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August 2005 Page 3 Dell Enterprise Product Group
Introduction
The Dell PowerConnect 5316M is a fully managed Layer 2 switch that helps organizations reduce
the price and cable sprawl traditionally associated with the networking of servers. This robust
networking switch is based on the same technology as the PowerConnect 5324, but is housed in a
different form factor that is specifically designed for the Dell Modular Server Enclosure.
Many IT organizations have great investments in a standardized core network infrastructure as
well as the human resources to maintain that network. With this investment in mind, Dell has
designed the PowerConnect 5316M based on industry standard network protocols to ensure
interoperability whenever possible.
Figure 1 – PowerConnect 5316M configuration options
The Dell Modular Server Enclosure can support one to four PowerConnect 5316M switch modules.
Modules in chassis I/O bays 1 and 2 connect to the embedded Ethernet controllers on the blade
(population of I/O bay 1 is required; population of I/O bay 2 is optional). Additionally, chassis I/O
bays 3 and 4 can also be populated if optional dual port GbE daughtercards are installed in the
blade servers.
This paper describes how to configure the Dell PowerConnect™ 5316M Gigabit Ethernet switch to
interoperate and connect with Cisco IOS
2
and CatOS
3
based switches when using industry
standard link aggregation groups (LAGs) that adhere to the IEE 802.3ad standard. Both static and
dynamic LAGs are discussed.
The table below shows some of the terms used to refer to LAGs in Dell and Cisco documentation.
This paper will use the term LAG.
Optional Intel Gigabit
Ethernet daughtercard
Dell PowerEdge 1855
Blade Server (top view)
PowerConnect 5316M
Dell Modular Server Enclosure
(rear view)