SMC Networks TigerSwitch 10/100 SMC6724L2, Management Manual

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Configuring Port Trunks
Ports can be combined into an aggregate link to increase the
bandwidth of a network connection or to ensure fault recovery.
You can configure trunks between any two SMC6724L2 or
SMC6724L3 switches. Ports 1-24 on this switch can be grouped
into a trunk consisting of two, four or eight ports, creating an
aggregate bandwidth up to 400, 800 or 1600 Mbps when operating
at full duplex. Ports 25-26 (extender module ports) can be trunked
together creating an aggregate bandwidth up to 2 Gbps (see page
2-34). The ports that can be assigned to the same trunk are listed
on page 2-33. Besides balancing the load across each port in the
trunk, the additional ports provide redundancy by taking over the
load if another port in the trunk fails. However, before making any
physical connections between devices, use the Port Trunking
Configuration menu to specify the trunk on the devices at both
ends. When using a port trunk, remember that:
• Ports can only be assigned to one trunk.
• The ports at both ends of a connection must be configured as
trunk ports.
• The ports at both ends of a trunk must be configured in an
identical manner, including communication mode, and VLAN
assignments.
• All the ports in a trunk have to be treated as a whole when
moved from/to, added or deleted from a VLAN.
• The Spanning Tree Algorithm will treat all the ports in a trunk
as a whole.
• Enable the trunk prior to connecting any cable between the
switches to avoid creating a loop.