3Com o Cisco Switch: What is the best choice ?

[Andrés Felipe CALDERÓN]

Hi,

We're building a beowulf  cluster,  connected like the ANUWulf cluster 
(a FNN case, http://tux.anu.edu.au/Projects/Beowulf).

Each machine have 3 EEPro cards, the nodes are divided in four groups,  
A switch connects all nodes in one group with all nodes in another (for 
a total of 6 switches).

Our providers offer two options.

6 switches Cisco Catalyst 3548 XL Enterprise Edition (48Ports 100/10 + 2 
slots 1000BaseTX).

or, 12  switches 3Com SuperStack® 3 Switch 3300 XM  (24 Ports) ,  our 
provider said that the switches can be stacked together using a matrix 
cable for two units (what does "stack using a matrix cable" mean?)

What is the best choice,  6 Cisco switches or a  2x6 3Com switches?

Thanks in advance,

- Andres