Hi everybody Here are some notes and links I've collected...
Switch Vendors and Products that support Link Aggregation Across the Stack This is not an exhaustive list of either vendors or products. This list does not imply any kind of testing or support by NetApp.
3Com 3Com calls it DLA - Distributed Link Aggregation. It is only supported on their higher-end stackable switches (5500 and 5500G) as of July 2008.
White Paper - XRN and Clustered Stacking Note the parts about XRN and DLA. Note compatibility table at the bottom of page 4. http://www.3com.com/other/pdfs/legacy/en_US/3com_503183.pdf
Cisco CrossStack EtherChannel is supported on the Catalyst 3750 series. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7077/index.html
Data Sheet http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps5023/produc t_data_sheet0900aecd80371991.html
White Paper - Cisco StackWise and StackWise Plus Technology http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps5023/prod_w hite_paper09186a00801b096a.pdf
Some newer blade modules such as the 3120 for HP have a similar technology. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps8749/index.html
Integrating the Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3120 for HP c-Class Blade Enclosure into the Cisco Data Center Network Architecture Design Guide http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps6746/ps8742/ps8749 /white_paper_c07-448865.pdf
Cisco Blade modules http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6746/Products_Sub_Category_Home.ht ml Cheat sheet: CSM = Catalyst Switch Module 3012 / 3110 --> IBM 3020 / 3120 --> HP 3030 / 3032 / 3130 --> Dell 3040 --> FSC (Fujitsu Siemens)
VBS = Virtual Blade Switch
For chassis-based switches, like Catalyst 6500 series, they sometimes call it "multichassis EtherChannel" Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Virtual Switching System (VSS) 1440 White paper http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps9336/prod_w hite_paper0900aecd806ee2ed_ps2797_Products_White_Paper.html
D-Link Cross Stack Port Trunking DGS-3600 Series Data Sheet ftp://ftp10.dlink.com/pdfs/products/DGS-3650/DGS-3650_ds.pdf DGS-3650 Product Page http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=640
Nortel Split MultiLink Trunking (SMLT) or Distributed Multi-Link Trunking (DMLT) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMLT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMLT
ERS2500 Position Paper - Stackable vs. modular wiring closet solutions See Multi-Link Trunking p.4 http://www.nortel.com/products/01/passport/lan/collateral/nn108321.pdf
Product Brief - Ethernet Routing Switch 5500 Series See MLT and DMLT on p.2. http://www.nortel.com/products/02/bstk/switches/collateral/nn119200.pdf
Once again, NetApp has not tested all of these, nor do we endorse or support any particular vendor.
Basically, if the cross stack link aggregation makes it look like one switch, and bonded links act like either static or dynamic LACP, then a multimode VIF should work across switches.
As a related note, the lack of cross stack link aggregation until recently is the reason NetApp invented second level VIFs in the first place. It was the only way to get more than two links of throughput, but even then, we could only use the links to one switch at a time.
We welcome any feedback or experience you have with any models or combinations of this technology.
Share and enjoy!
Peter
-----Original Message----- From: Carl Howell [mailto:chowell@uwf.edu] Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:48 AM To: toasters@mathworks.com Subject: TR-3428 & Cross-stack Etherchannel
For those of you that are doing LACP/cross-stack Etherchannel in your ESX environments, like the example in section 6.8 on page 40 of TR-3428, what switches are you using?
If you are doing LACP across Cisco 6500's, what SUP's are you using?
Thanks,
--Carl