Supermicro SSE-F3548S/SSE-F3548SR Configuration User’s Guide
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4.5
Dynamic Link Aggregation - LACP
Supermicro switches support dynamic link aggregation through IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control
Protocol (LACP).
Users can add one or more ports to an LACP mode port channel. When more than eight member ports
are configured, only the first eight member ports reaching the “bundle” state will be used for data traffic.
Ports in LACP mode exchange LACP packets with other end devices. The LACP system priority, switch
MAC address, port LACP priority, port number and aggregation key are all exchanged between devices.
Based on the exchanged information, both end devices agree on the status of the member ports. The
member ports that successfully negotiated LACP parameters will be moved to the “bundle” state. The
member ports that could not reach agreement on LACP parameters will stay in the “independent” state.
Switches do not send traffic on member ports in “independent” state.
When one or more member ports reach the “bundle” state, the port channel status will be up. The port
channel status will be down when all its member ports are either physically down or in the
“independent” state.
Ports can be configured in either active or passive LACP mode. Ports in active LACP mode will initiate
LACP negotiation by sending LACP messages to the other end devices. Ports in passive LACP mode will
not initiate the LACP negotiation, but they will respond to LACP messages if received from other end.
Users should configure for an active LACP mode on at least one end of the LACP port channel
connection. If LACP mode is configured as passive on both end devices, the port channel
interface will not come up. Configuring LACP mode as active on both the end devices is
allowed.
Figure LA-2: Dynamic Link Aggregation
