Why Use EtherChannels: Essential Procedures: Tips on Using this Window: - Click the column headings to sort information.
- Click Submit to save your changes.
- Click Cancel to discard unsaved changes.
Back to the top An EtherChannel (or port group) is a group of two or more Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet switch ports bundled into a single logical link, creating a higher bandwidth link between two switches. The switch supports up to six EtherChannels. For example, you can assign four 10/100 switch ports to an EtherChannel to provide full-duplex bandwidth of up to 800 Mb/s. If one of the ports in the EtherChannel becomes unavailable, traffic is carried over the remaining ports within the EtherChannel. All ports in an EtherChannel must have the same characteristics: - All are applied with the Smartports Switch port role and belong to the same VLAN. For information about port roles and VLAN memberships, see Smartports.
- All are either 10/100 ports, or all are 10/100/1000 ports. You cannot group a mix of 10/100 and 10/100/1000 ports in an EtherChannel.
- All are enabled. A disabled port in an EtherChannel is treated as a link failure, and its traffic is transferred to one of the remaining ports in the EtherChannel.
Back to the top To create an EtherChannel: - Click Create from the EtherChannels window.
- Enter a group number for the EtherChannel. The number can be from 1 to 6.
- Choose a mode from the Mode list. The default is IEEE 802.3ad (LACP).
- The IEEE 802.3ad (LACP) mode allows the switch to create one end of the EtherChannel if the other switch requests it.
- The Static mode requires you to verify that both ends of the EtherChannel have the same configuration and then to manually create the EtherChannel.
- The Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) mode allows the switch to automatically form an EtherChannel with the other switch.
- Select one or more ports.
- Click Done.
- Repeat Steps 1 to 5 until you have created all of your EtherChannels.
Note: You can create up to six EtherChannels.
- Click Submit to save your changes.
Back to the top To change an EtherChannel: - Check the check box of the EtherChannel that you want to change.
- Click Modify from the EtherChannels window.
- Choose a mode from the Mode list. The default is IEEE 802.3ad (LACP).
- The IEEE 802.3ad (LACP) mode allows the switch to create one end of the EtherChannel if the other switch requests it.
- The Static mode requires you to verify that both ends of the EtherChannel have the same configuration and then to manually create the EtherChannel.
- The Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) mode allows the switch to automatically form an EtherChannel with the other switch.
- Select one or more ports.
- Click Done.
- Repeat Steps 1 to 5, as needed.
- Click Submit to save your changes.
Back to the top To delete an EtherChannel: - Select one or more EtherChannels.
- Click Delete.
- Click Submit to save your changes.
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