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Cisco ONS 15310-CL and Cisco ONS 15310-MA Ethernet Card Software Feature and Configuration Guide R8.5
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9
Configuring Link Aggregation on the ML-Series
Card
This chapter describes how to configure link aggregation for the ML-Seri es cards, both EtherChannel
and packet-over-SONET (POS) channel. For additional information about the Cisco IOS commands
used in this chapter, refer to the Cisco IOS Command Reference publication.
This chapter contains the following major sections:
Understanding Link Aggregation, page 9-1
Configuring Link Aggregation, page 9-2
Understanding Encapsulation over FEC or POS Channel, page 9-6
Monitoring and Verifying EtherChannel and POS, page 9-8

Understanding Link Aggregation

The ML-Series card offers both EtherChannel and POS channel. Traditionally EtherChannel is a
trunking technology that groups together multiple full-duplex IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interfa ces to provide
fault-tolerant high-speed links between switches, routers, and servers. EtherChannel forms a single
higher bandwidth routing or bridging endpoint and was designed p rimarily for host-to-switch
connectivity. The ML-Series card extends this link aggregation technology to bridged PO S interfaces.
POS channel is only supported with LEX encapsulation.
Link aggregation provides the following benefits:
Logical aggregation of bandwidth
Load balancing
Fault tolerance
Port channel is a term for both POS channel and EtherChannel. The port channel interface is treated as
a single logical interface although it consists of multiple interfaces. Each port ch annel interfaces consists
of one type of interface, either Fast Ethernet or POS. You must perform all port channel configurations
on the port channel (EtherChannel or POS channel) interface rather than on the individual member
Ethernet or POS interfaces. You can create the port channel interface by entering the interface
port-channel interface configuration command.
Port channel connections are fully compatible with IEEE 802.1Q trunking and rout ing technologies.
IEEE 802.1Q trunking can carry multiple VLANs across a port channel.