3Com 5500-SI Configuration Manual page 675

Table 691 Aggregated Links and Member Links Supported within a Fabric
Switch Family
Switch 5500-SI Family
Switch 5500-EI Family
Switch 5500G-EI Family
Distributed Link Aggregation Example
You can also use DLA to create highly resilient network backbones, supporting
multihomed links to the wiring closets as shown in Figure 179.
Intelligent local forwarding ensures that each Switch in the XRN Distributed Fabric
forwards traffic to local Link Aggregation ports rather than across the Fabric
Interconnect, thereby reducing network traffic.
You can also use resilient links or STP/RSTP for resilience, however, this does not
provide the bandwidth advantage of link aggregation.
For more information about STP/RSTP refer to Chapter 17 "Network Protocol
Operation".
Figure 179 Distributed Link Aggregation at the Network Backbone
Wiring Closet Aggregation
Backbone Aggregation
Max number of member
links
8 Fast Ethernet or
4 Gigabit Ethernet
8 Fast Ethernet or
4 Gigabit Ethernet
8 Gigabit Ethernet or
4 10Gbps Ethernet
XRN Distributed Fabric
XRN Distributed Fabric
XRN Features
Number of Aggregated
Links
14 (28 port) or
26 (52 port)
8 per stack
14 (28 port) or
26 (52 port)
8 per stack
32 per unit/stack
Switch 5500 units
802.1w
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