C H A P T E R 2 Intel
®
Express 530T Switch Users Guide
16
Link Aggregation
Link aggregation allows you to combine from 2 to 8 (adjacent) ports so
that they function as a single high-speed link. For example, link
aggregation is useful when making connections between switches or to
connect servers to the switch.
Link aggregation, sometimes known as port trunking, can be used to
increase the bandwidth to some devices. Link aggregation can also
provide a redundant link for fault tolerance. If one link in the aggregation
fails, the switch balances the traffic among the remaining links.
To aggregate ports, you must link an “anchor” port with an adjacent port.
The 530T switch supports up to four link aggregation groups (anchor
ports 1, 7, 15) This includes one link aggregation group for the two
module ports.
Guidelines
•
The switch treats aggregated links as a single port. This includes
Spanning Tree and VLANs.
•
All ports share the same settings as the anchor port. You can change
anchor port settings, but you cannot configure other ports in the link.
•
When a port is configured as a member of an aggregated link, it
immediately adopts the characteristics of the anchor port. When a
port is no longer a member of an aggregated link, the characteristics
are reset to the default settings (autonegotiate speed/duplex, flow
control enabled).
•
If a port is part of an aggregated link, it cannot be configured as the
target port for a port mirror. However, a port in an aggregated link
can serve as the source port for a port mirror.
•
When a 530T is stacked with one or more 535T switches, you
cannot aggregate ports that belong to separate switches. The 530T
supports up to four link aggregation groups, and each 535T supports
up to three.
2 ports aggregated x 100Mbps = 200Mbps link
4 ports aggregated x 100Mbps = 400Mbps link
530-Chapter2.fm Page 16 Monday, September 11, 2000 4:14 PM
