C H A P T E R
6-1
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Software Configuration Guide—Release 8.7
OL-8978-04
6
Configuring EtherChannel
This chapter describes how to use the command-line interface (CLI) to configure EtherChannel on the
Catalyst 6500 series switches. The configuration tasks in this chapter apply to Ethernet, Fast Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet, and 10-Gigabit Ethernet switching modules and the uplink ports on the supervisor
engine.
Note
For complete syntax and usage information for the commands that are used in this chapter, refer to the
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Command Reference
publication.
This chapter consists of these sections:
•
Understanding How EtherChannel Works, page 6-2
•
Understanding How EtherChannel Frame Distribution Works, page 6-2
•
Port Aggregation Control Protocol and Link Aggregation Control Protocol, page 6-3
•
EtherChannel Configuration Guidelines, page 6-3
•
Understanding How the Port Aggregation Protocol Works, page 6-5
•
Configuring an EtherChannel Using PAgP, page 6-7
•
Understanding How the Link Aggregation Control Protocol Works, page 6-13
•
Configuring an EtherChannel Using LACP, page 6-15
•
Clearing and Restoring the EtherChannel Counters, page 6-20
Note
With software release 8.4(1) and later releases, you can configure EtherChannel error handling to
provide for the automatic failover of traffic to another port in the EtherChannel when one of the ports in
the channel exceeds a configurable error threshold. For more information, see the
“Configuring
EtherChannel/Link Error Handling” section on page 20-24
.
Note
You can use the commands in the following sections on all Ethernet ports in the Catalyst 6500 series
switches.