26-3
Catalyst2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-11380-05
Chapter26 Configuring EtherChannels Understanding EtherChannels
Figure26-2 Relationship of Physical Ports, Logical Port Channels, and Channel Groups
After you configure an EtherChannel, configurati on chan ges appli ed to th e port -ch anne l inter fa ce ap ply
to all the physical interfaces assigned to the port-channel interface. Configuration changes appl ied to the
physical interface affect only the interface where you apply the configuration. To change the parameters
of all ports in an EtherChannel, apply configuration comma nd s t o the po rt-c ha nnel in terfa ce, fo r
example, spanning-tree commands or commands to configure a Layer 2 EtherChannel as a trun k.
Understanding the Port Aggregation Protocol
The Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) facilitates the automatic creation of EtherChannels by
exchanging packets between Ethernet interfaces. By using PAgP, the switch learns the identity of
partners capable of supporting PAgP and learns the capabilities of each interface. It then dynamically
groups similarly configured interfaces into a single logical link (channel or aggregate port ); thes e
interfaces are grouped based on hardware, administrative, and port parameter constraints. For example,
PAgP groups the interfaces with the same speed, duplex mode, native VLAN, VLAN range, and trunking
status and type. After grouping the links into an EtherChannel, PAgP adds the group to the spanning tr ee
as a single switch port.
65636
SYST RPS
DUPLX
MODE
SPEED
UTIL
STAT
Catalyst 2950
SERIES
1X
2X
11X
12X
123456789101112
1
13X
14X
23X
24X
131415161718192021222324
2
10/100 ports
GBIC module
slots
Physical
ports
Logical
port-channel
Channel-group
binding
Logical
port-channel