System Description
H3C S3600 Series Ethernet Switches
Chapter 3 Software Features
3-1
Chapter 3 Software Features
3.1 Basic Features
3.1.1 Link Aggregation
The link aggregation function is used for the connection between Ethernet switches or
between the switches and high-speed servers. It is a simple and cheap way to expand
the bandwidth of a switch port and balance the traffic among all the ports in a link
aggregation. Moreover, it enhances the connection reliability.
With link aggregation, several Ethernet ports on a switch are bundled together and are
considered one logical port inside the switch. The switch automatically balances the
traffic among the ports and increases the bandwidth in this aggregation, while ensuring
the right order of packets for the sake of service compatibility. If the link on a port in the
aggregation fails, the traffic on it is distributed among other ports without interrupting
the normal service. After the port recovers, the traffic is automatically distributed again
so that the port can share the load together with others. The S3600 series support
manual link aggregation and dynamic link aggregation through the link aggregation
control protocol (LACP).
IEEE802.3ad-based LACP dynamically aggregates and de-aggregates links. A
LACP-enabled port notifies the remote end of information on system priority, system
MAC, port priority, port number and operation key by sending link aggregation control
protocol data units (LACPDUs). The remote end receives the information, and then
compares it with that of other ports for determining the ports to be aggregated, so that
an agreement can be achieved on port aggregation or leaving a dynamic aggregation.
3.1.2 Broadcast Suppression
The broadcast suppression function is used to suppress the propagation of large
amount of unknown unicast, multicast or broadcast packets in a network, thus limiting
their impact on the operating efficiency of the network.
For the S3600 series, broadcast suppression is configured on port. After configuring a
broadcast suppression ratio on a port, you can monitor the broadcast traffic of unknown
unicast, multicast and broadcast packets on it.
When the traffic exceeds the specified
bandwidth limit, the switch drops the excessive traffic and reduces the traffic ratio to a
rational amount to guarantee the normal operation of network services. The S3600
