Overview of Link Aggregation
Link aggregation, or IEEE 802.3ad, is a computer networking term which describes using multiple Ethernet network cables/ports in parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one single cable or port, and provide redundancy for higher availability. Other terms used to describe Link Aggregation include "Ethernet trunk", "NIC teaming", "port teaming", "port trunking", "EtherChannel", "Multi-Link Trunking (MLT)", "DMLT", "SMLT", "DSMLT", "R-SMLT", "NIC bonding", "Network Fault Tolerance (NFT)" and "link aggregate group" (LAG).
"Link Aggregation." Wikipedia.com. 19 May 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation
More Information on Link Aggregation
In
shared storage, effective link aggregation works by load-balancing socket connections, also referred to as "conversations," across all of the ports that are aggregated together. On the server, each of the sockets can be routed over a different port, and this provides an evenly-loaded
network with a high aggregate
bandwidth.
Link Aggregation provides an inexpensive and effective way to increase
network bandwidth to and from the server. This enables improved work flow by allowing all connected clients to more efficiently
access files on the server, supporting a larger number of clients.
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