Allied Telesis AT-S24 - Manual (Page 72)

Configuring the Ports
72
Configuring Port Trunks
Port trunking is an economical way for you to increase the bandwidth
between the switch and another network device, such as a server,
router, workstation, or another switch. A port trunk is two or more data
ports that have been grouped together to increase the bandwidth
between the switch and a network node by functioning as one logical
path. This increase in bandwidth can prove useful in situations where a
single connection between the switch and a node is insufficient to
handle the traffic load.
Despite the software configuration and physical connections, there are
no data loops in a port trunk. The port trunk always sends packets from a
particular source to a particular destination over the same link within the
trunk. A single link is designated for flooding broadcasts and packets of
unknown destination.
With the AT-8216FXL, AT-8224XL, and AT-8288XL Series Fast Ethernet
Switches, you can create port trunks of two, four, or eight ports. You can
also trunk the ports on an expansion module to increase the bandwidth
from an expansion module to another network device.
Guidelines
When creating a port trunk, be sure to observe the following guidelines:
Guideline 1: Selecting the Number of Ports in a Trunk
A port trunk must consist of 2, 4, or 8 ports.
Guideline 2: Using Ports from the Same Group
The ports on the switch are divided into groups. The ports of a port trunk
must all be from the same group. The ports on an AT-8216FXL switch are
divided into four groups, as shown in Figure 28.
Figure 28 Port Groupings on an AT-8216FXL Switch (Model AT-
8216FXL/SC)
LINK / ACTIVITY
FULL DUP /
L /A
D/C HALF DUP
COL
A
B
100BASE-FX STATUS
RESET
FAULT
RPS
PWR
RS-232 TERMINAL PORT PORT ACTIVITY
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
L /A
D/C
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9
RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX
100BASE-FX FAST ETHERNET SWITCH
Group C Group D
Ports 9 to 16
Group B
Group A
Ports 1 to 8