Load-Balancing Advantages - Cisco Catalyst 2960-XR Configuration Manual

Configuring EtherChannels
With source-and-destination IP address-based forwarding, when packets are forwarded to an EtherChannel,
they are distributed across the ports in the EtherChannel based on both the source and destination IP addresses
of the incoming packet. This forwarding method, a combination of source-IP and destination-IP address-based
forwarding, can be used if it is not clear whether source-IP or destination-IP address-based forwarding is
better suited on a particular switch. In this method, packets sent from the IP address A to IP address B, from
IP address A to IP address C, and from IP address C to IP address B could all use different ports in the channel.
Related Topics
Configuring EtherChannel Load-Balancing
EtherChannel Configuration Guidelines, on page 120
Layer 2 EtherChannel Configuration Guidelines, on page 122
Default EtherChannel Configuration, on page 119
Layer 3 EtherChannel Configuration Guidelines, on page 123

Load-Balancing Advantages

Different load-balancing methods have different advantages, and the choice of a particular load-balancing
method should be based on the position of the switch in the network and the kind of traffic that needs to be
load-distributed.
In the following figure, an EtherChannel of four workstations communicates with a router. Because the router
is a single MAC-address device, source-based forwarding on the switch EtherChannel ensures that the switch
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Catalyst 2960-XR Switch Layer 2 Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EX1
Load-Balancing and Forwarding Methods
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