Ross Opengear FED-6943, User Manual, Page: 75 / 92

Fiber Ethernet Switch Transceivers User Manual (Iss. 04) Configuration • 9–9
Enabling Trunking
Trunking, also known as link aggregation, is the use of two or more links between nodes
(switches and/or servers) in parallel to increase the bandwidth. A side benefit is that a failure of a
link will cause the traffic to be redistributed among the remaining links, though at reduced overall
capacity.
Figure 9.8 Multiple Cards set to Trunk for Increased Bandwidth Between End Points
A Word about Loops
If you have two or more Fiber Ethernet Switch Transceivers ( Figure 9.9 ) or an MFC-8322-N
with one or more Fiber Ethernet Switch Transceiver cards ( Figure 9.10 ), there is potential to
create multiple paths between devices, causing loops that can bring down a network. If one or
more Fiber Ethernet Switch Transceivers are going to connect to the same network, ensure that
the internal GigE ports to those cards are turned off at the MFC-8322-N. This Internal Loop issue
cannot occur with an MFC-8322-S or DFR-8321 series frames.
Important
— Each Fiber Ethernet Switch Transceiver defaults as a basic switch
where all ports are enabled and assigned to VLAN 1. If the card is wired for VLAN
and/or trunking, but is not configured as such, you may create a possible network
loop which will impact your network.
Figure 9.9 Example of a Loop Between Cards via Cabling Figure 9.10 Example of Loop Between Cards via Internal Link
SER
VER
3
SER
VER
1
SER
VER
2
USER
GR
OUP 1
USER
GR
OUP 2
USER
GR
OUP 3
Trunk
FET-6945-20B
FET-6945-20A
Corporate
Network
FES-6941-40A
FES-6941-40B
Loop present
Corporate
Network
MFC-8322-N
FES-6941-40B
Internal Link
Loop present