3Com SuperStack II, NETBuilder SI manual Port and Path Options, Option Description

64CHAPTER 6: BASIC CONFIGURATION OF PORTS AND PATHS

A port is the logical interface used by the software to represent a connection to a network.

By default, each path is assigned to one port. For example, all network traffic received on physical path 1 is treated by the software as arriving on logical port 1, and all traffic that the software transmits through logical port 1 passes through physical path 1.

A path that is assigned to one port is a static path. Some configurations require the options described in Table 11.

Table 11 Port and Path Options

Option	Description
Multiple paths per	A dynamic path is not assigned to any one port, but is
port: dynamic paths	available in a dial pool. A dial pool enables you to dial
	multiple destinations, use bandwidth-on-demand, and
	failover to another line without having to reserve specific
	paths for a port. A port may require multiple paths from the
	dial pool.
Multiple paths per	Use multiple static paths on the same port:
port: static paths	■ To use both B channels together on a built-in ISDN
	connector using Multilink PPP.
	■ To reserve a path for disaster recovery.
	■ To use a path for dial-on-demand, failover, or
	bandwidth-on-demand.
Multiple ports per	A virtual port can be assigned to a path or to a SysCallerID
path: virtual ports	that represents a remote site.

Dynamic Paths Ports running PPP can use a dial pool of available paths. A dial pool enables you to dial multiple destinations, use bandwidth-on-demand, and failover to another line without having to reserve specific paths for a port. A dial pool is created when you unbind a path from its port by using:

SETDefault !<path> -PATH DialCONTrol = DYNamic

See “Configuring Bandwidth Management for PPP” on page 89 for more information about bandwidth management features such as dial-on-demand.