Table Of Contents

Configuring Port Channels

Information About Port Channels

Port Channels

Port-Channel Interfaces

Basic Settings

Compatibility Requirements

Load Balancing Using Port Channels

LACP

LACP Overview

Port-Channel Modes

LACP ID Parameters

LACP Marker Responders

LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences

LACP Compatibility Enhancements

LACP Port-Channel MinLinks and MaxBundle

Virtualization Support

High Availability

Licensing Requirements for Port Channeling

Prerequisites for Port Channeling

Platform Support

Configuring Port Channels

Creating a Port Channel

Deleting a Port Channel

Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

Deleting a Port from a Port Channel

Shutting Down and Restarting the Port-Channel Interface

Forcing a Port to Join a Port Channel

Adding CDP Links to a Port Channel

Deleting Links to a Port Channel

Configuring a Port-Channel Description

Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port-Channel Interface

Configuring Load Balancing Using Port Channels

Enabling LACP

Configuring LACP Port-Channel Port Modes

Configuring the LACP System Priority

Configuring the LACP Port Priority

Disabling LACP Graceful Convergence

Reenabling LACP Graceful Convergence

Disabling LACP Suspend Individual

Reenabling LACP Suspend Individual

Monitoring the Port-Channel Interface Configuration

Field Descriptions for Port Channeling and LACP

Device: Port Channel Configuration Tab

Device: vPC Configuration Tab

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Common Settings Section

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Basic Settings Section

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Link Settings Section

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Switched Port Channels: VLAN Settings Section

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Routed Port Channels: IP Address Section

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: Advanced Settings Section

Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: Basic Settings Section

Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: IP Address Settings Section

Additional References

Related Documents

Standards

MIBs

Feature History for Configuring Port Channels

Configuring Port Channels

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This chapter describes how to configure port channels and to apply and configure the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) for more efficient use of port channels using Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM).

Beginning with Cisco Release NX-OS 5.1(1), you can use any of the F1 series modules or M1 series modules for the port channel, but you cannot combine member ports on an F1 module with ports on an M1 module in a single port channel. On a single switch, the port-channel compatibility parameters must be the same among all the port-channel members on the physical switch.

For more information about the Data Center Network Manager features and using the Topology tab with port channels, see the Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Cisco DCNM for LAN, Release 5.x .

Note The Cisco NX-OS release that is running on a managed device may not support all the features or settings described in this chapter. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the documentation and release notes for your platform and software release.

Note System-message logging levels for the port channels feature must meet or exceed Cisco DCNM requirements. During device discovery, Cisco DCNM detects inadequate logging levels and raises them the minimum requirements. Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches that run Cisco NX-OS Release 4.0 are an exception. For Cisco NX-OS Release 4.0, prior to device discovery, use the command-line interface to configure logging levels to meet or exceed Cisco DCNM requirements. For more information, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 5.x.

This chaptI willer includes the following sections:

•Information About Port Channels

•Licensing Requirements for Port Channeling

•Prerequisites for Port Channeling

•Platform Support

•Platform Support

•Configuring Port Channels

•Monitoring the Port-Channel Interface Configuration

•Field Descriptions for Port Channeling and LACP

•Additional References

•Feature History for Configuring Port Channels

Information About Port Channels

A port channel is an aggregation of multiple physical interfaces that creates a logical interface. You can bundle up to 8 individual active links into a port channel to provide increased bandwidth and redundancy. Port channeling also load balances traffic on the M series module and across these physical interfaces. The port channel stays operational as long as at least one physical interface within the port channel is operational.

Note Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, you can bundle up to 16 active links into a port channel on the F Series module.

You cannot configure a shared interface to be part of a port channel. See the Cisco NX-OS FCoE Configuration Guide for Cisco Nexus 7000 and Cisco MDS 9500 for more information on shared interfaces.

You can create a Layer 2 port channel by bundling compatible Layer 2 interfaces, or you can create Layer 3 port channels by bundling compatible Layer 3 interfaces. After you create a Layer 3 port channel, you can add an IP address to the port-channel interface and create subinterfaces on the Layer 3 port channel. You cannot combine Layer 2 and Layer 3 interfaces in the same port channel.

Beginning in Cisco NX-OS Release 4.2, you can apply port security to port channels. See the Security Configuration Guide, Cisco DCNM for LAN, Release 5.x, for information on port security.

All ports in the port channel must be in the same device; you cannot configure port channels across devices.

You can also change the port channel from Layer 3 to Layer 2. See Chapter 3 "Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces," for information on creating Layer 2 interfaces.

Any configuration changes that you apply to the port channel are applied to each member interface of that port channel. For example, if you configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) parameters on the port channel, the Cisco NX-OS software applies those parameters to each interface in the port channel.

Note After a Layer 2 port becomes part of a port channel, all switchport configurations must be done on the port channel; you can no longer apply switchport configurations to individual port-channel members. You cannot apply Layer 3 configurations to an individual port-channel member either; you must apply the configuration to the entire port channel.

You can create subinterfaces on a Layer 3 port channel, even though a subinterface is part of the logical port-channel interface. See the "Subinterfaces" section for more information on port-channel subinterfaces.

You can use static port channels, with no associated aggregation protocol, for a simplified configuration.

For more flexibility, you can use the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), which is defined in IEEE 802.3ad. When you use LACP, the link passes protocol packets. You cannot configure LACP on shared interfaces.

See the "LACP Overview" section for information on LACP.

This section includes the following topics:

•Port Channels

•Port-Channel Interfaces

•Basic Settings

•Compatibility Requirements

•Load Balancing Using Port Channels

•LACP

•Virtualization Support

•High Availability

Port Channels

A port channel bundles physical links into a channel group to create a single logical link that provides the aggregate bandwidth of up to 8 physical links on the M series module. If a member port within a port channel fails, the traffic previously carried over the failed link switches to the remaining member ports within the port channel.

Note Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, you can bundle up to 16 active ports simultaneously into a port channel on the F Series module.

You can bundle up to 8 ports into a static port channel without using any aggregation protocol. On the M Series module, you can bundle up to 8 active and 8 standby on the M Series module and up to 16 ports on the F Series module.

However, you can enable the LACP to use port channels more flexibly. Configuring port channels with LACP and static port channels require a slightly different procedure (see the "Configuring Port Channels" section).

Note The device does not support Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) for port channels.

Each port can be in only one port channel. All the ports in a port channel must be compatible; they must use the same speed and duplex mode (see the "Compatibility Requirements" section). When you run static port channels with no aggregation protocol, the physical links are all in the on channel mode; you cannot change this mode without enabling LACP (see the "Port-Channel Modes" section).

You can create port channels directly by creating the port-channel interface, or you can create a channel group that acts to aggregate individual ports into a bundle. When you associate an interface with a channel group, the software creates a matching port channel automatically if the port channel does not already exist. In this instance, the port channel assumes the Layer 2 or Layer 3 configuration of the first interface. You can also create the port channel first. In this instance, the Cisco NX-OS software creates an empty channel group with the same channel number as the port channel and takes the default Layer 2 or Layer 3 configuration, as well as the compatibility configuration (see the "Compatibility Requirements" section). See Chapter 4 "Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces," for more information on creating and deleting port-channel subinterfaces.

Note The port channel is operationally up when at least one of the member ports is up and that port's status is channeling. The port channel is operationally down when all member ports are operationally down.

Port-Channel Interfaces

Figure 5-1 shows port-channel interfaces.

Figure 5-1 Port-Channel Interfaces

You can classify port-channel interfaces as Layer 2 or Layer 3 interfaces. In addition, you can configure Layer 2 port channels in either access or trunk mode. Layer 3 port-channel interfaces have routed ports as channel members and may have subinterfaces.

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 4.2(1), you can configure a Layer 3 port channel with a static MAC address. If you do not configure this value, the Layer 3 port channel uses the router MAC of the first channel member to come up. See the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide, Release 5.x, for information on configuring static MAC addresses on Layer 3 port channels.

See Chapter 3 "Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces," for information on configuring Layer 2 ports in access or trunk mode and Chapter 4 "Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces," for information on configuring Layer 3 interfaces and subinterfaces.

Basic Settings

You can configure the following basic settings for the port-channel interface

•Description

•Duplex

•IP addresses—Both IPv4 and IPv6

•Shutdown

•Speed

Compatibility Requirements

When you add an interface to a channel group, the software checks certain interface attributes to ensure that the interface is compatible with the channel group. For example, you cannot add a Layer 3 interface to a Layer 2 channel group. The Cisco NX-OS software also checks a number of operational attributes for an interface before allowing that interface to participate in the port-channel aggregation.

The compatibility check includes the following operational attributes:

•Network layer

•(Link) speed capability

•Speed configuration

•Duplex capability

•Duplex configuration

•Port mode

•Access VLAN

•Trunk native VLAN

•Tagged or untagged

•Allowed VLAN list

•MTU size

•SPAN—cannot be a SPAN source or a destination port

•Layer 3 ports—cannot have subinterfaces

•Storm control

•Flow-control capability

•Flow-control configuration

You can only add interfaces configured with the channel mode set to on to static port channels, and you can only add interfaces configured with the channel mode as active or passive to port channels that are running LACP. You can configure these attributes on an individual member port. If you configure a member port with an incompatible attribute, the software suspends that port in the port channel.

Alternatively, you can force ports with incompatible parameters to join the port channel if the following parameters are the same:

•(Link) speed capability

•Speed configuration

•Duplex capability

•Duplex configuration

•Flow-control capability

•Flow-control configuration

When the interface joins a port channel, some of its individual parameters are removed and replaced with the values on the port channel as follows:

•Bandwidth

•Delay

•Extended Authentication Protocol over UDP

•VRF

•IP address (v4 and v6)

•MAC address

•Spanning Tree Protocol

•NAC

•Service policy

•Access control lists (ACLs)

Many interface parameters remain unaffected when the interface joins or leaves a port channel as follows:

•Beacon

•Description

•CDP

•LACP port priority

•Debounce

•UDLD

•MDIX

•Rate mode

•Shutdown

•SNMP trap

If you configure subinterfaces for the port-channel interface and remove a member port from the port channel, the configuration of the port-channel subinterface does not propagate to the member ports.

Note When you delete the port channel, the software sets all member interfaces as if they were removed from the port channel.

See the "LACP Marker Responders" section for information on port-channel modes.

Load Balancing Using Port Channels

The Cisco NX-OS software load balances traffic across all operational interfaces in a port channel by hashing the addresses in the frame to a numerical value that selects one of the links in the channel. Port channels provide load balancing by default. Port-channel load-balancing uses MAC addresses, IP addresses, or Layer 4 port numbers to select the link. Port-channel load balancing uses either source or destination addresses or ports, or both source and destination addresses or ports.

You can configure the load-balancing mode to apply to all port channels that are configured on the entire device or on specified modules. The per-module configuration takes precedence over the load-balancing configuration for the entire device. You can configure one load-balancing mode for the entire device, a different mode for specified modules, and another mode for the other specified modules. You cannot configure the load-balancing method per port channel.

You can configure the type of load-balancing algorithm used. You can choose the load-balancing algorithm that determines which member port to select for egress traffic by looking at the fields in the frame.

Note The default load-balancing mode for Layer 3 interfaces is the source and destination IP address, and the default load-balancing mode for non-IP interfaces is the source and destination MAC address.

Note You can configure the device to use one of the following methods to load balance across the port channel:

•Destination MAC address

•Source MAC address

•Source and destination MAC address

•Destination IP address

•Source IP address

•Source and destination IP address

•Source TCP/UDP port number

•Destination TCP/UDP port number

•Source and destination TCP/UDP port number

Non-IP and Layer 3 port channels both follow the configured load-balancing method, using the source, destination, or source and destination parameters. For example, when you configure load balancing to use the source IP address, all non-IP traffic uses the source MAC address to load balance the traffic while the Layer 3 traffic load balances the traffic using the source IP address. Similarly, when you configure the destination MAC address as the load-balancing method, all Layer 3 traffic uses the destination IP address while the non-IP traffic load balances using the destination MAC address.

You can configure load balancing either by the entire system or by specific modules, regardless of the VDC. The port-channel load-balancing is a global setting across all VDCs.

If the ingress traffic is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) traffic, the software looks under the labels for the IP address on the packet.

The load-balancing algorithms that use port channels do not apply to multicast traffic. Regardless of the load-balancing algorithm you have configured, multicast traffic uses the following methods for load balancing with port channels:

•Multicast traffic with Layer 4 information—Source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port

•Multicast traffic without Layer 4 information—Source IP address, destination IP address

•Non-IP multicast traffic—Source MAC address, destination MAC address

Note Devices that run Cisco IOS were able to optimize the behavior of the member ports ASICs if a failure of a single member occurred by running the port-channel hash-distribution command. The Cisco Nexus 7000 Series device performs this optimization by default and does not require or support this command. Cisco NX-OS does support the customization of the load-balancing criteria on port channels through the port-channel load-balance ethernet command, either for the entire device or on a per-module basis. See the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Interfaces Command Reference, for information on this command.

LACP

LACP allows you to configure up to 16 interfaces into a port channel. A maximum of 8 interfaces can be active, and a maximum of 8 interfaces can be placed in a standby state on the M Series modules.

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, you can bundle up to 16 active links into a port channel on the F Series module.

This section includes the following topics:

•LACP Overview

•Port-Channel Modes

•LACP ID Parameters

•LACP Marker Responders

•LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences

•LACP Compatibility Enhancements

•LACP Port-Channel MinLinks and MaxBundle

LACP Overview

Note You must enable LACP before you can use LACP. By default, LACP is disabled.

See the "Enabling LACP" section for information on enabling LACP.

Beginning in Cisco NX-OS Release 4.2, the system automatically takes a checkpoint before disabling the feature, and you can roll back to this checkpoint. See the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 5.x, for information on rollbacks and checkpoints.

Figure 5-2 shows how individual links can be combined into LACP port channels and channel groups as well as function as individual links.

Figure 5-2 Individual Links Combined into a Port Channel

With LACP, you can bundle up to 16 interfaces in a channel group. If the channel group has more than 8 interfaces, the remaining interfaces are in hot standby for the port channel associated with this channel group on the M Series modules.

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, you can bundle up to 16 active links into a port channel on the F Series module.

Note When you delete the port channel, the software automatically deletes the associated channel group. All member interfaces revert to their original configuration.

You cannot disable LACP while any LACP configurations are present.

Port-Channel Modes

Individual interfaces in port channels are configured with channel modes. When you run static port channels with no aggregation protocol, the channel mode is always set to on.

After you enable LACP globally on the device, you enable LACP for each channel by setting the channel mode for each interface to active or passive. You can configure either channel mode for individual links in the LACP channel group when you are adding the links to the channel group.

Note You must enable LACP globally before you can configure an interface in either the active or passive channel mode.

Table 5-1 describes the channel modes.

Table 5-1 Channel Modes for Individual Links in a Port Channel

Channel Mode	Description
passive	LACP mode that places a port into a passive negotiating state in which the port responds to LACP packets that it receives but does not initiate LACP negotiation.
active	LACP mode that places a port into an active negotiating state in which the port initiates negotiations with other ports by sending LACP packets.
on	All static port channels (that are not running LACP) remain in this mode. If you attempt to change the channel mode to active or passive before enabling LACP, the device displays an error message. You enable LACP on each channel by configuring the interface in that channel for the channel mode as either active or passive. When an LACP attempts to negotiate with an interface in the on state, it does not receive any LACP packets and becomes an individual link with that interface; it does not join the LACP channel group. The default port-channel mode is on.

Both the passive and active modes allow LACP to negotiate between ports to determine if they can form a port channel based on criteria such as the port speed and the trunking state.The passive mode is useful when you do not know whether the remote system, or partner, supports LACP.

Ports can form an LACP port channel when they are in different LACP modes if the modes are compatible as in the following examples:

•A port in active mode can form a port channel successfully with another port that is in active mode.

•A port in active mode can form a port channel with another port in passive mode.

•A port in passive mode cannot form a port channel with another port that is also in passive mode, because neither port will initiate negotiation.

•A port in on mode is not running LACP and cannot form a port channel with another port that is in active or passive mode.

LACP ID Parameters

This section describes the LACP parameters in the following topics:

•LACP System Priority

•LACP Port Priority

•LACP Administrative Key

LACP System Priority

Each system that runs LACP has an LACP system priority value. You can accept the default value of 32768 for this parameter, or you can configure a value between 1 and 65535. LACP uses the system priority with the MAC address to form the system ID and also uses the system priority during negotiation with other devices. A higher system priority value means a lower priority.

The system ID is different foreach VDC.

Note The LACP system ID is the combination of the LACP system priority value and the MAC address.

LACP Port Priority

Each port that is configured to use LACP has an LACP port priority. You can accept the default value of 32768 for the LACP port priority, or you can configure a value between 1 and 65535. LACP uses the port priority with the port number to form the port identifier.

LACP uses the port priority to decide which ports should be put in standby mode when there is a limitation that prevents all compatible ports from aggregating and which ports should be put into active mode. A higher port priority value means a lower priority for LACP. You can configure the port priority so that specified ports have a lower priority for LACP and are most likely to be chosen as active links, rather than hot-standby links.

LACP Administrative Key

LACP automatically configures an administrative key value equal to the channel-group number on each port configured to use LACP. The administrative key defines the ability of a port to aggregate with other ports. A port's ability to aggregate with other ports is determined by these factors:

•Port physical characteristics, such as the data rate and the duplex capability

•Configuration restrictions that you establish

LACP Marker Responders

You can dynamically redistribute the data traffic by using port channels. This redistribution may result from a removed or added link or a change in the load-balancing scheme. Traffic redistribution that occurs in the middle of a traffic flow can cause misordered frames.

LACP uses the Marker Protocol to ensure that frames are not duplicated or reordered due to this redistribution. The Marker Protocol detects when all the frames of a given traffic flow are successfully received at the remote end. LACP sends Marker PDUs on each of the port-channel links. The remote system responds to the Marker PDU once it receives all the frames received on this link prior to the Marker PDU. The remote system then sends a Marker Responder. Once the Marker Responders are received by the local system on all member links of the port channel, the local system can redistribute the frames in the traffic flow with no chance of misordering. The software supports only Marker Responders.

LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences

Table 5-2 summarizes the major differences between port channels with LACP enabled and static port channels.

Table 5-2 Port Channels with LACP Enabled and Static Port Channels 

Configurations	Port Channels with LACP Enabled	Static Port Channels
Protocol applied	Enable globally	Not applicable
Channel mode of links	Can be either: •Active •Passive	Can only be On
Maximum number of links in channel	16	8

LACP Compatibility Enhancements

Several new commands have been added in Release 4.2(3) to address interoperability issues and to assist with faster LACP protocol convergence.

When the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series device is connected to a non-Nexus peer, its graceful failover defaults may delay the time taken for a disabled port to be brought down or cause traffic from the peer to be lost. To address these conditions, the lacp graceful-convergence command was added.

By default, LACP sets a port to the suspended state if it does not receive an LACP PDU from the peer. In some cases, although this feature helps in preventing loops created due to misconfigurations, it can cause servers to fail to boot up because they require LACP to logically bring up the port. You can put a port into an individual state by using the lacp suspend-individual command.

LACP Port-Channel MinLinks and MaxBundle

A port channel aggregates similar ports to provide increased bandwidth in a single manageable interface.

With the Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, the introduction of the minlinks and maxbundle feature further refines LACP port-channel operation and provides increased bandwidth in one manageable interface.

The LACP port-channel MinLink feature does the following:

•Configures the minimum number of ports that must be linked up and bundled in the LACP port channel.

•Prevents the low-bandwidth LACP port channel from becoming active.

•Causes the LACP port channel to become inactive if there are few active members ports to supply the required minimum bandwidth.

The LACP MaxBundle defines the maximum number of bundled ports allowed in a LACP port channel.

The LACP MaxBundle feature does the following:

•Defines an upper limit on the number of bundled ports in an LACP port channel.

•Allows hot-standby ports with fewer bundled ports. (For example, in an LACP port channel with five ports, you can designate two of those ports as hot-standby ports.)

Note The minlink and maxbundle feature works only with LACP port channels. However, the device allows you to configure this feature in non-LACP port channels, but the feature is not operational.

Virtualization Support

You must configure the member ports and other port channel-relatedonfiguration from the virtual device context (VDC) that contains the port channel and member ports. You can configure up to 256 port channels across all VDCs. You can use the numbers from 1 to 4096 in each VDC to number the port channels and you can reuse these port channel numbers in different VDCs. For example, you can configure port channel 100 in VDC1 and also configure a different port channel 100 in VDC2.

However, the LACP system ID is different for each VDC. For more information on LACP, see the "LACP Overview" section.

Note See the Virtual Device Context Configuration Guide, Cisco DCNM for LAN, Release 5.x, for complete information on VDCs and assigning resources.

All ports in one port channel must be in the same VDC. When you are using LACP, all possible 8 active ports and all possible 8 standby ports must be in the same VDC. The port channels can originate in one VDC (with all ports in that channel in the same VDC) and partner with a port channel in another VDC (again, all ports in that channel must be in that VDC).

Note The port-channeling load-balancing mode works either for a single module or across the entire device. You must configure load balancing using port channels in the default VDC. You cannot configure load balancing using port channels within specified VDCs. See the "Load Balancing Using Port Channels" section for more information on load balancing.

High Availability

Port channels provide high availability by load balancing traffic across multiple ports. If a physical port fails, the port channel is still operational if there is an active member in the port channel. You can bundle ports from different modules and create a port channel that remains operational even if a module fails because the settings are common across the module.

Port channels support stateful and stateless restarts. A stateful restart occurs on a supervisor switchover. After the switchover, the Cisco NX-OS software applies the runtime configuration after the switchover.

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.1, the port channel goes down if the operational ports fall below the configured minlink number.

Note See the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS High Availability and Redundancy Guide, Release 5.x, for complete information on high-availability features.

Licensing Requirements for Port Channeling

The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:

Product	License Requirement
Cisco DCNM	Port channeling requires no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco DCNM and is provided at no charge to you.
Cisco NX-OS	Port channeling requires no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco NX-OS system images and is provided at no extra charge to you. For a complete explanation of the NX-OS licensing scheme, see the Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide.

However, using VDCs requires an Advanced Services license.

Prerequisites for Port Channeling

Port channeling has the following prerequisites:

•You must be logged onto the device.

•Before using DCNM to configure port channels, you must set the logging level by entering the NX-OS global command logging-level port-channel 6 in the command line of your device. See the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 5.x for information on logging levels.

•All ports for a single port channel must be either Layer 2 or Layer 3 ports.

•All ports for a single port channel must meet the compatibility requirements. See the "Compatibility Requirements" section for more information on the compatibility requirements.

•You must configure load balancing from the default VDC.

Platform Support

The following platforms support this feature but may implement it differently. For platform-specific information, including guidelines and limitations, system defaults, and configuration limits, see the corresponding documentation.

Platform	Documentation
Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches	Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches Documentation
Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches	Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches Documentation
Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Switches	Cisco Nexus 4000 Series Switches Documentation
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches	Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches Documentation
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches	Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches Documentation
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches	Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches Documentation

Configuring Port Channels

Note See the Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Cisco DCNM for LAN, Release 5.x , for information on using the Topology feature with port channels.

This section includes the following topics:

•Creating a Port Channel

•Deleting a Port Channel

•Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

•Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

•Deleting a Port from a Port Channel

•Shutting Down and Restarting the Port-Channel Interface

•Forcing a Port to Join a Port Channel

•Adding CDP Links to a Port Channel

•Deleting Links to a Port Channel

•Configuring a Port-Channel Description

•Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port-Channel Interface

•Configuring Load Balancing Using Port Channels

•Enabling LACP

•Configuring LACP Port-Channel Port Modes

•Configuring the LACP System Priority

•Configuring the LACP Port Priority

•Disabling LACP Graceful Convergence

•Disabling LACP Suspend Individual

Creating a Port Channel

You can create a port channel before you create a channel group. The software automatically creates the associated channel group.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.

Ensure that you are in the correct device (or choose Virtual Devices from the Feature Selector pane).

You use the Port Channel panel to create a port channel. You create switched, or Layer 2, port channels separately from routed, or Layer 3, port channels.

DETAILED STEPS

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Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, click the device in which you want to create a port channel.

The software highlights that device.

Step 3 From the menu bar, choose New > Switched Port Channel to create a Layer 2 port channel.

The software adds a line with the newly created port channel.

Step 4 From the menu bar, choose New > Routed Port Channel to create a Layer 3 port channel.

The software adds a line with the newly created port channel.

Step 5 Enter the numerical value for the Channel ID.

Step 6 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

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Deleting a Port Channel

You use the Port Channel pane to delete a port channel (see Figure 5-3).

Figure 5-3 Deleting a Port Channel

DETAILED STEPS

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Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device in which you want to delete the port channel.

The software highlights that device.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to delete.

The software highlights that port channel.

Step 4 From the menu bar, choose Actions > Delete.

Step 5 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

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Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

You can add a Layer 2 port to a new channel group or to a channel group that already contains Layer 2 ports. The software creates the port channel associated with this channel group if the port channel does not already exist.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.

All Layer 2 member ports must run in full-duplex mode and at the same speed.

Note If you cannot add a particular interface to a particular port channel, the software returns an error message that specifies the compatibility problem.

You use the Ethernet pane to add Layer 2 ports to switched port channels (see Figure 5-4).

Figure 5-4 Adding Ports

DETAILED STEPS

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Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Physical > Ethernet to open the Ethernet pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the interfaces.

Step 3 Click the slot to display the list of interfaces.

Step 4 Click the interface.

The system highlights the interface in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 5 In the Details pane, click the Port Details tab.

Step 6 Click the Basic Settings section.

Step 7 From the Port Channel Id drop-down list, choose the switched port channel to which you want to add the Layer 2 port.

Step 8 Click OK.

Step 9 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

You can add a Layer 3 port to a new channel group or to a channel group that is already configured with Layer 3 ports. The software creates the port channel associated with this channel group if the port channel does not already exist.

If the Layer 3 port that you are adding has a configured IP address, the system removes that IP address before adding the port to the port channel. After you create a Layer 3 port channel, you can assign an IP address to the port-channel interface. You can also add subinterfaces to an existing Layer 3 port channel.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.

Remove any IP addresses configured on the Layer 3 interface.

You use the Ethernet pane to add a Layer 3 port to a routed port channel (see Figure 5-4).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Physical > Ethernet to open the Ethernet pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the interfaces.

Step 3 Click the slot to display the list of interfaces.

Step 4 Click the interface.

The system highlights the interface in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 5 In the Details pane, click the Port Details tab.

Step 6 Click the Port Mode Settings section.

Step 7 Delete the IP address information.

Step 8 Click the Basic Settings section.

Step 9 From the Port Channel Id drop-down list, choose the routed port channel to which you want to add the routed port.

Step 10 Click OK.

Step 11 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

(See Chapter 4 "Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces" for information on assigning IP addresses and adding subinterfaces.)

Deleting a Port from a Port Channel

You use the Port Channel pane to delete a port from a port channel (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel from which you want to delete a port.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 In the Details pane, click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

Step 6 Click the port that you want to delete.

Step 7 From the menu bar, choose Actions > Delete to delete the port from the port channel.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Shutting Down and Restarting the Port-Channel Interface

You can shut down and restart the port-channel interface. When you shut down a port-channel interface, no traffic passes and the interface is administratively down.

You use the Port Channel pane to configure the port-channel interface as administratively up or down (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 In the Details pane, click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Common Settings section.

Step 6 From the Admin Status drop-down list, choose Up or Down.

The default setting is Up.

Step 7 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Forcing a Port to Join a Port Channel

You can force ports with incompatible parameters to join the port channel if the following parameters are the same:

•(Link) speed capability

•Speed configuration

•Duplex capability

•Duplex configuration

•Flow-control capability

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 From the Associated Panes, select the Interfaces tab.

The tab opens and displays the devices and interfaces.

Step 5 Select the port that you want to force to join the port channel.

Step 6 From the menu bar, click Actions and choose Add Port to Port Channel with Force.

Step 7 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Adding CDP Links to a Port Channel

You can add Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) links to port channels, either with or without force.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

The CDP links must exist.

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 From the Associated Panes, select the Physical Links tab.

The tab opens and displays the physical links to the port channel.

Step 5 Select one or more links that you want add to the port channel.

Step 6 From the menu bar, click Actions and choose Add Link Port Channel.

The DCNM software adds the ports on either side of the physical link as local and neighbor ports in the Link Settings section of the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 7 (Optional) From the menu bar, click Actions and choose Add Link Port Channel with Force.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Deleting Links to a Port Channel

You can delete links to port channels.

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channels Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The section expands and the system displays all the links to the selected port channel.

Step 6 Click the link you want to delete.

Step 7 Right-click, and select Delete.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring a Port-Channel Description

You can configure a description for a port channel.

You use the Port Channel pane to add or modify the description of the port-channel interface (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 In the Details pane, click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Basic Settings section.

Step 6 In the Local Device:switch area, double-click the Description row to add or modify the description.

The default is blank.

Step 7 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port-Channel Interface

You can configure the speed and duplex settings for a port-channel interface.

You use the Port Channel pane to configure the speed and duplex settings for the port-channel interface (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

Step 3 Click the port channel that you want to work with.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 In the Details pane, click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Basic Settings section.

Step 6 In the Local Device:switch area, double-click the Speed setting to set the speed.

Step 7 Choose the speed that you want from the drop-down list.

Step 8 In the Local Device:switch area, double-click the Duplex setting to set the duplex setting.

Step 9 Choose the duplex setting that you want from the drop-down list.

Step 10 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring Load Balancing Using Port Channels

You can configure the load-balancing algorithm for port channels that applies to the entire device or to only one module. Module-based load balancing takes precedence over device-based load balancing.

You use the Port Channel pane to configure load balancing using port channeling.

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

The system displays the devices in the Contents pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, click the device that you want.

Tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 In the Details pane, click the Configuration tab.

Step 4 From the Load Balancing Algorithm drop-down list, choose the load-balancing method that you want.

The default for Layer 2 port channels is Source Destination MAC, and the default for Layer 3 port channels is Source Destination IP.

Step 5 (Optional) In the Network Card Loadbalance Settings area, click the row with the other module in the chassis that you want to configure for load balancing.

Step 6 (Optional) In the Load Balancing Algorithm field, choose the load-balancing method that you want for the other module.

Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to configure the load-balancing method for any other modules in the chassis.

Step 7 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Enabling LACP

LACP is disabled by default; you must enable LACP before you begin LACP configuration. You cannot disable LACP while any LACP configuration is present.

LACP learns the capabilities of LAN port groups dynamically and informs the other LAN ports. Once LACP identifies correctly matched Ethernet links, it group the links into a port channel. The port channel is then added to the spanning tree as a single bridge port.

You enable the LACP feature using the Port Channel pane.

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, click the device.

Step 3 From the menu bar, choose Actions > Enable LACP Service.

The default is disabled.

Step 4 (Optional) To disable LACP, from the menu bar, choose Actions > Disable LACP Service.

Step 5 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring LACP Port-Channel Port Modes

After you enable LACP, you can configure the channel mode for each individual link in the LACP port channel as active or passive. This channel configuration mode allows the link to operate with LACP.

When you configure port channels with no associated aggregation protocol, all interfaces on both sides of the link remain in the on channel mode.

You configure the LACP channel mode using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, click the Mode field and choose Active or Passive from the drop-down list.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring the LACP System Priority

The LACP system ID is the combination of the LACP system priority value and the MAC address.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP.

You configure the LACP system priority using the Port Channel pane.

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, click the device.

Step 3 In the Details pane, click the Configuration tab.

Step 4 In the LACP System Priority field, enter the value that you want for the system ID.

The default value is 32768.

Step 5 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Configuring the LACP Port Priority

When you enable LACP, you can configure each link in the LACP port channel for the port priority.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP.

You configure the LACP port priority using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, double-click the Priority field and enter the value that you want for the port priority.

The default value is 32768.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Disabling LACP Graceful Convergence

By default, LACP graceful convergence is enabled. In situations where you need to support LACP interoperability with devices where the graceful failover defaults may delay the time taken for a disabled port to be brought down or cause traffic from the peer to be lost, you can disable convergence.

Note The port channel has to be in the administratively down state before the command can be run.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP.

You configure the LACP port priority using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, double-click the Priority field and enter the value that you want for the port priority.

The default value is 32768.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Reenabling LACP Graceful Convergence

If the default LACP graceful convergence is once again required, you can reenable convergence.

You configure the LACP port priority using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, double-click the Priority field and enter the value that you want for the port priority.

The default value is 32768.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Disabling LACP Suspend Individual

LACP sets a port to the suspended state if it does not receive an LACP PDU from the peer. This can cause some servers to fail to boot up as they require LACP to logically bring-up the port. You can tune behavior to individual use.

Note You should only enter the lacp suspend-individual command on edge ports. The port channel has to be in the administratively down state before you can use this command.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Enable LACP.

You configure the LACP port priority using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, double-click the Priority field and enter the value that you want for the port priority.

The default value is 32768.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Reenabling LACP Suspend Individual

You can reenable the default LACP individual port suspension.

You configure the LACP port priority using the Port Channel pane (see Figure 5-3).

DETAILED STEPS

---

Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose Interfaces > Logical > Port Channel to open the Port Channel pane.

Step 2 From the Contents pane, in the Summary pane, double-click the device to display the port channels.

The system highlights the device in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 3 Click the port channel.

The system highlights the port channel in the Summary pane, and tabs appear in the Details pane.

Step 4 Click the Port Channel Details tab.

Step 5 Click the Link Settings section.

The system displays the individual links in the port channel.

Step 6 Click the link that you want to configure.

Step 7 In the Ports (switch) area, double-click the Priority field and enter the value that you want for the port priority.

The default value is 32768.

Step 8 (Optional) From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to apply your changes to the device.

---

Monitoring the Port-Channel Interface Configuration

The following window appears in the Statistics tab:

•Port Traffic Statistics—Displays information on load, balancing traffic rates, and utilization.

•Port Error Counters—Displays errors on the port channel.

•FIP Traffic Statistics—Displays FIP traffic statistics for the selected port channel.See the Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Cisco DCNM for LAN, Release 5.x , for more information on collecting statistics for this feature.

Field Descriptions for Port Channeling and LACP

These field descriptions are used for configuring port channeling and LACP. This section includes the following topics:

•Device: Port Channel Configuration Tab

•Device: vPC Configuration Tab

•Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Common Settings Section

•Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Basic Settings Section

•Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Link Settings Section

•Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Switched Port Channels: VLAN Settings Section

•Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Routed Port Channels: IP Address Section

•Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: Advanced Settings Section

•Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: Basic Settings Section

•Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: IP Address Settings Section

Device: Port Channel Configuration Tab

Table 5-3 Device: Port Channel Configuration Tab 

Field	Description
LACP System Priority	System priority for LACP. The default is 32768.
Load Balancing Algorithm	Algorithm used to distribute traffic among the interfaces in the port channel. The default for Layer 3 port channels is Source Destination IP, and the default for Layer 2 port channels is Source Destination MAC.
Network Card Loadbalance Settings.
Module Number	Number of the module.
Module Name	Display only. Name of the module in that slot.
Load Balancing Algorithm	Load-balancing algorithm currently configured for that module.

Device: vPC Configuration Tab

Note If you have not enabled vPCs on the device, this screen has the following two fields: — Display only. VPC is disabled in device. — Enable vPC. You click this field to enable vPCs on the device.

Table 5-4 Device: vPC Channel Configuration Tab 

Field	Description
Domain Id	vPC domain ID.
Peer-Keepalive Settings
Source IP	Source IP address for the primary vPC peer device fault-tolerant link to check the peer-keepalive status.
Destination IP	Destination IP address for the secondary vPC peer device fault-tolerant link to check the peer-keepalive status.
VRF	VRF to which the destination IP address belongs. The default is the management VRF.
UDP port	UDP port for fault-tolerant link to check the peer-keepalive status. The default port is 3200.
Interval	Number of millliseconds between sending keepalive messages. The default value for the interval is 1000 milliseconds.
Timeout	Amount of time that the device waits to hear a response to the keepalive message. The default value for the timeout is 5 seconds.
Hold Timeout	Amount of time that the secondary vPC device waits after the keepalive link goes down. The default value for the timeout is 3 seconds.
Priority Settings
Role Priority	Value that manually elects the primary vPC peer device. A higher priority designates the primary vPC peer device. The default was automatically set at the time that the vPC was created.
System Priority	Value that manually sets the system priority for the vPC, to be used in LACP. The default vPC system priority was automatically set at the time that the vPC was created.
System MAC Address	Value that manually sets the system MAC address for the vPC. The default system MAC address was automatically set at the time that the vPC was created.
Packet Settings
Precedence	Precedence value for the peer-keepalive message. The default is internet.
Type of Service	ToS precedence value for the peer-keepalive message.
ToS Byte	8-bit ToS value for the peer-keepalive message.

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Common Settings Section

Table 5-5 Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Common Settings Section 

Field	Description
Protocol	Port-channeling protocol. The default is None.
Mode	Mode of the port channel that you configured. For Switched port channels, the default is taken from the mode of the first channel in the Switched port channel. You can change between access and trunk mode for Switched port channels.
Admin Status	Administrative status for the port channel. The default is Up.
Oper Status	Display only. Status of the interface in the port channel.

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Basic Settings Section

Table 5-6 Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Basic Settings Section 

Field	Description
Channel ID	Display only. Channel number assigned to the port channel.
Description	Name of the port channel. The default is blank.
Speed	Transmission speed of the port channel. The default is auto for autonegotiation.
Duplex	Duplex operation of the port channel. The default is auto for autonegotiation.

Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Link Settings Section

Table 5-7 Port Channel: Port Channel Details: Link Settings Section 

Field	Description
Ports (switch) Note This part provides details of the link in the local device.
Name	Display only. Name of the port in the port-channel interface.
Mode	Display only. Port-channel mode of that interface. Valid modes are as follows: •Active •Passive •On The default is On when you are not running LACP. When you are running LACP, the default is Active.
Priority	Priority for that interface for LACP. Enter a value between 1 and 65535. The default value is 32768.
Status	Display only. The status of the interface in the port channel is one of the following: •Down •Bundled •Standalone •Suspended •Hot Standby
Neighbor Devices Note This part provides details on the physical links on the neighboring device.
Device	Display only. Hostname configured in the neighbor device.
Name	Display only. Name of the port in the neighbor device that is part of the port-channel interface.
Mode	Display only. Port-channel mode of that interface. Valid modes are as follows: •Active •Passive •On The default is On when you are not running LACP. When you are running LACP, the default is Active.
Priority	Display only. Priority for that interface for LACP. The range is from 1 to 65535. The default value is 32768.
Status	Display only. The status of the interface in the port channel is one of the following: •Down •Bundled •Standalone •Suspended •Hot Standby

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Switched Port Channels: VLAN Settings Section

Table 5-8 Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: VLAN Settings Section

Field	Description
Access
Access VLAN	Access VLAN for this access port channel. The default access VLAN is the default VLAN or VLAN1.
Trunk
Encapsulation	Field unavailable. IEEE 802.1Q is the only supported encapsulation method.
Allowed VLANs	VLANs allowed to transmit data on this port channel. The range is from 1 to 4094. The default is 1. Note VLANs 3968 to 4047 and 4094 are allocated for internal device use and do not carry data traffic.
Native VLAN	Native VLAN for this trunk port channel. The default native VLAN is the default VLAN or VLAN1.

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings for Routed Port Channels: IP Address Section

Table 5-9 Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: IP Address Settings Section

Field	Description
IPv4 Address Settings
IP Address	IPv4 address in dotted decimal notation.
Net Mask	Network mask for the IPv4 address in dotted decimal notation.
Secondary IP Address	Secondary IPv4 address in dotted decimal notation. You can configure multiple secondary addresses for an interface.
Secondary NetMask	Network mask for the secondary IPv4 address, in dotted decimal notation.
Helper IP Address	Helper address used to enable the forwarding of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) broadcasts. You must enable DHCP in the box if you want to use this feature.
IPv6 Address Settings
Primary/Prefix-length	IPv6 prefix in x:x:x::x/length format.
EUI64	IPv6 address in the extended universal identifier (EUI)-64 format.
Link Local	IPv6 link local address in x:x:x::x format.
Use local only	Link local address that overrides an automatically generated IPv6 address.
IPv6 Addresses	List of IPv6 addresses and whether or not it is in an EUI-64 format.You can configure multiple secondary addresses for an interface.

Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: Advanced Settings Section

Table 5-10 Port Channel: Port Channel Advanced Settings: Advanced Settings Section

Field	Description
IPv4 ACL
Incoming Traffic	IPv4 ACL that filters ingress traffic on the port channel.
Outgoing Traffic	IPv4 ACL that filters egress traffic on the port channel.
IPv6 ACL
Incoming Traffic	IPv6 ACL that filters ingress traffic on the port channel.
Outgoing Traffic	IPv6 ACL that filters egress traffic on the port channel.
SPAN
Use Interface as SPAN	Source or destination for this interface.
Session ID	Display only. SPAN session ID where the interface is applied.
Type	Display only. Session type.
Direction: Ingress	Ingress packets that are to be monitored.
Direction: Egress	Egress packets that are to be monitored.
Security
Traffic Storm Control	Display only. Whether traffic storm control is enabled or disabled.
IP Source Guard	Display only. Whether IP Source Guard is enabled or disabled.
Port Security	Display only. Whether port security is enabled or disabled.

Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: Basic Settings Section

Table 5-11 Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: Basic Settings Section 

Field	Description
Name	Display only. Name of the port-channel subinterface.
Description	String that describes the port-channel subinterface. The default is blank.
Admin State	Administrative status of the port-channel subinterface. The default is up.
Oper Status	Display only. Status of the subinterface in the port channel.
Bandwidth	Data rate configured in kbps. The default is 1,000,000.
Delay	Throughput on port-channel subinterface in tens of seconds. The default is 1.
VLAN ID	Used to assign VLANs to run on this port-channel subinterface.

Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: IP Address Settings Section

Table 5-12 Port Channel Subinterface: Subinterface Details: IP Address Settings Section 

Field	Description
IPv4 Address Settings
IP Address	IPv4 address in dotted decimal notation.
Net Mask	Network mask for the IPv4 address, in dotted decimal notation.
Secondary IP Address	Secondary IPv4 address in dotted decimal notation. You can configure multiple secondary addresses for an interface.
Secondary NetMask	Network mask for the secondary IPv4 address, in dotted decimal notation.
Helper IP Address	Helper address used to enable the forwarding of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) broadcasts. You must enable DHCP in the box if you want to use this feature.
IPv6 Address Settings
Primary/Prefix-length	IPv6 prefix in x:x:x::x/length format.
EUI64	IPv6 address in the extended universal identifier (EUI)-64 format.
Link Local	IPv6 link local address in x:x:x::x format.
Use local only	Link local address overrides automatically generated IPv6 address.
IPv6 Addresses	List of IPv6 addresses and whether or not in EUI-64 format.You can configure multiple secondary addresses for an interface.

Additional References

For additional information related to implementing port channels, see the following sections:

•Related Documents

•MIBs

Related Documents

Related Topic	Document Title
Configuring Layer 2 interface	Chapter 3 "Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces"
Configuring Layer 3 interfaces	Chapter 4 "Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces"
Shared and dedicated ports	Chapter 2 "Configuring Basic Interface Parameters"
Interfaces	Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 5.x
System management	Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 5.x
High availability	Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS High Availability and Redundancy Guide, Release 5.x
VDCs	Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Virtual Device Context Configuration Guide, Release 5.x
Licensing	Cisco DCNM Installation and Licensing Guide, Release 5.x
Release Notes	Cisco DCNM Release Notes, Release 5.x

Standards

Standards	Title
IEEE 802.3ad	—

MIBs

MIBs	MIBs Link
•IEEE8023-LAG-CAPABILITY •CISCO-LAG-MIB	To locate and download MIBs, go to the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

Feature History for Configuring Port Channels

Table 5-13 lists the release history for this feature.

Table 5-13 Feature History for Configuring Port Channels 

Feature Name	Releases	Feature Information
Port channels	4.0(1)	This feature was introduced.
Port channels	4.2(1)	Support increased to 256 port channels.
Minlinks and Maxbundle	5.1(1)	This feature was introduced.