Dell Force10 E1200i FTOS Version 8.4.1.5 Configuration Guide for ExaScale - Page 557

FTOS supports only Gigabit and 10-Gigabit ports and port channels as primary/backup interfaces in redundant pairs. (A port channel is also referred to as a Link Aggregation Group (LAG). Refer to Port Channel Interfaces for more information.) In a redundant pair, any combination of physical and port-channel interfaces is supported as the two interfaces in a redundant pair. For example, you can configure a static (without LACP) or dynamic (with LACP) port-channel interface as either the primary or backup link in a redundant pair with a Gigabit interface. To ensure that existing network applications see no difference when a primary interface in a redundant pair transitions to the backup interface, be sure to apply identical configurations of other traffic parameters to each interface. If you remove an interface in a redundant link (remove the line card of a physical interface or delete a port channel with the no interface port-channel command), the redundant pair configuration is also removed. Important Points about Configuring Redundant Pairs • An interface cannot be used as a backup for more than one interface; an interface can have no more than one backup. A backup interface cannot have a backup interface. • The active and standby/backup interfaces do not have to be of the same type (1G, 10G, etc). • You may not enable any Layer 2 protocol on an interface in a redundant pair or on a port connected to a redundant interface. • When you use a static or dynamic port channel as the active or backup interface in a redundant pair, the following conditions apply: • If you use two port-channel interfaces with different configurations in a redundant pair, traffic is transmitted in the same way following a transition to the backup interface. There is no difference in performance. For example, two port channels in a redundant pair can contain a different number and type of member ports or use different LACP modes. • There are no requirements on the number or type of links in a port channel. • There are no requirements on the location of the member links in a port channel, such as on the same line card or stacked device. • If you use a dynamic port channel in a redundant pair, LACP operation on the port channel is not affected by its status as the active or backup interface. • If you manually shut down a port channel that is the active interface in a redundant pair (shutdown command), the status of the port channel transitions to DOWN and the backup interface becomes active. • If the number of member links with an "oper up" status is less than the minimum number of required links configured for a port channel that is the active interface in a redundant pair, the status of the port channel transitions to DOWN and the backup interface becomes active. • If a static or dynamic port channel is used in a redundant pair, the port channel cannot be used as a member of a failover group in shared LAG state tracking (refer to the LACP chapter). • A dynamic port channel that is used in a redundant pair can participate in hitless LACP (refer to Configure LACP as Hitless in LACP chapter). Layer 2 | 557