ActivChassis supports how many Link Aggregation Groups?

[Anonymous]

So I have 3 1638p's and 9 1238p's...I am connecting the 1238's to the 1638's using Link Aggregation groups, so I have a total of 9 Link Aggregation groups.  I just finished upgrading my 1638 firmware to the spanking new AC1.1 firmware and had full intention of going ActivChassis this weekend but it looks like I am still going to be limited to 6 Link Aggregation groups even in ActivChassis mode.  I called the Adtran After Hours support and spoke with an engineer and he seems to believe that theory as well.  In my humble opinion, this would be a major limitation of ActivChassis adoption.  So I am posting this here to get an answer and to save others from trying to go to ActivChassis if this limitation does in fact exist.

[Anonymous]

:

Thank you for asking this question in the support community.  The limitations of link aggregation are defined in the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) in AOS guide.  The current limitation is six link aggregation groups, with a maximum of eight switchports in each group.  When configuring Link Aggregation, all ports within the group must be configured with the same speed and duplex (Link Aggregation only works on FULL duplex). A port cannot belong to more than one channel  group at the same time. Load balancing is supported across multiple channel groups.

Note that AOS does not support dynamic LACP: Active Mode (generating negotiation request) nor Passive Mode (responding to negotiation request), meaning there is not a control protocol running at all. AOS only supports static Link Aggregation by unconditionally setting the port channel to “on” mode as seen below:

NV1238(config)#interface port-channel 1

Creating Port Channel interface 1.

NV1238(config-p-chan1)#no shut

2012.03.06 09:41:03 INTERFACE_STATUS.port-channel 1 changed state to administratively up

NV1238(config-p-chan1)#interface switchport 0/21

NV1238(config-swx 0/21)#channel-group 1 mode on

A Port Channel may not be divided between switches; all ports of a Port Channel must physically reside on the same switch (unless the unit is in ActivChassis mode). AOS does not support Control Protocol (PAgP). This is a Cisco-proprietary protocol and only runs on Cisco switches.

I hope that answers your question, but please do not hesitate to reply to this post with any additional information or questions.  I will be happy to help in any way I can.

Levi

[Anonymous]

If activchassis doesn't support more than 6 LACP groups then I can't use it.  I need 9.  Also, in activchassis mode, you can divide a port channel between switch members in the switch chassis.

My opinion still remains that if you want to actually get customers to use activchassis, you must lift the limit of 6 lacp groups per switch chassis in activchassis mode.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

:

Thank you for the correction.  I have made the change in my previous post, and we will update the LACP document as well.  Thank you very much for catching this error.

I'm sorry the feature does not support your needs.  I would suggest you contact your local ADTRAN Sales representative, and let them know about your need for this feature.

Levi

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to add to this post that ADTRAN, in response to the request for more documentation on ActivChassis, has released a new document to coincide with our main configuration guide .  This guide is called ActivChassis Setup/Design/Maintenance Tips and Best Practices.

This guide catalogs the main information from the Configuration Guide and supplements it with some ActivChassis tips for network design, maintenance, and best practices.  It is designed to be a document that you can keep referring back to instead of the lengthy Configuration Guide.

Check it out and comment on the document to let us know if it helps!

-Evan

[Anonymous]

Update: As of R10.9.0, the number of link aggregation groups that Activchassis can support is 10.

Thanks,

Noor