S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m
16-2
Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide
OL-16184-01, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x
Chapter 16 Configuring PortChannels
About PortChannels
Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches with Generation 1 switching modules, or a combination of Generation
1 and Generation 2 switching modules, support a maximum of 128 PortChannels. Switches with only a
Generation 2 switching module support a maximum of 256 PortChannels (with 16 interfaces per
PortChannel). A PortChannel number refers to the unique (to each switch) identifier associated with
each channel group. This number ranges from of 1 to 256.
This section describes PortChannels and contains the following topics:
•
PortChannel Examples, page 16-2
•
32-Port Switching Module Configuration Guidelines, page 16-2
•
About PortChanneling and Trunking, page 16-3
•
About Load Balancing, page 16-4
PortChannel Examples
PortChannels on Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches allow flexibility in configuration.
Figure 16-1
illustrates three possible PortChannel configurations:
•
PortChannel A aggregates two links on two interfaces on the same switching module at each end of
a connection.
•
PortChannel B also aggregates two links, but each link is connected to a different switching module.
If the switching module goes down, traffic is not affected.
•
PortChannel C aggregates three links. Two links are on the same switching module at each end,
while one is connected to a different switching module on switch 2.
Figure 16-1
PortChannel Flexibility
32-Port Switching Module Configuration Guidelines
The 32-port switching module guidelines apply to the following hardware:
•
32-port 2-Gbps or 1-Gbps switching modules
•
Cisco MDS 9140 switches
When configuring these host-optimized ports, the following PortChannel guidelines apply:
Switch 1
Switch 2
PortChannel A
PortChannel B
PortChannel C
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