IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LAG): what it is, and what it is not

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IEEE 802.3 HSSG
802.3ad Link Aggregation
• Does not change packet format
– No added headers or sequence numbers
– Type/Length interpretation unchanged
• Does not require added buffers
– No fragmentation or reassembly
• Does not re-order or mis-order packets
• Does not add significant latency
• Does not increase the bandwidth for a single
conversation
• Achieves high utilization only when carrying multiple
simultaneous conversations
• Is not transparent to some 802.1 sub-layers