This window appears when you choose Port > EtherChannels on the menu bar. You can also click here to launch it. Use it to display EtherChannel port groups and to:
Begin by selecting a device from the Host Name list. The information in the Channel Groups area will pertain to the selected device.
If the device is a Catalyst 2950 or 3550 switch, the window contains a Load Balance list. Select one of these options from the list:
Your choice will apply to every port group that you create on the switch.
Note: Other Catalyst switches can contain both source-based and destination-based port groups; you specify whether a port group is source-based or destination-based when you create the group.
This table explains the columns in the Channel Groups area.
Column | Explanation |
Group Number | The number assigned to the port group. |
Member Ports | The ports that belong to the port group. |
Status | For Catalyst 2950 and 3550 switches: Down or In use.
You also see either Layer 2 or Layer 3; if a port group contains
a routed port, it is a Layer 3 group. You
can assign an IP address to a Layer 3 group and enable routing on it. For other Catalyst switches: Either source or destination, indicating the distribution of traffic in the port group. |
The maximum number of port groups that you can create depends on the device. On Catalyst 2950 switches, you can create up to 6 port groups; on Catalyst 3550 switches, up to 64 port groups; on all other Catalyst switches, up to 12 port groups.
For all Catalyst switches, a source-based port group can contain up to 8 members. For Catalyst 2950 and 3550 switches, a destination-based port group also can contain up to 8 members. For all other Catalyst switches, a destination-based port group can contain an unlimited number of members.
Note: Review Port Group Restrictions before you use this procedure.
To create a port group:
Note: By default, a switch forwards traffic to a port group based on the packet source address. If you configure a static address for a port group, configure the switch to forward packets from the static address to all ports in the group to eliminate the chance of lost packets. If you set the port group to forward packets based on the destination address, configure the switch to forward packets destined for the static address to only one port in the port group. Otherwise, the destination address will receive duplicate packets.
You can modify a port group by:
To perform any of these tasks:
To change the forwarding method for a group:
Any port except an ATM port can belong to a port group, but these restrictions apply: