Cisco’s Latest Wireless Innovation – New 802.11n Access Point

Cisco announced the industry’s first next-generation wireless access point that combines full 802.11n performance with deployment simplicity, enabling businesses to cost-effectively support the growing wave and diversity of mobile devices and applications.

Cisco Aironet 1140 Series 802.11n Access Point

Courtsesy: Cisco Systems.

The new Cisco® Aironet® 1140 Series Access Point is introduced at a time when businesses are becoming increasingly mobile and collaborative. The Wi-Fi Certified 802.11n Draft 2.0 access point is designed to meet the need for integrating high-quality voice, video and rich media across wireless networks with greater performance and throughput than prior 802.11a/g-based wireless networks. Cisco, which delivered the first enterprise-class Wi-Fi Certified 802.11n Draft 2.0 platform in 2007, is now taking 802.11n mainstream with new solutions that offer ease of deployment, reliability and performance. Learn more about Cisco’s leadership in 802.11n and business demands for wireless in a video from Ben Gibson, Cisco’s senior director of mobility solutions. http://blogs.cisco.com/wireless/comments

Some Facts:

• As part of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Point integrates easily into any enterprise network targeting investment protection and a low total cost of ownership.
• The Aironet 1140 Series Access Point is the only dual-radio platform that combines full 802.11n Draft 2.0 performance (up to nine times the throughput of existing 802.11a/g wireless networks) and built-in security features using standard 802.3af Power over Ethernet.
• The access point can be ordered in a new Eco-Pack, a 10-access point bulk pack that reduces packaging by 50 percent and allows simpler unpacking, staging and installation.
• The access point takes advantage of Cisco M-Drive Technology – a new system-wide set of features of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network that showcases Cisco’s RF excellence to deliver a reliable and consistent platform that further enhances 802.11n performance. The benefits of Cisco M-Drive Technology include improving wireless coverage and capacity, optimizing device connections, and simplifying wireless management.
• ClientLink, a feature of Cisco M-Drive Technology, will help extend the useful life of existing 802.11a/g devices while enhancing the performance of new 802.11n devices. The technology (see below for availability) will use beam forming to improve the throughput for existing 802.11a/g devices, increase overall wireless channel capacity and reduce wireless coverage holes for legacy devices.
• Miercom, an independent testing and analysis lab, tested ClientLink which showed an increase of up to 65 percent in throughput for existing 802.11a/g devices connecting to a Cisco 802.11n network. Unlike other solutions that do not offer performance improvements for legacy devices, ClientLink delivers airtime connectivity fairness for both 802.11n and 802.11a/g devices. Furthermore, by increasing the throughput speed for 802.11a/g clients, ClientLink effectively increases the total available channel capacity by up to 27 percent, and can help optimize both 802.11n and 802.11a/g device performance. For the complete Miercom testing methodology and results, download the ClientLink report at: http://www.cisco.com/go/802.11n/
• Cisco M-Drive Technology is currently available as a software upgrade for existing Cisco Unified Wireless Network customers. The ClientLink feature is scheduled to be available to customers as a part of their Cisco SMARTnet support agreements in the first half of 2009.
• The Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Point is available globally with a list price of $1,299 USD. The 10-unit Eco-Pack for the Aironet 1140 Series Access Point has a list price of $12,990 USD. Customers should engage their Cisco partner to explore any current trade-in and pricing options. Cisco Capital has financing programs to provide customers flexible purchasing options. Cisco Services offers migration services to assist in the adoption of next generation wireless.

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Supporting Quotes:

• “Cisco leads the industry with more 802.11n deployments than any other vendor, a result of our expertise in addressing the next generation of mobility solutions that enterprises need to enhance and simplify their business,” said Maciej Kranz, vice president of product marketing for the Cisco Wireless Networking Business Unit. “To support the increasing wave of mobile devices, media-rich collaborative applications and mobile user expectations, businesses need a proven 802.11n wireless solution, and the easy-to-deploy 1140 Series Access Point is designed to do just that.”
• “We increased employee efficiency and improved patient satisfaction by mobilizing applications, including bedside and surgical charting, patient throughput management and voice over IP,” said Scott Lapham, network engineer at Southeast Alabama Medical Center. “With the Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Point, we significantly enhanced the performance of our wireless network; and this will support more mobile devices, as well as the next wave of mobility applications like asset tracking and mobilizing our picture archiving and communications system (PACS) software to view large radiology images where needed.”
• “Cisco’s M-Drive Technology simplifies the adoption of 802.11n by delivering high-performance and a stable wireless environment,” said John Yrigoyen, director of Wireless Solutions at NEC Unified Solutions. “As a user benefit, expect improved wireless coverage, optimized device connections and simplified management.”

Cisco Etherchannel Overview and how it can be configured in Cisco Catalyst Switches – Series 7

Here we go, I will continue the series of Etherchannel overview, in my last post related to Etherchannel I showed how to configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel using the Cisco’s proprietary a PAGP (port aggregation protocol) Protocol in Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Now it’s the time to proceed further and we will see how to configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel using the LACP Protocol (Link Aggregation Protocol) in Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Here is the scenario which we will follow

From the above diagram we have two Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches named ITKESW01 and ITKESW02.

We will configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel between the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 and ITKESW02. The  Giga Ethernet ports 0/45, 0/46/,0/47 & 0/48 on a Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 are trunk ports  and they are connected to Giga Ethernet ports 0/1,0/2,0/3 and 0/4 (also trunk ports in desirable mode) in Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW02.

The configuration is as follows

Configuration in the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW01

First run the command “Show interfaces trunk

ITKESW01#sho interfaces trunk

Port        Mode             Encapsulation  Status        Native vlan

Gi0/45      desirable                n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/46      desirable                n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/47      desirable                n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/48      desirable                n-isl         trunking            1

Port        Vlans allowed on trunk

Gi0/45        1-4094

Gi0/46        1-4094

Gi0/47        1-4094

Gi0/48        1-4094

Port        Vlans allowed and active in management domain

Gi0/45        1

Gi0/46        1

Gi0/47        1

Gi0/48        1

Port        Vlans in spanning tree forwarding state and not pruned

Gi0/45       1

Gi0/46       1

Gi0/47       1

Gi0/48       1

ITKESW01#

Second Step configure the Giga Ethernet ports 0/45 to 0/48 in the Etherchannel

ITKESW01#config t

ITKESW01(config)# interface range gigabitEthernet 0/45 – 48

ITKESW01(config-if-range)# channel-protocol lacp

Note: LACP protocol is configured to be used in this channel

ITKESW01 (config-if-range)# channel-group 1 mode active

Note: A logical port-channel interface is automatically created when ports are grouped into a channel group.

Configure the mode active to be used in LACP

Configuration in the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW02

ITKESW02#sho interfaces trunk

Port        Mode             Encapsulation  Status        Native vlan

Gi0/1      desirable            n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/2      desirable            n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/3      desirable            n-isl         trunking            1

Gi0/4      desirable            n-isl         trunking            1

Port        Vlans allowed on trunk

Gi0/1        1-4094

Gi0/2        1-4094

Gi0/3        1-4094

Gi0/4        1-4094

Port        Vlans allowed and active in management domain

Gi0/1        1

Gi0/2        1

Gi0/3        1

Gi0/4        1

Port        Vlans in spanning tree forwarding state and not pruned

Gi0/1       1

Gi0/2       1

Gi0/3       1

Gi0/4       1

ITKESW02#

Second Step configure the Giga Ethernet ports 0/1 to 0/4 in the Etherchannel

ITKESW02#config t

ITKESW02(config)# interface range gigabitEthernet 0/1 – 4

ITKESW02(config-if-range)#channel-protocol lacp

Note: LACP protocol is configured to be used in this channel

ITKESW02 (config-if-range)# channel-group 1 mode active

Note: A logical port-channel interface is automatically created when ports are grouped into a channel group.

Configure the mode active to be used in LACP

Now run show command to display the Etherchannel configurations on the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 and ITKESW02

ITKESW01#sho etherchannel 1 summary

Flags:  D – down        P – in port-channel

        I – stand-alone s – suspended

        H – Hot-standby (LACP only)

        R – Layer3      S – Layer2

        u – unsuitable for bundling

        U – in use      f – failed to allocate aggregator

        d – default port

Number of channel-groups in use: 1

Number of aggregators:           1

Group  Port-channel  Protocol    Ports

——+————-+———–+———————————————–

1      Po1(SD)          LACP      Gi0/45 (P)   Gi0/46 (P)  Gi0/47 (P)  Gi0/48 (P)  

ITKESW01#

ITKESW02#sho etherchannel 1 summary

Flags:  D – down        P – in port-channel

        I – stand-alone s – suspended

        H – Hot-standby (LACP only)

        R – Layer3      S – Layer2

        u – unsuitable for bundling

        U – in use      f – failed to allocate aggregator

        d – default port

Number of channel-groups in use: 1

Number of aggregators:           1

Group  Port-channel  Protocol    Ports

——+————-+———–+———————————————–

1      Po1(SD)          LACP     Gi0/1 (P)   Gi0/2 (P)  Gi0/3 (P)  Gi0/4 (P)  

ITKESW02#

Cisco TV: Site-to-Site VPNs, January 20, 2009.Register Now

Dear Friends, there will be a live presentation by John Rupf featuring Site-to-Site VPNs. John holds a variety of certifications including a CCNA and CCSP. He was formerly a software developer and is now a Technical Marketing Engineer with STBU at Cisco.

Agenda:
The show will cover the topics below and is designed to provide information that will assist you in passing the IINS exam. Following John’s presentation we’ll be taking your live calls during our Q&A session. You may also submit questions electronically.

• Examining Symmetric Encryption
• Cryptographic Hashes
• Digital Signatures

Please register yourself for this live event.

An Excellent Manual for Self Study CCDP Aspirers, for 642-873 ARCH exam

Recently I had the opportunity to read the rough cut edition of the book “Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH) (Authorized Self-Study Guide), Second Edition”, ISBN 9781587058431, thanks to Pearson Education and Safari Online  for offering  an access the rough cut.

Picture Courtesy: Cisco Press

By Keith Hutton, Mark Schofield, Diane Teare.

Published by Cisco Press.

Series: Self-Study Guide.

ISBN-10: 1-58705-574-0; ISBN-13: 978-1-58705-574-4; Published: Dec 24, 2008; Copyright 2009;

“Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH) (Authorized Self-Study Guide), Second Edition”

Rating *****

I would strongly recommend this book for the Cisco CCDP certification aspirers. Since I am working on the latest Network Upgrade plan it helped me a lot to understand the design considerations, Cisco Design Standards.  Based on this book I could able to come out with an excellent Network Design for the Organization which I am working. This manual is good to the pass the Cisco 642-873 ARCH exam.

The topics are covered in detail and extensive, the best part of this book happens to be the organization of the chapters; there are 12 chapters in this book. This deals with the topics like SONA, Enterprise Campus Network Design, Enterprise Data Design, SAN Design Considerations etc.

One more interesting fact which helps is the reference segment at the end of each chapter. If someone wants to achieve his CCDP this is the book, you should go for it.  This is the right manual which can be used as a Study guide to achieve CCDP. Also this manual proves to be a helpful guide for reference.

Windows 7 Beta Released To Public after Delay

Dear Friends finally after some delay Microsoft released the much talked version of Windows 7. During his pre-show keynote at CES, Steve Ballmer officially launched the Windows 7 beta onto the world via TechNet, MSDN, and Connect.

But there are unexpected numbers of professional and people proved to be interested in the download of Windows 7. Hence it’s hard to download the Windows 7 beta version from Microsoft web site. You really need to have some patience.

The Windows 7 beta will expire after August 1, 2009, and the download cap for the public version has been set to 2.5 million.

In any case, happy beta testing!

These are the Microsoft minimum hardware recommendations for systems that will be running the Windows 7 Beta. These recommendations are specific to the beta release and are subject to change:

• Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• Memory:  1 GB of system memory
• Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
• Video card:  Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
• Drive: DVD-R/W drive
• Internet connection (to download the Beta and get updates)

Note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of “touch”, may require advanced or additional hardware. 

To learn more, see Windows 7 Beta: Frequently Asked Questions.

Handy Links: Microsoft Connect | Windows 7 WikiPedia

Cisco reached one more milestone with WebEx ,by bringing WebEx to iPhone

The Cisco WebEx Meeting Center App (iTunes App Store link) is free and is almost same as the web-based version. Meeting attendees can simply access the WebEx via an iPhone join link in the meeting invitation.

Following are highlights and features from Cisco press release;

Highlights / Key Facts:

• Out of the office or on the move no longer means out of the loop. Cisco is extending its web conferencing and collaboration capabilities to the Apple iPhone 3G user experience, with Cisco WebEx Meeting Center and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
• The new Cisco WebEx meetings iPhone application, which is available for free download from the AppStore, allows users to simply click to join and actively collaborate in CiscoWebEx meetings. With Cisco WebEx Meeting Center application on the iPhone, users can view what’s being shared, see the meeting participant list, see the active speaker and chat with other meeting participants.
• The online meeting experience gives users the ability to take advantage of simultaneous web and audio conferencing capabilities from Cisco on both the 3G mobile and 802.11 wireless (Wi-Fi) networks. The solution supports multiple telephony configurations including SaaS-based telephony from Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, premises-based telephony from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace, or telephony from Cisco’s service provider partners. The download is free from the AppStore. Users need to have current subscriptions to the WebEx services to schedule or host a meeting.
• A future version of the solution will include Cisco WebEx Meeting Center as well as the ability to see meeting participants and the active speaker from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace. Users will be able to move in-session Cisco WebEx Meeting Center and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace conferences from the Apple iPhone 3G to an office environment and back, by transferring the audio to a Cisco Unified IP Phone and the web conference to a computer for a rich collaboration experience.

Check out the video for a preview of WebEx for the iPhone:

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Pearson Launches Certflashcardsonline, great news for Certifications aspirers.

Dear Friends what a good news at the beginning of the year, guess what Pearson launches the new browser based electronic flash card engine, www.certflashcardsonline.com  , an application that helps the Certifications’ aspirers to practice the IT Certifications exams.

Graphics Courtesy:www.certflashcardsonline.com  

Launching with multiple products on CompTIA, Microsoft and Cisco certifications, the custom flash card application, loaded with more than 250 questions per exam, tests users’ skills and improves their retention of exam topics. Cert Flash Cards Online also allows users to get all-important information at a glance, helping focus on areas of weakness. Available in both desktop and mobile device format, these fact-filled flash cards allow users to test at home, work, or on the go. This new certification preparation tool, Cert Flash Cards Online, along with Cert Prep Online, is available through InformIT.

Additional News Facts:

• A truly unique learning tool; robust features include: space to enter long answers, ability to mark individual questions right or wrong, score reporting, custom set creation, and online updates.
• Cert Flash Cards Online is a late-stage exam-preparation tool, which means that an IT certification candidate would typically use this product during the final weeks before sitting for their live exam.
• This alternative learning format presents a unique approach that compliments other self-study formats like books and practice tests.

Useable Quotes:

“The new Cert Flash Cards Online application from Pearson takes the old school concept of paper flash cards that we all used to memorize our multiplication tables and updates it for the digital age and the technical certification market,” said Brett Bartow, Executive Editor for Cert Flash Cards Online. “While practice tests are great for familiarizing candidates with the exam style, they are typically focused primarily multiple choice question formats, which exposes users to pre-formulated answers to choose from. Cert Flash Cards Online, on the other hand, forces users to supply the answer in their own words, and is thus a much more effective tool for assessing and reinforcing knowledge.”

“In today’s environmentally conscious digital society, it makes sense for certification candidates to use electronic flash cards instead of those made from paper,” said Tim Warner, Product Editor for Cert Flash Cards Online and host of the InformIT Certification Reference Guide. “Most folks carry a laptop or a Web browser-enabled mobile phone or PDA, so why not save some trees by using the online Cert Flash Cards?”

Video Tutorial Podcast: Introduction to Cert Flash Cards Online

Tim Warner, Product Editor for Cert Flash Cards Online introduces viewers to Pearson’s new Cert Flash Cards Online product, which makes flash card review easy and fun. Brought to you by, OnCertification: Your weekly vidcast series featuring study tips, reviews, screencasts, and conversations with IT certification insiders on certification test-prep technologies. Subscribe now.

Product Information:

Cisco

CCNA Voice 640-460 Cert Flash Cards Online

ISBN: 1587202395

CCNA Security 640-553 Cert Flash Cards Online

ISBN: 1587058588

CompTIA

CompTIA A+ Cert Flash Cards Online: Essentials Test: (A+ 220-604), (A+ 220-603), (A+ 220-602)

ISBN: 0789739208

Microsoft

MCSA/MCSE 70-290 Cert Flash Cards Online: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment

ISBN: 0789738406

MCSA/MCSE 70-291 Cert Flash Cards Online: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft

Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

ISBN: 0789738414

MCSE 70-293 Cert Flash Cards Online: Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

ISBN: 0789738422

MCSE 70-294 Cert Flash Cards Online: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure

ISBN: 0789738430

MCTS 70-620 Cert Flash Cards Online: Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring

ISBN: 0789739240

About Pearson

The global leader in educational and professional publishing, Pearson is home to such respected brands as Addison-Wesley Professional, Cisco Press, Exam Cram, IBM Press, Prentice Hall Professional, Que, and Sams Publishing, which have as their online publishing arm, InformIT (www.informit.com) -The Trusted Technology Learning Source. In addition, Berkeley-based Peachpit (www.peachpit.com), the publishing partner for Adobe Press, Apple Certified, and others, publishes best-selling books for creative design professionals. Pearson is also co-founder, with O’Reilly Media Inc., of Safari Books Online (http://safari.informit.com), the premier on-demand digital library providing thousands of expert reference materials through a single point of contact, including expert technology, creative and design, business and management resources in video and text formats. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson’s other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Source: Email from Jamie Adams, Senior Publicist, Pearson Education

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Solar Winds acquires Kiwi Enterprises, best known for its free management and configuration tools (Syslog).

SolarWinds announced on 5^th of Jan09, it had acquired for an undisclosed sum the assets of New Zealand-based software maker Kiwi Enterprises, best known for its free management and configuration tools.

Picture Courtesy: Solar Winds.

SolarWinds, also known for making freeware versions of its enterprise software available, acquired Kiwi with plans to incorporate the company’s Syslog and CatTools products into its own Orion platform.

“We saw a number of similarities in the products and communities of Kiwi Enterprises and SolarWinds, and expect this acquisition to generate immediate benefit, not only to our respective customer bases, but to the IT community at large,” said Michael S. Bennett, chairman and CEO, SolarWinds. “SolarWinds is committed to delivering deep value to network engineers by addressing their everyday pain, simply and affordably.”SolarWinds will add the Kiwi products, specifically Kiwi Syslog Server and Kiwi CatTools, to its popular line-up of tools for network engineers.  In addition, SolarWinds also expects to use the other software products that it purchased to expand its free tool offerings.

For more details do check the press release from Solar Winds.

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Cisco Etherchannel Overview and how it can be configured in Cisco Catalyst Switches – Series 6

In the previous five posts I was talking about the Etherchannel  , types of protocols used , rules and restrictions applied to an Etherchannel  . Now it’s the time to see how an Etherchannel   can be configured in a Cisco Catalyst Switch.

An Etherchannel in a Cisco IOS can be defined as Layer 2 Etherchannel or a Layer 3 Etherchannel.

For a Layer 2 Etherchannel, physical ports are placed into an Etherchannel group.

For a Layer 3 Etherchannel, layer 3 SVI (Switch Virtual Interface) is created, and then the physical ports are placed into an Etherchannel group which is bound to the L3 SVI.

Now let’s see how to configure a Configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel in a Cisco Catalyst Switch using a PAGP (port aggregation protocol) Protocol. In my previous posts I did discussed about the PAGP protocol, it’s a Cisco proprietary protocol, can be applied only in Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Here is the scenario which we will follow

From the above diagram we have two Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches named ITKESW01 and ITKESW02.

We will configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel between the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 and ITKESW02. The  Giga Ethernet ports 0/45, 0/46/,0/47 & 0/48 on a Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 are trunk ports  and they are connected to Giga Ethernet ports 0/1,0/2,0/3 and 0/4 (also trunk ports) in Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW02.

The configuration is as follows

Configuration in the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW01

First run the command “Show interfaces trunk

ITKESW01#sho interfaces trunk

Port        Mode             Encapsulation  Status        Native vlan

Gi0/45      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/46      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/47      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/48      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Port        Vlans allowed on trunk

Gi0/45        1-4094

Gi0/46        1-4094

Gi0/47        1-4094

Gi0/48        1-4094

Port        Vlans allowed and active in management domain

Gi0/45        1

Gi0/46        1

Gi0/47        1

Gi0/48        1

Port        Vlans in spanning tree forwarding state and not pruned

Gi0/45       1

Gi0/46       1

Gi0/47       1

Gi0/48       1

ITKESW01#

Second Step configure the Giga Ethernet ports 0/45 to 0/48 in the Etherchannel

ITKESW01#config t

ITKESW01(config)# interface range gigabitEthernet 0/45 – 48

ITKESW01(config-if-range)#channel-protocol pagp

Note: PAgP protocol is configured to be used in this channel

ITKESW01 (config-if-range)# channel-group 1 mode desirable

Note: A logical port-channel interface is automatically created when ports are grouped into a channel group.

Configure the mode desirable to be used in PAgP 

Configuration in the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switch  ITKESW02

ITKESW02#sho interfaces trunk

Port        Mode             Encapsulation  Status        Native vlan

Gi0/1      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/2      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/3      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Gi0/4      on                        802.1q         trunking            1

Port        Vlans allowed on trunk

Gi0/1        1-4094

Gi0/2        1-4094

Gi0/3        1-4094

Gi0/4        1-4094

Port        Vlans allowed and active in management domain

Gi0/1        1

Gi0/2        1

Gi0/3        1

Gi0/4        1

Port        Vlans in spanning tree forwarding state and not pruned

Gi0/1       1

Gi0/2       1

Gi0/3       1

Gi0/4       1

ITKESW02#

Second Step configure the Giga Ethernet ports 0/1 to 0/4 in the Etherchannel

ITKESW02#config t

ITKESW02(config)# interface range gigabitEthernet 0/1 – 4

ITKESW02(config-if-range)#channel-protocol pagp

Note: PAgP protocol is configured to be used in this channel

ITKESW02 (config-if-range)# channel-group 1 mode auto

Note: A logical port-channel interface is automatically created when ports are grouped into a channel group.

Configure the mode auto to be used in PAgP 

Now run show command to display the Etherchannel configurations on the Cisco 3560 Catalyst Switches  ITKESW01 and ITKESW02

ITKESW01#sho etherchannel 1 summary

Flags:  D – down        P – in port-channel

        I – stand-alone s – suspended

        H – Hot-standby (LACP only)

        R – Layer3      S – Layer2

        u – unsuitable for bundling

        U – in use      f – failed to allocate aggregator

        d – default port

Number of channel-groups in use: 1

Number of aggregators:           1

Group  Port-channel  Protocol    Ports

——+————-+———–+———————————————–

1      Po1(SD)          PAgP      Gi0/45 (P)   Gi0/46 (P)  Gi0/47 (P)  Gi0/48 (P)  

ITKESW01#

ITKESW02#sho etherchannel 1 summary

Flags:  D – down        P – in port-channel

        I – stand-alone s – suspended

        H – Hot-standby (LACP only)

        R – Layer3      S – Layer2

        u – unsuitable for bundling

        U – in use      f – failed to allocate aggregator

        d – default port

Number of channel-groups in use: 1

Number of aggregators:           1

Group  Port-channel  Protocol    Ports

——+————-+———–+———————————————–

1      Po1(SD)          PAgP      Gi0/1 (P)   Gi0/2 (P)  Gi0/3 (P)  Gi0/4 (P)  

ITKESW02#

In upcoming posts I will show how to configure a Layer 2 Etherchannel  using LACP protocol

Cisco Etherchannel Overview and how it can be configured in Cisco Catalyst Switches – Series 5

Dear Friends,

 Hope it’s going to be a good beginning in the year 2009 and lest hope to see the peace and harmony all over the world.

Now let’s see what options are available for load balancing in an Etherchannel  bundle.  How does the Cisco Catalyst Switch determines which physical link in the Etherchannel  bundle to use to forward the data?

The answer is the Cisco Catalyst Switch uses a polymorphic algorithm taking key fields from the header of the packet to generate a hash to a physical link in the Etherchannel group.

Data sent across an Etherchannel is not load-balanced equally between all interfaces. Etherchannel  utilizes a load-balancing algorithm, which can be based on several forms of criteria, including: