Enterasys Networks 9034310-01, 2G4082-25 manual Network Requirements, Link Aggregation

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Network Requirements

This chapter provides information concerning the network requirements that must be met to ensure a satisfactory performance from the DFE module. The information consists of the following:

For information about...	Refer to page...
Link Aggregation	2-1
10BASE-T Network	2-2
100BASE-TX Network	2-2
1000BASE-T Network	2-2
1000BASE-SX/LX/ELX Network	2-2

Note: The Matrix DFE-Diamond/Platinum Series Configuration Guide and the Cabling Guide referred to in the following sections can be found on the Enterasys Networks World Wide Web site: http://www.enterasys.com/support/manuals

Refer to “Related Documents” in About This Guide.

Link Aggregation

Link Aggregation is a method of grouping multiple physical ports on a network device into one logical link according to the IEEE 802.3ad‐2002 standard. Because Link Aggregation is standards based, it allows for automatic configuration with manual overrides (if applicable), and can operate on 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or 1000 Mbps Ethernet full duplex ports. Thus the network administrator can combine a group of five 100 Mbps ports into a logical link (trunk) that functions as a single 500 Mbps port. As long as the modules agree on which ports are in the trunk, there are no problems with looping, and the Spanning Tree can treat this trunk as a single port.

In normal usage (and typical implementations) there is no need to enable/disable ports for Link Aggregation. The default values will result in the maximum number of aggregations possible. If the switch is placed in a configuration with its peers not running the protocol, no aggregations will be formed and the modules will function normally (that is, Spanning Tree will block redundant paths).

For details about the commands involved with configuring the Link Aggregation function, refer to the Matrix DFE‐Diamond/Platinum Series Configuration Guide.

Matrix DFE-Platinum Series Installation Guide 2-1