Alcatel Carrier Internetworking Solutions Switch/Router Creating an OmniChannel

OmniChannel
Page 15-11
Server Channel Limitations
The following are limitations to creating a server channel on the Omni Switch/Router:
• The maximum number of Server Channels in the whole box is not fixed; however, it is
suggested that no more than 16 be created on the same switch.
• Each Server Channel can support up to 4 ports.
• Within one Server Channel, all of channel ports must be on the same slot.
• Within one Server Channel, all of channel ports must be in one VLAN.
• A port cannot be configured as Server Channel and Omni Channel port at the same time.
• Currently, Server Channel cannot be used with 802.1Q.
Creating an OmniChannel
You use the crechnl command to create an OmniChannel. Follow these steps:
1. Enter crechnl.
2. The following prompt displays:
Channel Number (2):
Enter the identification number you want to assign to this OmniChannel. By default, the
software lists the next available channel number in parentheses. (In this example, the next
available channel number is 2.) If you want to select the default, simply press <Enter>.
Otherwise, enter the desired channel number and press <Enter>.
3. The following prompt displays:
Channel type (1) omni_chnl (2) server_chnl
If the far end of the link is another Omni Switch/Router, you need to create an
OmniChannel. Select 1 and proceed to the next step. If the far end of the link is a server,
select 2 to create a Server Channel.
4. The following prompt displays:
To select a port, use the convention - Slot/Physical Port.
For eg. 2/1 is used to select Physical Port 1 on Slot 2
Primary Slot/Port:
Enter the slot and port that the switch will initially use as the Spanning Tree virtual port
for this channel. Each OmniChannel is considered a single virtual port within the network,
so only one physical port will participate in Spanning Tree.
♦ Note ♦
After a reboot or after a loss of a connection, the first
port in an OmniChannel that the switch brings up will
become the primary port. Therefore, one of the ports
you choose as the secondary port (explained in Step 5
below) could become the primary port and thus partici-
pate in Spanning Tree.