How many stacking cables does a pair of stacked Dell switches need?

Question

According to https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/how10356/how-to-stack-n2000-or-n3000-switches, when stacking Dell Switches, one should perform the following steps:

1. For each switch in the stack, connect stacking cables from the bottom stacking port on the first switch, to the top stacking port on the next switch.
2. On the last switch connect the bottom stacking port to the top stacking port on the top switch.

But what if there are only two switches?

If the last switch is already connected to the top switch by step 1, does it need to be connected again at step 2?

Answer 1

You need a cable for each switch, even with two switches.

You create a loop, and if anything breaks the loop (down switch loose/bad, bad cable, bad interface, etc.), then you still have a stack, not two separate switch stacks.