At the same time, mission-critical
applications call for resilient network designs. With the wide deployment of faster switched
Ethernet links in the campus, organizations either need to aggregate their existing resources
or upgrade the speed in their uplinks and core to scale performance across the network
backbone.
EtherChannel is a technology that Cisco originally developed as a LAN switch-to-switch
technique of inverse multiplexing of multiple FastEthernet or Gigabit Ethernet switch ports
into one logical channel. Figure 2-15 shows some common EtherChannel deployment
points.
The bene?¬?t of EtherChannel is that it is cheaper than higher-speed media while using
existing switch ports. The following are advantages of EtherChannel:
?– It enables the creation of a high-bandwidth logical link.
?– It load-shares among the physical links involved.
?– It provides automatic failover.
?– It simpli?¬?es subsequent logical con?¬?guration. (Con?¬?guration is per logical link instead
of per physical link.)
CAUTION These ratios are appropriate for estimating average traf?¬?c from access layer,
end-user devices. They are not accurate for planning oversubscription from the server
farm or edge distribution module.
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