Static Link Aggregation Overview; Static Link Aggregation Operation - Alcatel OmniSwitch 6624 Network Configuration Manual

Configuring Static Link Aggregation

Static Link Aggregation Overview

Link aggregation allows you to combine 2, 4, or 8 physical connections on a single switch or 2, 4, 8, or 16
links in a stack into large virtual connections known as link aggregation groups. You can create up to 4
link aggregation (both static and dynamic) groups on a single OmniSwitch 6624 or 6600-U24 switch, up
to 8 link aggregation groups on a single 6648 switch, and up to 30 link aggregation groups per stack.
You can create Virtual LANs (VLANs), configure Quality of Service (QoS) conditions, 802.1Q framing,
and other networking features on link aggregation groups because the switch's software treats these virtual
links just like physical links. (See
how link aggregation interacts with other software features.)
Load balancing is performed on the egress side of the switch by the link aggregation groups to evenly
balance traffic flows on the physical links. Load balancing distributes traffic by using a "hash coding" of
source and destination MAC addresses. Ports must be the same speed within the same link aggregate
group.
Alcatel's link aggregation software allows you to configure the following two different types of link
aggregation groups:
Static link aggregate groups
•
Dynamic link aggregate groups
•
This chapter describes static link aggregation (also known as OmniChannel). For information on dynamic
link aggregation, please refer to

Static Link Aggregation Operation

Static link aggregate groups, also known as OmniChannel, are virtual links between two nodes consisting
of 2, 4, or 8 physical links on a single switch or 2, 4, 8, or 16 physical links in a stack. Up to 30 static and
or dynamic link aggregation groups can be configured on a stack consisting of up to eight OmniSwitch
6600 Series switches.
Static aggregate groups can be created between two OmniSwitch 6600 Series switches, between an
OmniSwitch 6600 Series switch and an OmniSwitch 7700/7800 or 8800 switch, or between an
OmniSwitch 6600 Series switch and an early-generation Alcatel switch such as an Omni Switch/Router.
However, static aggregate groups cannot be created between OmniSwitch 6600 Series switches and some
switches from other vendors.
The figure below shows a static aggregate group that has been configured between Switch A and Switch
B. The static aggregate group links four 100 Mbps ports on Switch A to four 100 Mbps ports on Switch B.
The network administrator has created a separate VLAN for this group so users can use this high speed
link.
Switch software treats the
static aggregate groups as
one large virtual link.
OmniSwitch 6624/6648 Network Configuration Guide
"Relationship to Other Features" on page 10-6
Chapter 11, "Configuring Dynamic Link Aggregation."
Switch A
OmniSwitch 6648
Example of a Static Link Aggregate Group Network
Static Group
April 2004
Static Link Aggregation Overview
for more information on
Switch B
OmniSwitch 6648
page 10-5