Multi-Link Trunking - Nortel BayStack 460-24T-PWR Product Brief

470-24T. BoSS simplifies network opera-
tions and provides the flexibility of stacking
different switches in the same stack.
Simplified network operations
BoSS simplifies network operations by
reducing the number of steps required for
switch software updates. With BoSS, only a
single image needs to be downloaded from
Nortel Networks Web site for four different
switch types. Loading the image to different
switches is also considerably simplified. The
image is loaded only to the base unit of the
stack which automatically loads it to other
switches in the stack. Finally, keeping track
of the version numbers is much easier as only
one version number needs to be remembered.
Flexible stacking with other
BayStack Switches
Using BoSS, the BayStack 460 Switch is
able to stack with any combination of
BayStack switches.
– BayStack 460-24T-PWR Switch can
be stacked with any combination of
BayStack 470-48T, BayStack 470-24T,
BayStack Business Policy Switch, and
BayStack 450.
Using BoSS v3.0, a maximum of eight
switches can be stacked in any valid
combination (Table 1).
It should be noted that the BayStack 470-48T
cannot be stacked with the BayStack 450.
Fail-safe stacking and resiliency
A key differentiation for the BayStack 460
Switch is its resilient stacking feature. The
BayStack 460 Switch can stack up to eight
units with a cascade stacking design, assur-
ing continuous uptime even if a switch in
the stack should fail. A loop-back—or
redundant cascade cable—is used to seam-
lessly connect the entire stack to eliminate
any single point of failure (Figure 2).

Multi-Link Trunking

Multi-Link Trunking (MLT) enables
grouping of links between the BayStack
460 Switch and another switch or a server
to provide greater bandwidth with active
redundant links.
Figure 3: Distributed Multi-Link Trunking
across stack for higher bandwidth
and fault tolerance
BayStack 460-24T-PWR Switch Stack
Multi-Gigabit
load-balancing
and failover
protection for
uninterrupted
access to the
network center
Passport 8600 Switch Server
With Nortel Networks unique Distributed
Multi-Link Trunking (DMLT) feature,
trunked ports can span multiple units of
the stack for fail-safe connectivity to
mission-critical servers and the network
center (Figure 3). This can provide band-
width of up to 800 Mbps (when used with
Figure 4: Split Multi-Link Trunking (SMLT)
BayStack 460-24T-PWR Switch Stack
Passport 8600 Switch
10/100 ports) or up to 8 Gbps (when used
with Gigabit uplink ports) with active
redundant links in one trunk. Up to six
trunks are supported per switch or stack.
Split Multi-Link Trunking (SMLT) elimi-
nates single points of failure and allows
wiring closet switches, such as the BayStack
460, to have multiple active connections
to the network core. The BayStack 460
Switch's ability to have multiple connec-
tions to a Passport 8600 network core
allows customers to double network band-
width with no extra investment. The
Passport 8600 provides a self-healing
network which delivers the reliability and
availability required by today's mission-
critical applications. By combining the
reliability of the Passport 8600 with the
resilient trunking features of the BayStack
460 (DMLT, MLT, etc.), Nortel Networks
has created the next generation of flexible
networking solutions (Figure 4).
BayStack 460-24T-PWR Switch Stack
All ports active
Interswitch Trunk
Passport 8600 Switch
3