Nortel Networks 214393-A Chapter Setting up MultiLink Trunk ports, MultiLink Trunk MLT features

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Chapter 4

Setting up MultiLink Trunk ports

MultiLink Trunking (MLT) is a point-to-point connection that aggregates multiple ports so that they logically act like a single port with the aggregated bandwidth. Grouping multiple ports into a logical link allows you to achieve higher aggregate throughput on a switch-to-switch or switch-to-server application. MultiLink Trunking provides media and module redundancy.

MultiLink Trunk (MLT) features

A number of Nortel Networks products implement MultiLink Trunking and have different features and requirements based on the architecture of the device. For the BayStack 380-24F, MultiLink Trunking has the following general features and requirements:

•A unit can have up to six MultiLink Trunks (MLTs).

•Up to four ports can belong to an MLT.

•MultiLink Trunking is compatible with the Spanning Tree Protocol.

•IEEE 802.1Q tagging is supported on an MLT.

•For bridge traffic, the algorithm that distributes traffic across an MLT is based on the source and destination MAC addresses.

Setting up MLTs

To set up MLTs:

➨From the Device Manager menu bar, choose VLAN > MLT. The MLT dialog box opens (Figure 44).

Reference for the BayStack 380-24F Gigabit Switch Management Software