Specifications

Chapter 5. IBM System Networking RackSwitch implementation 237
For detailed information about trunking, see 5.2.2, “Ports and trunking” on page 170.
5.4.4 Hot Links
For network topologies that require STP to be turned off, the Hot Links function provides
basic link redundancy with fast recovery.
Hot Links consists of up to 25 triggers. A trigger consists of a pair of Layer 2 interfaces, each
containing an individual port, trunk, or LACP adminkey. One interface is the Master, and the
other is a Backup. While the Master interface is set to the active state and forwards traffic, the
Backup interface is set to the standby state and blocks traffic until the Master interface fails. If
the Master interface fails, the Backup interface is set to active and forwards traffic. After the
Master interface is restored, it moves to the standby state and blocks traffic until the Backup
interface fails.
You may select a physical port, static trunk, or an LACP adminkey as a Hot Link interface.
Configuration guidelines
The following configuration guidelines apply to Hot links:
򐂰 Ports that are configured as Hot Link interfaces must have STP disabled.
򐂰 When Hot Links is turned on, MSTP, RSTP, and PVRST must be turned off.
򐂰 When Hot Links is turned on, UplinkFast must be disabled.
򐂰 A port that is a member of the Master interface cannot be a member of the Backup
interface.
򐂰 A port that is a member of one Hot Links trigger cannot be a member of another Hot
Links trigger.
򐂰 An individual port that is configured as a Hot Link interface cannot be a member of a trunk.
Configuring Hot Links
Run the following commands to configure Hot Links.
򐂰 switch(config)# hotlinks trigger 1 enable: Enables Hot Links trigger 1)
򐂰 switch(config)# hotlinks trigger 1 master port 1: Adds a port to the Master
interface.
򐂰 switch(config)# hotlinks trigger 1 backup port 2: Adds a port to the Backup
interface.
򐂰 switch(config)# hotlinks enable: Turns on Hot Links.
Important: The Hot Links function was not used in the reference architecture
implementation. The following section is just a short outline of the feature. For more
information, see 5.5, “More information” on page 238.