Etherchannel Configuration Guidelines - Cisco Catalyst 2960 series Configuration Manual

Information About EtherChannels
EtherChannel Overview, on page 324
EtherChannel Modes, on page 325
EtherChannel on Switches, on page 326
EtherChannel Link Failover, on page 327
LACP Modes, on page 332
PAgP Modes , on page 329
Silent Mode, on page 330
Creating Port-Channel Logical Interfaces
Channel Groups and Port-Channel Interfaces, on page 327
PAgP Modes , on page 329
Silent Mode, on page 330
Configuring the Physical Interfaces
Channel Groups and Port-Channel Interfaces, on page 327
PAgP Modes , on page 329
Silent Mode, on page 330
Configuring EtherChannel Load-Balancing
Load-Balancing and Forwarding Methods, on page 333
MAC Address Forwarding, on page 333
IP Address Forwarding, on page 334
Load-Balancing Advantages, on page 334
Configuring the PAgP Learn Method and Priority , on page 348
PAgP Learn Method and Priority, on page 330
Configuring the LACP System Priority , on page 350
Configuring the LACP Port Priority , on page 351

EtherChannel Configuration Guidelines

If improperly configured, some EtherChannel ports are automatically disabled to avoid network loops and
other problems. Follow these guidelines to avoid configuration problems:
• Do not try to configure more than 24 EtherChannels on the switch or switch stack.
• In a mixed switch stack that contains one or more Catalyst 2960-S switches, do not configure more than
six EtherChannels on the switch stack.
• Configure a PAgP EtherChannel with up to eight Ethernet ports of the same type.
• Configure a LACP EtherChannel with up to 16 Ethernet ports of the same type. Up to eight ports can
be active, and up to eight ports can be in standby mode.
• Configure all ports in an EtherChannel to operate at the same speeds and duplex modes.
• Enable all ports in an EtherChannel. A port in an EtherChannel that is disabled by using the shutdown
interface configuration command is treated as a link failure, and its traffic is transferred to one of the
remaining ports in the EtherChannel.
Consolidated Platform Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(4)E (Catalyst 2960-X Switches)
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