EtherChannel Guidelines

EtherChannel Guidelines
EtherChannel does not work under certain circumstances. This is to ensure that no network
loops will occur if the bundle comes up. There are certain guidelines to follow when configuring
EtherChannel technology:
 All ports must be in the same VLAN, or they must all be trunk ports that belong to the same
native VLAN.
 All ports must be configured as the same trunk mode—if trunking is used.
 When trunking is used, all ports must be configured with the same VLAN range. If it is not
the same, packets will be dropped and the ports will not form a channel when set to the
auto or desirable mode.
 All ports must be configured with the same speed and duplex settings.
 If broadcast limits are configured on the ports, configure the limits for all the ports or packets
might be dropped.
 The ports cannot be configured in a channel as dynamic VLAN ports.
 Port security must be disabled on channeled ports.
 All ports must be enabled in the channel before the channel can come up. If you disable a
port, a link failure occurs.