Specifications

CHAPTER

28-1

Catalyst 2970 Switch Software Configuration Guide

78-15462-03

Configuring EtherChannels

This chapter describes how to configure EtherChannels on Layer 2 interfaces on the Catalyst 2970

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.

Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, refer to the command

reference for this release.

This chapter consists of these sections:

• Understanding EtherChannels, page 28-1

• Configuring EtherChannels, page 28-8

• Displaying EtherChannel, PAgP, and LACP Status, page 28-17

Understanding EtherChannels

These sections describe how EtherChannels work:

• EtherChannel Overview, page 28-2

• Port-Channel Interfaces, page 28-3

• Port Aggregation Protocol, page 28-3

• Link Aggregation Control Protocol, page 28-5

• Load Balancing and Forwarding Methods, page 28-6