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What is EtherChannel and how it works?
EtherChannel Technology is a link aggregation technology that makes it possible to combine several physical links between switches into one logical link to provide high-speed links and redundancy without being blocked by the Spanning Tree Protocol.
What are the types of EtherChannel?
There are 3 methods to configure EtherChannel in your network: the PAgP and LACP negotiating protocols, or Static mode.
How do you do EtherChannel?
The basic process for configuring your EtherChannel interfaces is as follows:
- Connect to the command-line interface (CLI) your switch.
- Access Privileged EXEC mode.
- Access Global Configuration mode.
- Access Interface Configuration mode.
- Change switchport to trunk or access, but all ports must be in the same VLAN.
What is the functional purpose of EtherChannel?
EtherChannel is a port link aggregation technology or port-channel architecture used primarily on Cisco switches. It allows grouping of several physical Ethernet links to create one logical Ethernet link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed links between switches, routers and servers.
What are benefits of EtherChannel technology?
Benefits of using EtherChannel
- Increased Bandwidth: Use EtherChannel and combine two or four links into one logical link.
- Provides Redundancy: Since there are many Ethernet links combined into one logical channel, it automatically allows more available links in case one or more links go down.
What is difference between port channel and EtherChannel?
In the Nexus switches, the port-channel term is used for technology and the individual interface. Once we have configured an Etherchannel we make all you changes on the Port Channel interface and these will be automatically applied to all the individual interfaces within the Etherchannel.
What do you need to know about EtherChannel load balancing?
EtherChannel load balancing can use MAC addresses, IP addresses, or Layer 4 port numbers with a Policy Feature Card 2 (PFC2) and either source mode, destination mode, or both. The mode you select applies to all EtherChannels that you configure on the switch. Use the option that provides the greatest variety in your configuration.
How is the number of ports in an EtherChannel chosen?
With this value as a basis, a particular port in the EtherChannel is chosen. The port setup includes a mask which indicates which values the port accepts for transmission. With the maximum number of ports in a single EtherChannel, which is eight ports, each port accepts only one value.
How does the frame distribution work in EtherChannel?
EtherChannel reduces part of the binary pattern that the addresses in the frame form to a numerical value that selects one of the links in the channel in order to distribute frames across the links in a channel. EtherChannel frame distribution uses a Cisco-proprietary hashing algorithm.
What’s the maximum number of etherchannels you can support?
In software release 6.2 (2) and later releases, the spanning tree feature handles the port ID. Therefore, the maximum number of EtherChannels with support is 126 for a six- or nine-slot chassis and 63 for a 13-slot chassis.