the stack master. The stack member priority value is one of the considerations. The stack master is the switch with the greatest priority value.

⭐Comparing Cisco Switch Stack  Vs Aruba VSF  ðŸ‘‡

High availability, load balancing, configuration consistency, and easier management are all supported by both Cisco Switch Stacks and Aruba VSF. Distributed routing, dynamic segmentation, and multi-chassis link aggregation (MLAG) are some of the extra features that Aruba VSF offers over Cisco Switch Stacks.

High bandwidth and minimal latency between the stacked switches may be achieved with both Cisco Switch Stacks and Aruba VSF. But compared to Cisco Switch Stacks' 480 Gbps per stack, Aruba VSF has a greater maximum throughput of 2.4 Tbps per stack. Aruba VSF also supports up to 10 switches per stack, while Cisco Switch Stacks supports up to 9 switches per stack

By utilizing multi-domain stacking, which enables several stacks to join and function as a single logical device, Cisco Switch Stacks and Aruba VSF can both scale up to 32 switches. On the other hand, Cisco Switch Stacks has a defined topology of ring or chain, but Aruba VSF offers greater freedom in selecting a stacking topology, such as ring, chain, or mesh.

Cisco Switch Stack Vs Aruba VSF