Riverstone Networks WICT1-12 - Manual (Page 101)

Riverstone Networks RS Switch Router User Guide Release 8.0 6-1
6 SMARTTRUNK CONFIGURATION
GUIDE
This chapter explains how to configure SmartTRUNKs on the RS. A SmartTRUNK is Riverstone’s technology
for load balancing and load sharing across a number of ports. SmartTRUNKs are used for building
high-performance, high-bandwidth links between Riverstone’s switching platforms. A SmartTRUNK is a group
of two or more physical ports that have been combined into a single logical port. Multiple physical connections
between devices are aggregated into a single, logical, high-speed path that acts as a single link. As flows are set
up on the SmartTRUNK, traffic is balanced across all ports in the combined link, balancing overall available
bandwidth.
SmartTRUNKs can also interoperate with switches, routers, and servers from other vendors. SmartTRUNKs
allow administrators the ability to increase bandwidth at congestion points in the network, eliminating potential
traffic bottlenecks. SmartTRUNKs also provide improved data link resiliency – if one link in a SmartTRUNK
fails, its flows are distributed among the remaining links.
Note For detailed descriptions of the SmartTRUNK commands, see the
“SmartTRUNK commands” section of the Riverstone RS Switch Router
Command Line Interface Reference Manual.
SmartTRUNKs are compatible with all RS features, including VLANs, STP, VRRP, and so on. SmartTRUNK
operation is supported over different media types and a variety of technologies including 10/100 Mbps Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet, and Packet over Sonet (PoS).
6.1 CONFIGURING SMARTTRUNKS
Steps for creating and configuring a SmartTRUNK:
1. Create a SmartTRUNK and specify its control protocol.
2. Add physical ports to the SmartTRUNK.
3. Specify the policy for how flows are allocated on the SmartTRUNK’s ports. This step is
optional, and two flow set up policies are supported:
- Round-robin – Flows are set up on ports sequentially.
- Link-utilization – A new flow is established on the port that is currently the least utilized
(the default).