Port teaming questions

[MichaelD]

My head is seriously hurting. Been doing some reading. Looking at an HP 1810 switch. The configuration manual for it defines "LACP" as "Trunking" and says this:

Trunks allow for the aggregation of multiple full-duplex Ethernet links into a single logical link. Network
devices treat the aggregation as if it were a single link, which increases fault tolerance and provides
load sharing capability. You assign the trunk VLAN membership after a trunk is created.
A trunk interface can be either static or dynamic, but not both.​

■

Dynamic trunks use the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP, IEEE standard 802.3ad).

An LACP-enabled port automatically detects the presence of other aggregation-capable
network devices in the system and exchanges Link Aggregation Control Protocol Data Units
(LACPDUs) with links in the trunk. The PDUs contain information about each link and enable
the trunk to maintain them.
​

​

■ ​

​

Static trunks are assigned to a bundle by the administrator. Members do not exchange

LACPDUs. A static trunk does not require a partner system to be able to aggregate its member
ports.​

All members of a trunk must be either static or dynamic.​

According to that first paragraph, "Trunking" allows load balancing, which should increase bandwidth, no? The USR switch I have supports trunking but not 802.3ad...so do I need 802.3ad for what I am trying to do?

Here's a link to the manual. Page 6-1 is what I'm looking at.
http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02879282/c02879282.pdf

Man, my head hurts!
​

 

[MichaelD]

Wikipedia also defines "aggregation" as "trunking." I must be missing something...possibly a brain?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.3ad

I'm obviously trying to learn 6 months worth of study and experience in a day. Not doing to well so far. /bangs head on desk

 

[jlazzaro]

Wikipedia also defines "aggregation" as "trunking." I must be missing something...possibly a brain?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.3ad

I'm obviously trying to learn 6 months worth of study and experience in a day. Not doing to well so far. /bangs head on desk

LOL no worries, the industry likes to re-use terms for different technologies, very confusing.

trunking can mean a) link aggregation, bonding, channeling, etc or b) VLAN trunking (via 802.1q) in which frames are tagged with differing VLAN headers to distinguish them across a single link

the USR is probably referring to VLAN trunking, not link aggregation. what model is it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.1Q

 

[theevilsharpie]

"Trunking" in the Cisco world refers to the act of allowing traffic from multiple VLANs to traverse a single physical port. "Trunking" in the non-Cisco world refers to the aggregation of multiple physical ports into a single higher-bandwidth virtual port. Since you're looking at HP switches, I'll use the term "trunking" to refer to link aggregation.

There are multiple means of performing trunking. LACP is an industry-standard method supported by pretty much all modern equipment. Older equipment (such as your USR switch) may be capable of trunking, but only via a proprietary protocol that limits trunking between switches of the same brand. Since your requirement is to trunk your server to your switch, you will definitely want something that support LACP (aka 802.3ad).

Also, if you're looking at low-end HP switches, look at the HP V1910 series. They are substantially more capable switches than the HP V1810 series, and there isn't much of a price difference.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, jlazzaro. I'm not doubting anything I've been told already. It's just that when I read things that contradict or better said "fuzzy up" things I've already been told, my head starts spinning.

I am indeed finding out that various manuf's choose to implements some, all or none of the features of 802.3ad...and then they don't really say much about it, but let you flounder about on your own. Thanks goodness for this forum!

 

[MichaelD]

"Trunking" in the Cisco world refers to the act of allowing traffic from multiple VLANs to traverse a single physical port. "Trunking" in the non-Cisco world refers to the aggregation of multiple physical ports into a single higher-bandwidth virtual port. Since you're looking at HP switches, I'll use the term "trunking" to refer to link aggregation.

There are multiple means of performing trunking. LACP is an industry-standard method supported by pretty much all modern equipment. Older equipment (such as your USR switch) may be capable of trunking, but only via a proprietary protocol that limits trunking between switches of the same brand. Since your requirement is to trunk your server to your switch, you will definitely want something that support LACP (aka 802.3ad).

Also, if you're looking at low-end HP switches, look at the HP V1910 series. They are substantially more capable switches than the HP V1810 series, and there isn't much of a price difference.

Very informative, and I will look at the V1910. Thank you!
Newegg shows a 3Com device? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833316177 Also, no rack ears in the pic, but this certainly is a rackmount product (I have spare ears). So, the 19xx series is better than the 18xx series? In what way? Also, the 18 series is fanless (up to the 24-port). Is the 19 fanless?

*edit*
I guess HP bought 3Com? HP's site says "formerly sold as 3Com xxyx". Also, it has a variable speed fan, which is nice.

Wow. Lifetime warranty! http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c03028204/c03028204.pdf

I do believe I've found my new switch.