Dell POWEREDGE M1000E - Manual (Page 867)

C H A P T E R
37-1
Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3130 and 3032 for Dell Software Configuration Guide
OL-13270-03
37
Configuring EtherChannels and Link-State
Tracking
This chapter describes how to configure EtherChannels on Layer 2 and Layer 3 ports on the switch.
EtherChannel provides fault-tolerant high-speed links between switches, routers, and servers. You can
use it to increase the bandwidth between the wiring closets and the data center, and you can deploy it
anywhere in the network where bottlenecks are likely to occur. EtherChannel provides automatic
recovery for the loss of a link by redistributing the load across the remaining links. If a link fails,
EtherChannel redirects traffic from the failed link to the remaining links in the channel without
intervention. This chapter also describes how to configure link-state tracking. Unless otherwise noted,
the term switch refers to a standalone switch and to a switch stack.
Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the command
reference for this release.
This chapter consists of these sections:
• Understanding EtherChannels, page 37-1
• Configuring EtherChannels, page 37-10
• Displaying EtherChannel, PAgP, and LACP Status, page 37-22
• Understanding Link-State Tracking, page 37-22
• Configuring Link-State Tracking, page 37-24
Understanding EtherChannels
These sections describe how EtherChannels work:
• EtherChannel Overview, page 37-2
• Port-Channel Interfaces, page 37-4
• Port Aggregation Protocol, page 37-5
• Link Aggregation Control Protocol, page 37-6
• EtherChannel On Mode, page 37-7
• Load-Balancing and Forwarding Methods, page 37-8
• EtherChannel and Switch Stacks, page 37-9