EtherChannel Configuration

EtherChannel Configuration

• 1.
  ETHERCHANNEL CONFIGURATION www.netprotocolxpert.in
• 2.
  › EtherChannel isa port link aggregation technology or port-channel architecture used primarily on Cisco switches. › It allows grouping of several physical Ethernet links to create one logical Ethernet link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed links between switches, routers and servers. › When setting up an EtherChannel connection, remember the following points; they can help us avoid problems during the configuration process: – we can configure up to eight ports, and all of these ports should be the same type (Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet). – Set all ports to function at the same Speed and Duplex settings. – Ensure that all ports are enabled and that none have been configured using the shutdown command.
• 3.
  › Switchport settingsfrom the first port in EtherChannel are copied to all other ports in the EtherChannel when the ports are added to the channel group. › This is a copy action and not a link, so if we change the settings after the fact, we need to change the settings on all ports. › The settings that must remain the same across all ports are – Allowed VLAN list – STP path cost – STP port priority – STP PortFast settings – EtherChannel groups › Cisco’s GigaStack, FlexStack, and other proprietary high speed inter- switch links should never be configured as part of an EtherChannel because these stacking ports have specific functionality enabled for stacking functions that is not compatible with EtherChannel. Only use standard connection ports on the front of your switch for EtherChannel connections.
• 4.
  EtherChannel Modes Mode ProtocolDescription Auto PAgP Sets the interface to respond to PAgP negotiation packets, but the interface will start negotiations on its own. Desirable PAgP Sets the interface to actively attempt to negotiate a PAgP connection. On EtherChannel Forces the connection to bring all links up without using a protocol to negotiate connections. This mode can only connect to another device that is also set to on. When using this mode, the switch does not negotiate the link using either PAgP or LACP. Active LACP Sets the interface to actively attempt to negotiate connections with other LACP devices. Passive LACP Sets the interface to respond to LACP data if it receives negotiation requests from other systems.
• 5.
  LAYER 3 ETHERCHANNEL ›Spanning-Tree blocks redundant links and avoid Layer 2 loops. Etherchannels load balance the traffic between the redundant links and uses the bandwidth more efficient. › Here, two switches connected by four cable from their gigabit Ethernet ports. We will bundle four of the physical link into one logical link.
• 6.
  › 1. Firstof all, we must create logical interface with “port- channel” command and assign it an ip address. Before assigning an ip address, it is important to change this port to a Layer 3 port by“no switchport” command. SW1 (config) # interface port-channel 1 SW1 (config-if) # no switchport SW1 (config-if) # no shutdown SW1 (config-if) # ip address 192.168.3.1 255.255.255.0 SW1 (config-if) # end
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  › 2. Next,physical interfaces must be configured. We must give “no ip address” command to not assign an ip address. Lastly we will chose the mode. There are various modes for different etherchannel protocols. These protocols are PAgP and LACP. Here PAgP is used by “desirable "command. SW1 (config) # interface range gigabitEthernet 0/1-4 SW1 (config-if-range) # no switchport SW1 (config-if-range) # no ip address SW1 (config-if-range) # channel-group 1 mode desirable SW1 (config-if-range) # end › PAgP : Cisco proprietary. Modes: auto, desirable, on. › LACP : Standard based. Modes: active, passive, on. › SW2 will be configured like above too with a different IP address.
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  LAYER 2 ETHERCHANNEL –For Layer 2 Ether Channel, there is no need to configure ip address. So only step 2 will be applicable. Verification SW1 # show interface fa 1/0 etherchannel SW1 # show etherchannel 1 port-channel ETHERCHANNEL LOAD BALANCING SW1 (config) # port channel load-balance srt-dst-ip SW1 # show etherchannel load-balance
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