The SecureStack A2 stackable switch family delivers cost-effective Layer 2 switching in a single stack with up to 384 10/100 ports with 16 gigabit uplinks. Reliability and availability is assured with support for Closed Loop Stacking, redundant core connections, redundant power options and redundant stack management. Each SecureStack A2 switch has two mini-GBIC (SFP) ports and two fixed 10/100/1000 ports that can be used as standard Ethernet uplinks but can also be used as stacking ports that support up to 2 Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth between any two adjacent switches. No additional stack module is required to stack the switches. A single stack can be comprised of any combination of SecureStack A2 switches allowing a mixture of 24- and 48-port 10/100, 100Base-FX and Power-over-Ethernet ports to be linked to the network core via copper, multimode fiber and/or single-mode fiber Gigabit. Closed Loop Stacking is implemented, which assures that a single switch or cable connection failure in the stack will not impact the overall stack operation. The SecureStack A2 stack auto-configures, allowing stack switch units to be added or removed with minimal packet interruption. Up to eight SecureStack A2 switches can be supported in a stack with a single IP address for complete stack management. Redundant stack management is supported by assigning a primary and multiple secondary stack managers.