After writing this article for the past 90 minutes I decided to break it into multiple parts for multiple reasons, firstly because it’s getting long and secondly I don’t want to skimp on the content and want to get it right.
Example 1 – Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 to Ethernet Switch 470 using LACP trunk
In this example we’ll build an LACP trunk between a Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and a Nortel Ethernet Switch 470. As we all know a picture is worth a thousand words so let’s start with a simple basic diagram of our two switches;
We’ll start with the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and I’ll walk you through the commands.
In our first step we’ll create the MultiLink Trunk (MLT) table entry which is required for the ERS 8600, it’s not required for the the majority of Nortel’s other switches. We’ll be using LACP key 33, I chose 33 for no real specific reason. The value is important though because it also needs to be unique (not already used) and needs to be used later in the configuration. This value will identify the ports in the switch that should participate in the trunk configuration. You can have multiple LACP LAGs each with their own key, sometimes referred to as the admin key.
config mlt 13 create config mlt 13 name "LACP-LAG" config mlt 13 lacp key 33 config mlt 13 lacp enable
The next step is to configure the actual ports that will make up the trunk. In my example I’m using ports 7/33 and 7/34, again for no specific reason. I’ll enable tagging if for no other reason than to preserve any 802.1q headers such as the Priority Code Point (PCP) which is just the 802.1p bits. I’ll also add the ports to VLAN 99 which we’ll bridge between the two switches;
config ethernet 7/33-7/34 perform-tagging enable config vlan 1 ports remove 7/33-7/34 config vlan 99 port add 7/33-7/34
With the basic port configuration complete we now need to turn our attention to the LACP specific parameters. We need to use the same key we used to create the MLT above.
config ethernet 7/33-7/34 lacp key 33 config ethernet 7/33-7/34 lacp timeout short config ethernet 7/33-7/34 lacp aggregation true config ethernet 7/33-7/34 lacp enable
Let’s not forget to enable LACP globally;
config lacp enable
That’s it.
Hopefully you’ll agree that it isn’t too hard. Now let’s focus on the configuration steps for the Ethernet Switch 470. First we’ll enable tagging on the ports we’re going to use on the Ethernet Switch 470;
vlan ports 33,34 tagging tagAll
Let’s add VLAN 99 to the ports, I’ve already created the VLAN ahead of time.
vlan members add 99 33,34
Now we just need to configure the LACP parameters for each port and then enable LACP.
interface fastEthernet 33-34 lacp key 13 lacp mode active lacp timeout-time short lacp aggregation enable exit
That’s it.
Let’s just make sure that everything is working properly on both the 8600 and the 470 switches.
ERS-8610:6# show mlt info ================================================================================ Mlt Info ================================================================================ PORT SVLAN MLT MLT PORT VLAN MLTID IFINDEX NAME TYPE TYPE ADMIN CURRENT MEMBERS IDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 LACP-LAG trunk normal norm norm 7/33-7/34 99 MULTICAST DESIGNATED LACP LACP MLTID IFINDEX DISTRIBUTION NT-STG PORTS ADMIN OPER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 disable disable 7/33 enable up
ERS-8610:6# show mlt lacp info ================================================================================ LACP Aggregator Information ================================================================================ MAC COLLECTOR AGGR PORT MLTID IFINDEX ADDR MAXDELAY ORINDI MEMBERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 00:0f:cd:f1:e1:30 32768 aggr 7/33-7/34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPER MIN OPERLAST MLTID IFINDEX STATE LINK CHANGE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 up 1 6 day(s), 09:54:53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACTOR ACTOR ACTOR ACTOR MLTID IFINDEX SYSPRIO SYSID ADMINKEY OPERKEY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 32768 00:0f:cd:f1:e0:00 33 33 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PARTNER PARTNER PARTNER MLTID IFINDEX SYSPRIO SYSID OPERKEY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 6156 32768 00:16:60:80:07:c0 8205
And now on the 470 switch;
ES-470#show mlt Trunk Name Members Bpdu Mode Status ----- -------------------- ------------------- ------ ------ -------- 1 Trunk #1 NONE All basic Disabled 2 Trunk #2 NONE All basic Disabled 3 Trunk #3 NONE All basic Disabled 4 Trunk #4 NONE All basic Disabled 5 Trunk #5 NONE All basic Disabled 6 Trunk #6 33-34 Single DynLag Enabled
ES-470#show lacp port 33,34 Admin Oper Trunk Partner Port Priority Lacp A/I Timeout Key Key AggrId Id Port Status ---- -------- ------- --- ------- ----- ----- ------ ----- ------- ------ 33 32768 Active A Short 13 8205 8193 6 480 Active 34 32768 Active A Short 13 8205 8193 6 481 Active
I think that’s enough for now… there’s a simple LACP configuration between two switches. Please know that you cannot add/remove VLANs from LACP LAG configurations dynamically on Nortel switches. You must disable the LACP configuration and then change the port configuration. So there’s a great benefit to use Nortel’s proprietary MultiLink Trunk (MLT) where possible. Please also note that you don’t need to enable VLACP since LACP already performs the same functionality provided by VLACP.
Please feel free to post specific questions in the discussion forums;
http://forums.networkinfrastructure.info/nortel-ethernet-switching/
Cheers!
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#1 by svl0r on August 18, 2009 - 11:42 am
Nice tut.
#2 by Bill McDonald on August 21, 2009 - 5:03 pm
Why did you use LACP instead of just SMLT’s?
#3 by Michael McNamara on August 21, 2009 - 6:45 pm
Hi Bill,
Great question…
I still personally use Nortel’s proprietary MLT/SMLT/SLT between Nortel switches. The purpose of the article was to provide examples of how to configure LACP (802.3ad) on Nortel switches in the event that you need to connect to a non-Nortel switch via 802.3ad LACP. In the examples I just used two Nortel switches so I could cover both the Passport series (Ethernet Routing Switch 8600) and the BayStack series (Ethernet Switch 460, 470, Ethernet Routing Switch 5500, 5600 series) but they could have easily been a Cisco 3750 or a HP GbE2c or a Cisco 3120. I hope to provide additional examples covering a few of the different switches I just mentioned. Hopefully that answers your question.
Thanks for the comment!
#4 by TimJ on December 18, 2009 - 5:31 pm
Your website is fantastic… I don’t get here often enough, but when I do there’s always something of use on it for me. I hope you continue to post information and content as Nortel makes its transition.
#5 by Michael McNamara on December 19, 2009 - 10:26 am
Hi Tim,
Thanks for taking the time to stop by… I’m happy to hear you’ve found the site useful.
I certainly hope to provide continuing coverage of Nortel/Avaya products and solutions but I’ll also start covering Cisco as I start working with the Nexus product line.
Cheers!
#6 by Rajesh Gupta on January 11, 2010 - 7:24 am
Hi,
I have a query regarding LACP. Suppose we want our configuration to be dynamic and we take out the active port abruptly then what all actions will be taken and how the other link will come to know about the topology change.
Regards
Rajesh
#7 by Michael McNamara on January 11, 2010 - 6:51 pm
Hi Rajesh,
All links that participate in a LAG (Link Aggregation Group) run the LACP protocol. Depending on how one of the links fails both switches will eventually discover the issue and move all traffic to the remaining working link(s).
Here’s a great write-up regarding LAG and LACP;
http://www.ieee802.org/3/ad/public/mar99/seaman_1_0399.pdf
Good Luck!