Grouping And Ungrouping Ports - D-Link DSN-1100 X Stack User Manual

6.5 Grouping and Ungrouping Ports

The xStack Storage Management Center allows you to group individual physical Ethernet
ports into a single logical port called a link aggregate group (or "LAG"). Link aggregation is a
way to combine (or "aggregate") multiple data ports in parallel to act as a single logical
connection with increased bandwidth, and the xStack Storage system can do this, too, using
static link aggregation.
Combining two or more data ports increases the overall bandwidth capability between the
xStack Storage and your SAN, and creates resilient and redundant links. These capabilities
are suited for demanding applications that run in high-performance environments, such as
servers in enterprises, Web servers, and intranet servers gain from the high-bandwidth
capabilities of link aggregation.
Figure 6-8 shows an example of a LAG created between the xStack Storage and a Gigabit
Ethernet switch. In this example, multiple workgroups join to form one high-speed
aggregated link. In this figure, the xStack Storage system is connected to a Gigabit Ethernet
switch using eight 1000 Mbps links (two are not seen in this view). If one link fails between
the xStack Storage and switch, the other links in the LAG take over the traffic and the
connection is maintained. This configuration reduces the number of ports available for
connection to external devices. Aggregation thus implies a trade-off between port usage and
additional bandwidth for a given device pair.
When a LAG is clicked in the Main Display, the Link Aggregate Group (LAG) tab shows the
settings of the selected LAG. All settings in this tab are read-only, except for MTU Size,
which you can change to suit your requirements. If the selected LAG is not VLAN-enabled,
the network action Replace Group with VLAN enabled Group lets you VLAN-enable the
group.
94 Chapter 6 Managing Management and Ethernet Ports and Portals
The xStack Storage system does not support the LACP protocol. Rather, the
xStack Storage system supports static link aggregation groups (LAGs) that
must be configured at the xStack Storage system and at the switch or host.