C H A P T E R 33 Configuring Etherchannels; Etherchannel Overview - Cisco WS-C3750-48PS-S Software Configuration Manual

Understanding EtherChannels

EtherChannel Overview

An EtherChannel consists of individual Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet links bundled into a single
logical link as shown in
Figure 33-1 Typical EtherChannel Configuration
The EtherChannel provides full-duplex bandwidth up to 800 Mbps (Fast EtherChannel) or 8 Gbps
(Gigabit EtherChannel) between your switch and another switch or host.
Each EtherChannel can consist of up to eight compatibly configured Ethernet ports. All ports in each
EtherChannel must be configured as either Layer 2 or Layer 3 ports. For Catalyst 3750 switches, the
number of EtherChannels is limited to 12. For more information, see the
Guidelines" section on page
ports are physical ports configured to be in Layer 3 mode by using the no switchport interface
configuration command. For more information, see the
Characteristics."
You can create an EtherChannel on a standalone switch, on a single switch in the stack, or on multiple
switches in the stack (known as cross-stack EtherChannel). See
If a link within an EtherChannel fails, traffic previously carried over that failed link changes to the
remaining links within the EtherChannel. A trap is sent for a failure, identifying the switch, the
EtherChannel, and the failed link. Inbound broadcast and multicast packets on one link in an
EtherChannel are blocked from returning on any other link of the EtherChannel.
Catalyst 3750 Switch Software Configuration Guide
33-2
Figure 33-1.
Catalyst 8500
series switch
Gigabit EtherChannel
1000BASE-X
10/100
Switched
links
Workstations
33-11. The EtherChannel Layer 3 ports are made up of routed ports. Routed
1000BASE-X
10/100
Switched
links
Workstations
Chapter 11, "Configuring Interface
Chapter 33 Configuring EtherChannels
"EtherChannel Configuration
Figure 33-2 and Figure 33-3.
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