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6-1
v1.0, May 2008
Chapter 6 Link Aggregation
This section includes instructions on configuring Link Aggregation using the Command Line
Interface and the Graphical User Interface.
Link Aggregation (LAG) allows the switch to treat multiple physical links between two end-points
as a single logical link. All of the physical links in a given LAG must operate in full-duplex mode
at the same speed.
Link Aggregation can be used to directly connect two switches when the traffic between them
requires high bandwidth and reliability, or to provide a higher bandwidth connection to a public
network. LAG offers the following benefits:
• Increased reliability and availability -- if one of the physical links in the LAG goes down,
traffic is dynamically and transparently reassigned to one of the other physical links.
• Better use of physical resources -- traffic can be load-balanced across the physical links.
• Increased bandwidth -- the aggregated physical links deliver higher bandwidth than each
individual link.
• Incremental increase in bandwidth -- A physical upgrade could produce a 10-times increase in
bandwidth; LAG produces a two- or five-times increase, useful if only a small increase is
needed.
Management functions treat a LAG as if it were a single physical port.
You can include a LAG in a VLAN. You can configure more than one LAG for a given switch.
CLI Example
This section provides an example of configuring the software to support Link Aggregation (LAG)
to a server and to a Layer 3 switch.