Configuring Port Channels

This chapter describes how to configure port channels and to apply and configure the Link Aggregation
Control Protocol (LACP) for more efficient use of port channels in the Cisco NX-OS devices.
On a single switch, the port-channel compatibility parameters must be the same among all the port-channel
members on the physical switch.
• About Port Channels, on page 1
• Port Channels, on page 2
• Port-Channel Interfaces, on page 3
• Basic Settings, on page 3
• Compatibility Requirements, on page 4
• Load Balancing Using Port Channels, on page 6
• Symmetric Hashing, on page 7
• Guidelines and Limitations for ECMP, on page 7
• Resilient Hashing, on page 8
• GTP Tunnel Load Balancing, on page 8
• LACP, on page 9
• Prerequisites for Port Channeling, on page 15
• Guidelines and Limitations, on page 15
• Default Settings, on page 17
• Configuring Port Channels, on page 18

About Port Channels

A port channel is an aggregation of multiple physical interfaces that creates a logical interface. You can bundle
up to 32 individual active links into a port channel to provide increased bandwidth and redundancy. Port
channeling also load balances traffic across these physical interfaces. The port channel stays operational as
long as at least one physical interface within the port channel is operational.
You can create a Layer 2 port channel by bundling compatible Layer 2 interfaces, or you can create Layer 3
port channels by bundling compatible Layer 3 interfaces. You cannot combine Layer 2 and Layer 3 interfaces
in the same port channel.
You can also change the port channel from Layer 3 to Layer 2. See the Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces chapter
for information about creating Layer 2 interfaces.

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Port Channels

A Layer 2 port channel interface and it's member ports can have different STP parameters. Changing the STP
parameters of the port channel does not impact the STP parameters of the member ports because a port channel
interface takes precedence if the member ports are bundled.

Note After a Layer 2 port becomes part of a port channel, all switchport configurations must be done on the port
channel; you can no longer apply switchport configurations to individual port-channel members. You cannot
apply Layer 3 configurations to an individual port-channel member either; you must apply the configuration
to the entire port channel.

You can use static port channels, with no associated aggregation protocol, for a simplified configuration.
For more flexibility, you can use the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), which is defined in IEEE
802.3ad. When you use LACP, the link passes protocol packets. You cannot configure LACP on shared
interfaces.
See the LACP Overview section for information about LACP.

Port Channels
A port channel bundles physical links into a channel group to create a single logical link that provides the
aggregate bandwidth of up to 32 physical links. If a member port within a port channel fails, the traffic
previously carried over the failed link switches to the remaining member ports within the port channel.
However, you can enable the LACP to use port channels more flexibly. Configuring port channels with LACP
and static port channels require a slightly different procedure (see the “Configuring Port Channels” section).

Note The device does not support Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) for port channels.

Each port can be in only one port channel. All the ports in a port channel must be compatible; they must use
the same speed and duplex mode (see the “Compatibility Requirements” section). When you run static port
channels with no aggregation protocol, the physical links are all in the on channel mode; you cannot change
this mode without enabling LACP (see the “Port-Channel Modes” section).
You can create port channels directly by creating the port-channel interface, or you can create a channel group
that acts to aggregate individual ports into a bundle. When you associate an interface with a channel group,
the software creates a matching port channel automatically if the port channel does not already exist. In this
instance, the port channel assumes the Layer 2 or Layer 3 configuration of the first interface. You can also
create the port channel first. In this instance, the Cisco NX-OS software creates an empty channel group with
the same channel number as the port channel and takes the default Layer 2 or Layer 3 configuration, as well
as the compatibility configuration (see the “Compatibility Requirements” section).

Note The port channel is operationally up when at least one of the member ports is up and that port’s status is
channeling. The port channel is operationally down when all member ports are operationally down.

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Port-Channel Interfaces

Port-Channel Interfaces
The following shows port-channel interfaces.
Figure 1: Port-Channel Interfaces

You can classify port-channel interfaces as Layer 2 or Layer 3 interfaces. In addition, you can configure Layer
2 port channels in either access or trunk mode. Layer 3 port-channel interfaces have routed ports as channel
members.
You can configure a Layer 3 port channel with a static MAC address. If you do not configure this value, the
Layer 3 port channel uses the router MAC of the first channel member to come up. See the Cisco Nexus 9000
Series NX-OS Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide for information about configuring static MAC addresses
on Layer 3 port channels.
See the "Configuring Layer 2 Interfaces" chapter for information about configuring Layer 2 ports in access
or trunk mode and the "Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces" chapter for information about configuring Layer 3
interfaces and subinterfaces.

Basic Settings
You can configure the following basic settings for the port-channel interface:
• Bandwidth—Use this setting for informational purposes only; this setting is to be used by higher-level
protocols.
• Delay—Use this setting for informational purposes only; this setting is to be used by higher-level protocols.
• Description
• Duplex

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Compatibility Requirements

• IP addresses
• Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
• Shutdown
• Speed

Compatibility Requirements
When you add an interface to a channel group, the software checks certain interface attributes to ensure that
the interface is compatible with the channel group. For example, you cannot add a Layer 3 interface to a Layer
2 channel group. The Cisco NX-OS software also checks a number of operational attributes for an interface
before allowing that interface to participate in the port-channel aggregation.
The compatibility check includes the following operational attributes:
• Network layer
• (Link) speed capability
• Speed configuration
• Duplex capability
• Duplex configuration
• Port mode
• Access VLAN
• Trunk native VLAN
• Tagged or untagged
• Allowed VLAN list
• MTU size
• SPAN—Cannot be a SPAN source or a destination port
• Storm control
• Flow-control capability
• Flow-control configuration
• Media type, either copper or fiber

Use the show port-channel compatibility-parameters command to see the full list of compatibility checks
that the Cisco NX-OS uses.
You can only add interfaces configured with the channel mode set to on to static port channels, and you can
only add interfaces configured with the channel mode as active or passive to port channels that are running
LACP. You can configure these attributes on an individual member port. If you configure a member port with
an incompatible attribute, the software suspends that port in the port channel.

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Compatibility Requirements

Alternatively, you can force ports with incompatible parameters to join the port channel if the following
parameters are the same:
• (Link) speed capability
• Speed configuration
• Duplex capability
• Duplex configuration
• Flow-control capability
• Flow-control configuration

When the interface joins a port channel, some of its individual parameters are removed and replaced with the
values on the port channel as follows:
• Bandwidth
• Delay
• Extended Authentication Protocol over UDP
• VRF
• IP address
• MAC address
• Spanning Tree Protocol
• NAC
• Service policy
• Access control lists (ACLs)

Many interface parameters remain unaffected when the interface joins or leaves a port channel as follows:
• Beacon
• Description
• CDP
• LACP port priority
• Debounce
• UDLD
• MDIX
• Rate mode
• Shutdown
• SNMP trap

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Load Balancing Using Port Channels

Note When you delete the port channel, the software sets all member interfaces as if they were removed from the
port channel.

See the “LACP Marker Responders” section for information about port-channel modes.

Load Balancing Using Port Channels

The Cisco NX-OS software load balances traffic across all operational interfaces in a port channel by hashing
the addresses in the frame to a numerical value that selects one of the links in the channel. Port channels
provide load balancing by default. Port-channel load balancing uses MAC addresses, IP addresses, or Layer
4 port numbers to select the link. Port-channel load balancing uses either source or destination addresses or
ports, or both source and destination addresses or ports.
You can configure the load- balancing mode to apply to all port channels that are configured on the entire
device. You can configure one load-balancing mode for the entire device. You cannot configure the
load-balancing method per port channel.
You can configure the type of load-balancing algorithm used. You can choose the load-balancing algorithm
that determines which member port to select for egress traffic by looking at the fields in the frame.
The default load-balancing mode for Layer 3 interfaces is the source and destination IP L4 ports, and the
default load-balancing mode for non-IP traffic is the source and destination MAC address. Use the port-channel
load-balance command to set the load-balancing method among the interfaces in the channel-group bundle.
The default method for Layer 2 packets is src-dst-mac. The default method for Layer 3 packets is src-dst
ip-l4port.
You can configure the device to use one of the following methods to load balance across the port channel:
• Destination MAC address
• Source MAC address
• Source and destination MAC address
• Destination IP address
• Source IP address
• Source and destination IP address
• Source TCP/UDP port number
• Destination TCP/UDP port number
• Source and destination TCP/UDP port number
• GRE inner IP headers with source, destination and source-destination

Non-IP and Layer 3 port channels both follow the configured load-balancing method, using the source,
destination, or source and destination parameters. For example, when you configure load balancing to use the
source IP address, all non-IP traffic uses the source MAC address to load balance the traffic while the Layer
3 traffic load balances the traffic using the source IP address. Similarly, when you configure the destination

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Symmetric Hashing

MAC address as the load-balancing method, all Layer 3 traffic uses the destination IP address while the non-IP
traffic load balances using the destination MAC address.
The unicast and multicast traffic is load-balanced across port-channel links based on configured load-balancing
algorithm displayed in show port-channel load-balancing command output.
The multicast traffic uses the following methods for load balancing with port channels:
• Multicast traffic with Layer 4 information—Source IP address, source port, destination IP address,
destination port
• Multicast traffic without Layer 4 information—Source IP address, destination IP address
• Non-IP multicast traffic—Source MAC address, destination MAC address

Note Devices that run Cisco IOS can optimize the behavior of the member ports ASICs if a failure of a single
member occurred by running the port-channel hash-distribution command. The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series
device performs this optimization by default and does not require or support this command. Cisco NX-OS
does support the customization of the load-balancing criteria on port channels through the port-channel
load-balance command for the entire device.

Symmetric Hashing
To be able to effectively monitor traffic on a port channel, it is essential that each interface connected to a
port channel receives both forward and reverse traffic flows. Normally, there is no guarantee that the forward
and reverse traffic flows will use the same physical interface. However, when you enable symmetric hashing
on the port channel, bidirectional traffic is forced to use the same physical interface and each physical interface
in the port channel is effectively mapped to a set of flows.
When symmetric hashing is enabled, the parameters used for hashing, such as the source and destination IP
address, are normalized before they are entered into the hashing algorithm. This process ensures that when
the parameters are reversed (the source on the forward traffic becomes the destination on the reverse traffic),
the hash output is the same. Therefore, the same interface is chosen.
Only the following load-balancing algorithms support symmetric hashing:
• src-dst ip
• src-dst ip-l4port

Guidelines and Limitations for ECMP

You might observe that load balancing with Layer 2/Layer 3 GW flows are not load balanced equally among
all links when the switch comes up initially after reload. There are two CLIs to change the ECMP hash
configuration in the hardware. The two CLI commands are mutually exclusive.
• Enter the port-channel load-balance [src | src-dst | dst] mac command for MAC-based only hash.
• For hash based on IP/Layer 4 ports, enter either the ip load-share or port-channel load-balance
command.

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Resilient Hashing

• The port-channel load-balance command can overwrite the ip load-share command. It is better to
enter the port-channel load-balance command which helps to set both the IP and MAC parameters.
• There are no options to force the hashing algorithm based on the IP/Layer 4 port. The default MAC
configuration is always programmed as a part of the port channel configuration.
• ECMP resilient hashing is not supported for traffic flows over tunnel.

Resilient Hashing
With the exponential increase in the number of physical links used in data centers, there is also the potential
for an increase in the number of failed physical links. In static hashing systems that are used for load balancing
flows across members of port channels or Equal Cost Multipath (ECMP) groups, each flow is hashed to a
link. If a link fails, all flows are rehashed across the remaining working links. This rehashing of flows to links
results in some packets being delivered out of order even for those flows that were not hashed to the failed
link.
This rehashing also occurs when a link is added to the port channel or Equal Cost Multipath (ECMP) group.
All flows are rehashed across the new number of links, which results in some packets being delivered out of
order.
Resilient hashing maps flows to physical ports and it is supported for both ECMP groups and port channel
interfaces.
If a physical link fails, the flows originally assigned to the failed link are redistributed uniformly among the
remaining working links. The existing flows through the working links are not rehashed and hence are not
impacted.
Resilient hashing supports IPv4 and IPv6 unicast traffic, but it does not support IPv4 multicast traffic.
Resilient hashing is supported on all the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series platforms. (NX-OS 7.0(3)I3(1) release and
later). Beginning Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(3), resilient hashing is supported on Cisco Nexus 92160YC-X,
92304QC, 9272Q, 9232C, 9236C, 92300YC switches.

GTP Tunnel Load Balancing

GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) is used mainly to deliver mobile data on wireless networks via Cisco Nexus
9000 Series switches as the core router. When two routers carrying GTP traffic are connected with link
bundling, the traffic is required to be distributed evenly between all bundle members.
To achieve load balancing, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches use 5-tuple load balancing mechanism. The
load balancing mechanism takes into account the source IP, destination IP, protocol, Layer 4 resource and
destination port (if traffic is TCP or UDP) fields from the packet. In the case of GTP traffic, a limited number
of unique values for these fields restrict the equal distribution of traffic load on the tunnel.
In order to avoid polarization for GTP traffic in load balancing, a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) in the
GTP header is used instead of a UDP port number. Since the TEID is unique per tunnel, traffic can be evenly
load balanced across multiple links in the bundle.
Beginning Cisco Nexus Release 7.0(3)I7(3), GTP Tunnel Load Balancing is supported on Cisco Nexus
9300-EX platform switches.

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LACP

Beginning Cisco Nexus Release 7.0(3)I7(4), GTP Tunnel Load Balancing is supported on Cisco Nexus
9300-FX and 9364C platform switches.
This feature overrides the source and destination port information with the 32-bit TEID value that is present
in GTPU packets.
GTP tunnel load balancing feature adds support for:
• GTP with IPv4/IPv6 transport header on physical interface
• GTP traffic over TE tunnel
• GTPU with UDP port 2152

The ip load-sharing address source-destination gtpu command enables the GTP tunnel load balancing.
To know the egress interface for GTP traffic after load balancing, use show cef {ipv4 | ipv6} exact-route
command with TEID in place of L4 protocol source and destination port number. Use 16MSBist of TEID in
source port and 16LSBits of TEID in destination port.

LACP
LACP allows you to configure up to 16 interfaces into a port channel.

LACP Overview
The Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) for Ethernet is defined in IEEE 802.1AX and IEEE 802.3ad.
This protocol controls how physical ports are bundled together to form one logical channel.

Note You must enable LACP before you can use LACP. By default, LACP is disabled. See the “Enabling LACP”
section for information about enabling LACP.

The system automatically takes a checkpoint before disabling the feature, and you can roll back to this
checkpoint. See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide for information
about rollbacks and checkpoints.
The following figure shows how individual links can be combined into LACP port channels and channel
groups as well as function as individual links.

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Port-Channel Modes

Figure 2: Individual Links Combined into a Port Channel

With LACP, you can bundle up to 32 interfaces in a channel group.

Note When you delete the port channel, the software automatically deletes the associated channel group. All member
interfaces revert to their original configuration.

Note If you downgrade a Cisco Nexus 9500 series switch that is configured to use LACP vPC convergence feature,
that runs Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I7(5) to a lower release, the configuration is removed. You must configure
the LACP vPC convergence feature again when you upgrade the switch.

You cannot disable LACP while any LACP configurations are present.

Port-Channel Modes
Individual interfaces in port channels are configured with channel modes. When you run static port channels
with no aggregation protocol, the channel mode is always set to on. After you enable LACP globally on the
device, you enable LACP for each channel by setting the channel mode for each interface to either active or
passive. You can configure channel mode for individual links in the LACP channel group when you are
adding the links to the channel group

Note You must enable LACP globally before you can configure an interface in either the active or passive channel
mode.

The following table describes the channel modes.

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Port-Channel Modes

Table 1: Channel Modes for Individual Links in a Port Channel

Channel Mode Description

passive The LACP is enabled on this port channel and the

ports are in a passive negotiating state. Ports responds
to LACP packets that it receives but does not initiate
LACP negotiation.

active The LACP is enabled on this port channel and the

ports are in an active negotiating state. Ports initiate
negotiations with other ports by sending LACP
packets.

on The LACP is disabled on this port channel and the

ports are in a non-negotiating state. The on state of
the port channel represents the static mode.
The port will not verify or negotiate port channel
memberships. If you attempt to change the channel
mode to active or passive before enabling LACP, the
device displays an error message. When an LACP
attempts to negotiate with an interface in the on state,
it does not receive any LACP packets and becomes
an individual link with that interface, it does not join
the LACP channel group. The on state is the default
port-channel mode

Both the passive and active modes allow LACP to negotiate between ports to determine if they can form a
port channel based on criteria such as the port speed and the trunking state.The passive mode is useful when
you do not know whether the remote system, or partner, supports LACP.
Two devices can form an LACP port channel when their ports are in different LACP modes if the modes are
compatible as in the following example:

Table 2: Channel Modes Compatibility

Device 1 > Port-1 Device 2 > Port-2 Result

Active Active Can form a port channel.

Active Passive Can form a port channel.

Passive Passive Cannot form a port channel because no ports can initiate
negotiation.

On Active Cannot form a port channel because LACP is enabled

only on one side.

On Passive Cannot form a port channel because LACP is not

enabled.

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LACP ID Parameters

LACP ID Parameters
This section describes the LACP parameters.

LACP System Priority

Each system that runs LACP has an LACP system priority value. You can accept the default value of 32768
for this parameter, or you can configure a value between 1 and 65535. LACP uses the system priority with
the MAC address to form the system ID and also uses the system priority during negotiation with other devices.
A higher system priority value means a lower priority.

Note The LACP system ID is the combination of the LACP system priority value and the MAC address.

LACP Port Priority

Each port that is configured to use LACP has an LACP port priority. You can accept the default value of
32768 for the LACP port priority, or you can configure a value between 1 and 65535. LACP uses the port
priority with the port number to form the port identifier.
LACP uses the port priority to decide which ports should be put in standby mode when there is a limitation
that prevents all compatible ports from aggregating and which ports should be put into active mode. A higher
port priority value means a lower priority for LACP. You can configure the port priority so that specified
ports have a lower priority for LACP and are most likely to be chosen as active links, rather than hot-standby
links.

LACP Administrative Key

LACP automatically configures an administrative key value equal to the channel-group number on each port
configured to use LACP. The administrative key defines the ability of a port to aggregate with other ports. A
port’s ability to aggregate with other ports is determined by these factors:
• Port physical characteristics, such as the data rate and the duplex capability
• Configuration restrictions that you establish

LACP Marker Responders

You can dynamically redistribute the data traffic by using port channels. This redistribution might result from
a removed or added link or a change in the load-balancing scheme. Traffic redistribution that occurs in the
middle of a traffic flow can cause misordered frames.
LACP uses the Marker Protocol to ensure that frames are not duplicated or reordered due to this redistribution.
The Marker Protocol detects when all the frames of a given traffic flow are successfully received at the remote
end. LACP sends Marker PDUs on each of the port-channel links. The remote system responds to the Marker
PDU once it receives all the frames received on this link prior to the Marker PDU. The remote system then
sends a Marker Responder. Once the Marker Responders are received by the local system on all member links
of the port channel, the local system can redistribute the frames in the traffic flow with no chance of misordering.
The software supports only Marker Responders.

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LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences

LACP-Enabled and Static Port Channels Differences

The following table summarizes the major differences between port channels with LACP enabled and static
port channels.

Table 3: Port Channels with LACP Enabled and Static Port Channels

Configurations Port Channels with LACP Enabled Static Port Channels

Protocol applied Enable globally Not applicable

Channel mode of links Can be either: Can only be On

• Active
• Passive

Maximum number of links in 32 32

channel

LACP Compatibility Enhancements

When a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series device is connected to a non-Nexus peer, its graceful failover defaults may
delay the time that is taken to bring down a disabled port or cause traffic from the peer to be lost. To address
these conditions, the lacp graceful-convergence command was added.
By default, LACP sets a port to suspended state if it does not receive an LACP PDU from the peer. lacp
suspend-individual is a default configuration on Cisco Nexus 9000 series switches. This command puts the
port in suspended state if it does not receive any LACP PDUs. In some cases, although this feature helps in
preventing loops created due to misconfigurations, it can cause servers fail to boot up because they require
LACP to logically bring up the port. You can put a port into an individual state by using the no lacp
suspend-individual. Port in individual sate takes attributes of the individual port based on the port
configuration.
LACP port-channels exchange LACP PDUs for quick bundling of links when connecting a server and a switch.
However, the links go into suspended state when the PDUs are not received.
The delayed LACP feature enables one port-channel member, the delayed-LACP port, to come up first as a
member of a regular port-channel before LACP PDUs are received. After it is connected in LACP mode,
other members, the auxiliary LACP ports, are brought up. This avoids having the links becoming suspended
when PDUs are not received.
Which port in the port-channel comes up first depends on the port-priority value of the ports. A member link
in a port channel with lowest priority value, will come come up first as a LACP delayed port. Regardless of
the operational status of the links, the configured priority of a LACP port is used to select the delayed-lacp
port
This feature supports Layer 2 port channels, trunk mode spanning tree, and vPC and has the following
limitations:
• Using no lacp suspend-individual and lacp mode delay on a same port channel is not recommended
because it can put non-lacp delayed ports in individual state. As a best practice, you must avoid combining
these two configurations.
• Not supported on Layer 3 port channels.

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LACP Port-Channel Minimum Links and MaxBundle

• Not supported on Cisco Nexus 9500 Switches and FEX HIF and FEX fabric ports.

LACP Port-Channel Minimum Links and MaxBundle

A port channel aggregates similar ports to provide increased bandwidth in a single manageable interface.
The introduction of the minimum links and maxbundle feature further refines LACP port-channel operation
and provides increased bandwidth in one manageable interface.
The LACP port-channel minimum links feature does the following:
• Configures the minimum number of ports that must be linked up and bundled in the LACP port channel.
• Prevents the low-bandwidth LACP port channel from becoming active.
• Causes the LACP port channel to become inactive if there are few active members ports to supply the
required minimum bandwidth.

The LACP MaxBundle defines the maximum number of bundled ports allowed in a LACP port channel.
The LACP MaxBundle feature does the following:
• Defines an upper limit on the number of bundled ports in an LACP port channel.
• Allows hot-standby ports with fewer bundled ports. (For example, in an LACP port channel with five
ports, you can designate two of those ports as hot-standby ports.)

Note The minimum links and maxbundle feature works only with LACP port channels. However, the device allows
you to configure this feature in non-LACP port channels, but the feature is not operational.

LACP Fast Timers

You can change the LACP timer rate to modify the duration of the LACP timeout. Use the lacp rate command
to set the rate at which LACP control packets are sent to an LACP-supported interface. You can change the
timeout rate from the default rate (30 seconds) to the fast rate (1 second). This command is supported only
on LACP-enabled interfaces. To configure the LACP fast time rate, see the “Configuring the LACP Fast
Timer Rate” section.
ISSU and ungraceful switchovers are not supported with LACP fast timers.

Virtualization Support
You must configure the member ports and other port channel-related configuration from the virtual device
context (VDC) that contains the port channel and member ports. You can use the numbers from 1 to 4096 in
each VDC to number the port channels.
All ports in one port channel must be in the same VDC. When you are using LACP, all possible 8 active ports
and all possible 8 standby ports must be in the same VDC.

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High Availability

Note You must configure load balancing using port channels in the default VDC. See the “Load Balancing Using
Port Channels” section for more information about load balancing.

High Availability
Port channels provide high availability by load balancing traffic across multiple ports. If a physical port fails,
the port channel is still operational if there is an active member in the port channel. You can bundle ports
from different modules and create a port channel that remains operational even if a module fails because the
settings are common across the module.
Port channels support stateful and stateless restarts. A stateful restart occurs on a supervisor switchover. After
the switchover, the Cisco NX-OS software applies the runtime configuration after the switchover.
The port channel goes down if the operational ports fall below the configured minimum links number.

Note See the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS High Availability and Redundancy Guide for complete information
about high-availability features.

Prerequisites for Port Channeling

Port channeling has the following prerequisites:
• You must be logged onto the device.
• All ports for a single port channel must be either Layer 2 or Layer 3 ports.
• All ports for a single port channel must meet the compatibility requirements. See the “Compatibility
Requirements” section for more information about the compatibility requirements.
• You must configure load balancing from the default VDC.

Guidelines and Limitations

Port channeling has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
• For scaled port-channel deployments on Cisco Nexus 9516 switch with Gen 1 line cards, you need to
use the port-channel scale-fanout command followed by copy run start and reload commands.
• show commands with the internal keyword are not supported.
• The LACP port-channel minimum links and maxbundle feature is not supported for host interface port
channels.
• You must enable LACP before you can use that feature.
• You can configure multiple port channels on a device.

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Guidelines and Limitations

• Do not put shared and dedicated ports into the same port channel. (See the “Configuring Basic Interface
Parameters” chapter for information about shared and dedicated ports.)
• For Layer 2 port channels, ports with different STP port path costs can form a port channel if they are
compatibly configured with each other. See the “Compatibility Requirements” section for more information
about the compatibility requirements.
• In STP, the port-channel cost is based on the aggregated bandwidth of the port members.
• After you configure a port channel, the configuration that you apply to the port channel interface affects
the port channel member ports. The configuration that you apply to the member ports affects only the
member port where you apply the configuration.
• LACP does not support half-duplex mode. Half-duplex ports in LACP port channels are put in the
suspended state.
• Do not configure ports that belong to a port channel group as private VLAN ports. While a port is part
of the private VLAN configuration, the port channel configuration becomes inactive.
• Channel member ports cannot be a source or destination SPAN port.
• Port-channels are not supported on generation 1 100G line cards (N9K-X9408PC-CFP2) or generic
expansion modules (N9K-M4PC-CFP2).
• Port-channels are supported on devices with generation 2 (and later) 100G interfaces. (7.0(3)I3(1) and
later)
• The port channel might be affected by the limitations of the Application Leaf Engine (ALE) uplink ports
on Cisco Nexus 9300 and 9500 Series devices:Limitations for ALE Uplink Ports
• Resilient hashing for port channels is not supported on Cisco Nexus 9200, Cisco Nexus 9300-EX, and
Cisco Nexus 9500 switches with 9700-EX line cards.
• In Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I4(1), resilient hashing (port-channel load-balancing resiliency) and
VXLAN configurations are not compatible with VTEPs using ALE uplink ports.

Note Resilient hashing is disabled by default.

• The maximum number of subinterfaces for a port is 511. The maximum number of subinterfaces for a
satellite/FEX port is 63.
• On a Cisco Nexus 92300YC switch, the first 24 ports that are part of the same quadrant. All the ports in
the same quadrant must have same speed. Having different speed on ports in a quadrant is not supported.
Following are the first 24 ports on the Cisco Nexus 92300YC switch that share same quadrant:
• 1,4,7,10
• 2,5,8,11
• 3,6,9,12
• 13,16,19,22
• 14,17,20,23
• 15,18,21,24

Configuring Port Channels

16
 Configuring Port Channels
Default Settings

• On a Cisco Nexus 9500 switch with a X96136YC-R line card, the ports 17–48 are part of the same
quadrant. Ports in the same quadrant must have same speed (1/10G or 25G) on all ports. Having different
speed on ports in a quadrant is not supported. If you set different speed in any of the ports in a quadrant,
the ports go into error disable state. Interfaces in same quadrant are:
• 17–20
• 21–24
• 25–28
• 29–32
• 33–36
• 37–40
• 41–44
• 45–48

• Beginning Cisco NX-OS Release 7.0(3)I7(8), you can use interface port-channel all command to select
all the available parent port channel interfaces in the system and then apply any subcommand to all the
member ports.

Note The subcommands impacts the FEX and VPC ports as well. For example, a shut
subcommand may shutdown any connected FEX or vPC ports.

• If you have layer 2 and layer 3 port channels in a switch some commands may not be applicable to both
the layer 2 and layer 3 port channels. In those instances, the configuration may not be applied properly.
• Use the interface port-channel all command only on similar type of port channels in a switch. This
command works on parent interfaces. However the command may not work if port channel sub interfaces
are present.

Default Settings
The following table lists the default settings for port-channel parameters.

Table 4: Default Port-Channel Parameters

Parameters Default

Port channel Admin up

Load balancing method for Layer 3 interfaces Source and destination IP address

Load balancing method for Layer 2 interfaces Source and destination MAC address

Load balancing per module Disabled

LACP Disabled

Configuring Port Channels

17
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Port Channels

Parameters Default

Channel mode on

LACP system priority 32768

LACP port priority 32768

Minimum links for LACP 1

Maxbundle 32

Minimum links for FEX fabric port channel 1

Configuring Port Channels

Note See the "Configuring Basic Interface Parameters” chapter for information about configuring the maximum
transmission unit (MTU) for the port-channel interface. See the “Configuring Layer 3 Interfaces” chapter for
information about configuring IPv4 and IPv6 addresses on the port-channel interface.

Note If you are familiar with the Cisco IOS CLI, be aware that the Cisco NX-OS commands for this feature might
differ from the Cisco IOS commands that you would use.

Creating a Port Channel

You can create a port channel before you create a channel group. The software automatically creates the
associated channel group.

Note When the port channel is created before the channel group, the port channel should be configured with all of
the interface attributes that the member interfaces are configured with. Use the switchport mode trunk
{allowed vlan vlan-id | native vlan-id} command to configure the members.

This is required only when the channel group members are Layer 2 ports (switchport) and trunks (switchport
mode trunk).

Configuring Port Channels

18
Configuring Port Channels
Creating a Port Channel

Note Use the no interface port-channel command to remove the port channel and delete the associated channel
group.

Command Purpose

no interface port-channel channel-number Removes the port channel and deletes the
associated channel group.
Example:
switch(config)# no interface port-channel 1

Before you begin

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel channel-number Specifies the port-channel interface to

configure, and enters the interface configuration
Example:
mode. The range is from 1 to 4096. The Cisco
switch(config)# interface port-channel NX-OS software automatically creates the
1
switch(config-if)
channel group if it does not already exist.

Step 3 show port-channel summary (Optional) Displays information about the port
channel.
Example:
switch(config-router)# show port-channel
summary

Step 4 no shutdown (Optional) Clears the errors on the interfaces

and VLANs where policies correspond with
Example:
hardware policies. This command allows policy
switch# configure terminal programming to continue and the port to come
switch(config)# int e3/1
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
up. If policies do not correspond, the errors are
placed in an error-disabled policy state.

Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring Port Channels

19
 Configuring Port Channels
Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

Example
This example shows how to create a port channel:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 1

See the “Compatibility Requirements” section for details on how the interface configuration changes
when you delete the port channel.

Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

You can add a Layer 2 port to a new channel group or to a channel group that already contains Layer 2 ports.
The software creates the port channel associated with this channel group if the port channel does not already
exist.

Note Use the no channel-group command to remove the port from the channel group.

Command Purpose

no channel-group Removes the port from the channel group.

Example:
switch(config)# no channel-group

Before you begin

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.
All Layer 2 member ports must run in full-duplex mode and at the same speed

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface type slot/port Specifies the interface that you want to add to
a channel group, and enters the interface
Example:
configuration mode.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 switchport Configures the interface as a Layer 2 access

port.
Example:
switch(config)# switchport

Configuring Port Channels

20
Configuring Port Channels
Adding a Layer 2 Port to a Port Channel

Command or Action Purpose

Step 4 switchport mode trunk (Optional) Configures the interface as a Layer
2 trunk port.
Example:
switch(config)# switchport mode trunk

Step 5 switchport trunk {allowed vlan vlan-id | (Optional) Configures necessary parameters for
native vlan-id} a Layer 2 trunk port.
Example:
switch(config)# switchport trunk native
3
switch(config-if)#

Step 6 channel-group channel-number [force] [mode Configures the port in a channel group and sets
{on | active | passive}] the mode. The channel-number range is from 1
to 4096. This command creates the port channel
Example:
associated with this channel group if the port
• switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 channel does not already exist. All static
port-channel interfaces are set to mode on. You
• switch(config-if)# channel-group 5
force must set all LACP-enabled port-channel
interfaces to active or passive. The default
mode is on.
(Optional) Forces an interface with some
incompatible configurations to join the channel.
The forced interface must have the same speed,
duplex, and flow control settings as the channel
group.
Note The force option fails if the port
has a QoS policy mismatch with
the other members of the port
channel.

Step 7 show interface type slot/port (Optional) Displays interface information.

Example:
switch# show interface port channel 5

Step 8 no shutdown (Optional) Clears the errors on the interfaces

and VLANs where policies correspond with
Example:
hardware policies. This command allows policy
switch# configure terminal programming to continue and the port to come
switch(config)# int e3/1
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
up. If policies do not correspond, the errors are
placed in an error-disabled policy state.

Step 9 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring Port Channels

21
 Configuring Port Channels
Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

Example
This example shows how to add a Layer 2 Ethernet interface 1/4 to channel group 5:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# switchport
switch(config-if)# channel-group 5

Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

You can add a Layer 3 port to a new channel group or to a channel group that is already configured with Layer
3 ports. The software creates the port channel associated with this channel group if the port channel does not
already exist.
If the Layer 3 port that you are adding has a configured IP address, the system removes that IP address before
adding the port to the port channel. After you create a Layer 3 port channel, you can assign an IP address to
the port-channel interface.

Note Use the no channel-group command to remove the port from the channel group. The port reverts to its original
configuration. You must reconfigure the IP addresses for this port.

Command Purpose

no channel-group Removes the port from the channel group.

Example:
switch(config)# no channel-group

Before you begin

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.
Remove any IP addresses configured on the Layer 3 interface.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface type slot/port Specifies the interface that you want to add to
a channel group, and enters the interface
Example:
configuration mode.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)#

Configuring Port Channels

22
Configuring Port Channels
Adding a Layer 3 Port to a Port Channel

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 no switchport Configures the interface as a Layer 3 port.
Example:
switch(config-if)# no switchport

Step 4 channel-group channel-number [force] [mode Configures the port in a channel group and sets
{on | active | passive}] the mode. The channel-number range is from 1
to 4096. The Cisco NX-OS software creates the
Example:
port channel associated with this channel group
• switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 if the port channel does not already exist.
• switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 (Optional) Forces an interface with some
force incompatible configurations to join the channel.
The forced interface must have the same speed,
duplex, and flow control settings as the channel
group.

Step 5 show interface type slot/port (Optional) Displays interface information.

Example:
switch# show interface ethernet 1/4

Step 6 no shutdown (Optional) Clears the errors on the interfaces

and VLANs where policies correspond with
Example:
hardware policies. This command allows policy
switch# configure terminal programming to continue and the port to come
switch(config)# int e3/1
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
up. If policies do not correspond, the errors are
placed in an error-disabled policy state.

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to add a Layer 3 Ethernet interface 1/5 to channel group 6 in on mode:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/5
switch(config-if)# switchport
switch(config-if)# channel-group 6

This example shows how to create a Layer 3 port-channel interface and assign the IP address:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 4
switch(config-if)# ip address 192.0.2.1/8

Configuring Port Channels

23
 Configuring Port Channels
Applying Port Channel Configuration to all Configured Port Channels

Applying Port Channel Configuration to all Configured Port Channels

You can select all the available port channel's parent interfaces that are already configured in the system and
then apply that configuration to the member ports of all the configured port channels.

Before you begin

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel all Changes the config mode to IF range.

Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
all
switch(config-if-range)#

Step 3 where Apply the configuration specified to all port

channels in the running-configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if-range)# where
switch(config-if-range)#

Step 4 shutdown Shuts down the local traffic on all those

interfaces selected by the command interface
Example:
port-channel all To return the interface to its
switch(config-if-range)# shutdown default operational state, use the no form of this
switch(config-if-range)#
command.

Step 5 show running-config interface port-channel Displays the running configuration of the port
all channels for which the new configuration is
applied.
Example:
switch(config-if-range)# show
running-config interface port-channel
all
switch(config-if-range)#

Example
This example shows how to apply a port channel configuration to all member port channels:

switch(config)# iinterface port-channel all

switch(config-if-range)# where
conf; interface port-channel1-2 admin@switch%default
switch(config-if-range)#
switch(config-if-range)# shutdown

Configuring Port Channels

24
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the Bandwidth and Delay for Informational Purposes

switch(config-if-range)#
switch(config-if-range)# sh run int po all

See the “Compatibility Requirements” section for details on how the interface configuration changes
when you delete the port channel.

Configuring the Bandwidth and Delay for Informational Purposes

The bandwidth of the port channel is determined by the number of total active links in the channel.
You configure the bandwidth and delay on port-channel interfaces for informational purposes.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel channel-number Specifies the port-channel interface that you
want to configure, and enters the interface
Example:
mode.
switch(config)# interface port-channel
2
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 bandwidth value Specifies the bandwidth, which is used for

informational purposes. The range is from 1 to
Example:
3,200,000,000 kbs. The default value depends
switch(config-if)# bandwidth 60000000 on the total active interfaces in the channel
switch(config-if)#
group.

Step 4 delay value Specifies the throughput delay, which is used

for informational purposes. The range is from
Example:
1 to 16,777,215 tens of microseconds. The
switch(config-if)# delay 10000 default value is 10 microseconds.
switch(config-if)#

Step 5 exit Exits the interface mode and returns to the

configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 6 show interface port-channel channel-number (Optional) Displays interface information for
the specified port channel.
Example:
switch# show interface port-channel 2

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:

Configuring Port Channels

25
 Configuring Port Channels
Shutting Down and Restarting the Port-Channel Interface

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to configure the informational parameters of the bandwidth and delay for
port channel 5:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 5
switch(config-if)# bandwidth 60000000
switch(config-if)# delay 10000
switch(config-if)#

Shutting Down and Restarting the Port-Channel Interface

You can shut down and restart the port-channel interface. When you shut down a port-channel interface, no
traffic passes and the interface is administratively down.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel channel-number Specifies the port-channel interface that you
want to configure, and enters the interface
Example:
mode.
switch(config)# interface port-channel
2
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 shutdown Shuts down the interface. No traffic passes and

the interface displays as administratively down.
Example:
The default is no shutdown.
switch(config-if)# shutdown
switch(config-if)# Note Use the no shutdown command
to open the interface.
The interface displays as
administratively up. If there are
no operational problems, traffic
passes. The default is no
shutdown.

Step 4 exit Exits the interface mode and returns to the

configuration mode.
Example:

Configuring Port Channels

26
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring a Port-Channel Description

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 5 show interface port-channel channel-number (Optional) Displays interface information for
the specified port channel.
Example:
switch(config-router)# show interface
port-channel 2

Step 6 no shutdown (Optional) Clears the errors on the interfaces

and VLANs where policies correspond with
Example:
hardware policies. This command allows policy
switch# configure terminal programming to continue and the port to come
switch(config)# int e3/1
switch(config-if)# no shutdown
up. If policies do not correspond, the errors are
placed in an error-disabled policy state.

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to bring up the interface for port channel 2:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 2
switch(config-if)# no shutdown

Configuring a Port-Channel Description

You can configure a description for a port channel.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel channel-number Specifies the port-channel interface that you
want to configure, and enters the interface
Example:
mode.
switch(config)# interface port-channel
2
switch(config-if)#

Configuring Port Channels

27
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port-Channel Interface

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 description Allows you to add a description to the
port-channel interface. You can use up to 80
Example:
characters in the description. By default, the
switch(config-if)# description description does not display; you must configure
engineering
switch(config-if)# this parameter before the description displays
in the output.

Step 4 exit Exits the interface mode and returns to the

configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 5 show interface port-channel channel-number (Optional) Displays interface information for
the specified port channel.
Example:
switch# show interface port-channel 2

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to add a description to port channel 2:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 2
switch(config-if)# description engineering

Configuring the Speed and Duplex Settings for a Port-Channel Interface

You can configure the speed and duplex settings for a port-channel interface.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel channel-number Specifies the port-channel interface that you
want to configure, and enters the interface
Example:
mode.
switch(config)# interface port-channel
2
switch(config-if)#

Configuring Port Channels

28
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Load Balancing Using Port Channels

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 speed {10 | 100 | 1000 | auto} Sets the speed for the port-channel interface.
The default is auto for autonegotiation.
Example:
switch(config-if)# speed auto
switch(config-if)#

Step 4 duplex {auto | full | half} Sets the duplex for the port-channel interface.
The default is auto for autonegotiation.
Example:
switch(config-if)# speed auto
switch(config-if)#

Step 5 exit Exits the interface mode and returns to the

configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config-if)# exit
switch(config)#

Step 6 show interface port-channel channel-number (Optional) Displays interface information for
the specified port channel.
Example:
switch# show interface port-channel 2

Step 7 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to set port channel 2 to 100 Mb/s:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 2
switch(config-if)# speed 100

Configuring Load Balancing Using Port Channels

You can configure the load-balancing algorithm for port channels that applies to the entire device.

Note Use the no port-channel load-balance command to restore the default load-balancing algorithm of
source-dest-mac for non-IP traffic and source-dest-ip for IP traffic.

Command Purpose

no port-channel load-balance Restores the default load-balancing algorithm.

Example:
switch(config)# no port-channel load-balance

Configuring Port Channels

29
 Configuring Port Channels
Enabling LACP

Before you begin

Enable LACP if you want LACP-based port channels.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 port-channel load-balance method {dst ip | Specifies the load-balancing algorithm for the
dst ip-gre | dst ip-l4port | dst ip-l4port-vlan device. The range depends on the device. The
| dst ip-vlan | dst l4port | dst mac | src ip | src default for Layer 3 is src-dst ip-l4port for both
ip-gre | src ip-l4port | src ip-l4port-vlan | src IPv4 and IPv6, and the default for non-IP is
ip-vlan | src l4port | src mac | src-dst ip | src-dst mac.
src-dst ip-gre | src-dst ip-l4port [symmetric]
Note Only the following load-balancing
| src-dst ip-l4port-vlan | src-dst ip-vlan |
algorithms support symmetric
src-dst l4port | src-dst mac} [fex {fex-range
hashing:
| all}] [rotate rotate]
• src-dst ip
Example:
• switch(config)#port-channel • src-dst ip-l4port
load-balance src-dst mac
switch(config)#

• switch(config)#no port-channel
load-balance src-dst mac
switch(config)#

Step 3 show port-channel load-balance (Optional) Displays the port-channel

load-balancing algorithm.
Example:
switch(config-router)# show port-channel
load-balance

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Enabling LACP
LACP is disabled by default; you must enable LACP before you begin LACP configuration. You cannot
disable LACP while any LACP configuration is present.
LACP learns the capabilities of LAN port groups dynamically and informs the other LAN ports. Once LACP
identifies correctly matched Ethernet links, it group the links into a port channel. The port channel is then
added to the spanning tree as a single bridge port.
To configure LACP, you must do the following:

Configuring Port Channels

30
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring LACP Port-Channel Port Modes

• Enable LACP globally by using the feature lacp command.

• You can use different modes for different interfaces within the same LACP-enabled port channel. You
can change the mode between active and passive for an interface only if it is the only interface that is
designated to the specified channel group.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 feature lacp Enables LACP on the device.

Example:
switch(config)# feature lacp

Step 3 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to enable LACP:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# feature lacp

Configuring LACP Port-Channel Port Modes

After you enable LACP, you can configure the channel mode for each individual link in the LACP port channel
as active or passive. This channel configuration mode allows the link to operate with LACP.
When you configure port channels with no associated aggregation protocol, all interfaces on both sides of the
link remain in the on channel mode.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Configuring Port Channels

31
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring LACP Port-Channel Minimum Links

Command or Action Purpose

Step 2 interface type slot/port Specifies the interface that you want to add to
a channel group, and enters the interface
Example:
configuration mode.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 channel-group number mode {active | on | Specifies the port mode for the link in a port
passive} channel. After LACP is enabled, you configure
each link or the entire channel as active or
Example:
passive.
switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 mode
active When you run port channels with no associated
aggregation protocol, the port-channel mode is
always on.
The default port-channel mode is on.

Step 4 show port-channel summary (Optional) Displays summary information about

the port channels.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show port-channel
summary

Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to set the LACP-enabled interface to the active port-channel mode for
Ethernet interface 1/4 in channel group 5:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 mode active

Configuring LACP Port-Channel Minimum Links

You can configure the LACP minimum links feature. Although minimum links and maxbundles work only
in LACP, you can enter the CLI commands for these features for non-LACP port channels, but these commands
are nonoperational.

Configuring Port Channels

32
Configuring Port Channels
Configuring LACP Port-Channel Minimum Links

Note Use the no lacp min-links command to restore the default port-channel minimum links configuration.

Command Purpose

no lacp min-links Restores the default port-channel minimum

links configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# no lacp min-links

Before you begin

Ensure that you are in the correct port-channel interface.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the interface to configure, and enters
the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
3
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 lacp min-links number Specifies the port-channel interface to configure

the number of minimum links. The range is
Example:
from 1 to 16.
switch(config-if)# lacp min-links 3

Step 4 show running-config interface port-channel (Optional) Displays the port-channel minimum
number links configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config
interface port-channel 3

Example
This example shows how to configure the minimum number of port-channel member interfaces to
be up/active for the port-channel to be up/active:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface port-channel 3
switch(config-if)# lacp min-links 3

Configuring Port Channels

33
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the LACP Port-Channel MaxBundle

Configuring the LACP Port-Channel MaxBundle

You can configure the LACP maxbundle feature. Although minimum links and maxbundles work only in
LACP, you can enter the CLI commands for these features for non-LACP port channels, but these commands
are nonoperational.

Note Use the no lacp max-bundle command to restore the default port-channel max-bundle configuration.

Command Purpose

no lacp max-bundle Restores the default port-channel max-bundle

configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# no lacp max-bundle

Before you begin

Ensure that you are in the correct port-channel interface.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the interface to configure, and enters
the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
3
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 lacp max-bundle number Specifies the port-channel interface to configure

max-bundle.
Example:
switch(config-if)# lacp max-bundle The default value for the port-channel
max-bundle is 16. The allowed range is from 1
to 32.
Note Even if the default value is 16, the
number of active members in a
port channel is the minimum of
the pc_max_links_config and
pc_max_active_members that is
allowed in the port channel.

Configuring Port Channels

34
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the LACP Fast Timer Rate

Command or Action Purpose

Step 4 show running-config interface port-channel (Optional) Displays the port-channel
number max-bundle configuration.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show running-config
interface port-channel 3

Example
This example shows how to configure the port channel interface max-bundle:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# interface port-channel 3
switch(config-if)# lacp max-bundle 3

Configuring the LACP Fast Timer Rate

You can change the LACP timer rate to modify the duration of the LACP timeout. Use the lacp rate command
to set the rate at which LACP control packets are sent to an LACP-supported interface. You can change the
timeout rate from the default rate (30 seconds) to the fast rate (1 second). This command is supported only
on LACP-enabled interfaces.

Note We do not recommend changing the LACP timer rate. HA and SSO are not supported when the LACP fast
rate timer is configured.

Note Configuring lacp rate fast is not recommended on the vPC Peer-Links. When lacp rate fast is configured
on the vPC Peer-Link member interfaces, an alert is displayed in the syslog messages only when the LACP
logging level is set to 5.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have enabled the LACP feature.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface type slot/port Specifies the interface to configure and enters
the interface configuration mode.
Example:

Configuring Port Channels

35
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the LACP System Priority

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 lacp rate fast Configures the fast rate (one second) at which
LACP control packets are sent to an
Example:
LACP-supported interface.
switch(config-if)# lacp rate fast
To reset the timeout rate to its default, use the
no form of the command.

Example
This example shows how to configure the LACP fast rate on Ethernet interface 1/4:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# lacp rate fast

This example shows how to restore the LACP default rate (30 seconds) on Ethernet interface 1/4.
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# no lacp rate fast

Configuring the LACP System Priority

The LACP system ID is the combination of the LACP system priority value and the MAC address.

Before you begin

Enable LACP.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 lacp system-priority priority Configures the system priority for use with
LACP. Valid values are from 1 through 65535,
Example:
and higher numbers have a lower priority. The
switch(config)# lacp system-priority default value is 32768.
40000
Note Each VDC has a different LACP
system ID because the software
adds the MAC address to this
configured value.

Configuring Port Channels

36
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring the LACP Port Priority

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 show lacp system-identifier (Optional) Displays the LACP system identifier.
Example:
switch(config-if)# show lacp
system-identifier

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to set the LACP system priority to 2500:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# lacp system-priority 2500

Configuring the LACP Port Priority

When you enable LACP, you can configure each link in the LACP port channel for the port priority.

Before you begin

Enable LACP.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface type slot/port Specifies the interface that you want to add to
a channel group, and enters the interface
Example:
configuration mode.
switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 lacp port-priority priority Configures the port priority for use with LACP.
Valid values are from 1 through 65535, and
Example:
higher numbers have a lower priority. The
switch(config-if)# lacp port-priority default value is 32768.
40000

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:

Configuring Port Channels

37
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring LACP System MAC and Role

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config-if)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to set the LACP port priority for Ethernet interface 1/4 to 40000:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# lacp port-priority 40000

Configuring LACP System MAC and Role

You can configure the MAC address used by the LACP for protocol exchanges and the optional role. By
default, the LACP uses the VDC MAC address. By default, the role is primary.
Use the no lacp system-mac command to make LACP use the default (VDC) MAC address and default role.
This procedure is supported on the Cisco Nexus 9336C-FX2, 93300YC-FX2, and 93240YC-FX2-Z switches.

Before you begin

LACP must be enabled.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enter global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal

Step 2 lacp system-mac mac-address role role-value Specifies the MAC address to use in the LACP
protocol exchanges. The role is optional.
Example:
Primary is the default.
switch(config)# lacp system-mac
000a.000b.000c role primary
switch(config)# lacp system-mac
000a.000b.000c role secondary

Step 3 (Optional) show lacp system-identifier Displays the configured MAC address.
Example:
switch(config)# show lacp
system-identifier

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config Copies the running configuration to the startup
configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Configuring Port Channels

38
 Configuring Port Channels
Disabling LACP Graceful Convergence

Example
The following example shows how to configure the role of a switch as primary.
Switch1# sh lacp system-identifier
32768,0-b-0-b-0-b
Switch1# sh run | grep lacp
feature lacp
lacp system-mac 000b.000b.000b role primary

The following example shows how to configure the role of a switch as secondary.
Switch2# sh lacp system-identifier
32768,0-b-0-b-0-b
Switch2# sh run | grep lacp
feature lacp
lacp system-mac 000b.000b.000b role secondary

Disabling LACP Graceful Convergence

By default, LACP graceful convergence is enabled. In situations where you need to support LACP
interoperability with devices where the graceful failover defaults may delay the time taken for a disabled port
to be brought down or cause traffic from the peer to be lost, you can disable convergence. If the downstream
access switch is not a Cisco Nexus device, disable the LACP graceful convergence option.

Note The port channel has to be in the administratively down state before the command can be run.

Before you begin

Enable LACP.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the port channel interface to configure
and enters the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 shutdown Administratively shuts down the port channel.

Example:
switch(config-if) shutdown

Configuring Port Channels

39
 Configuring Port Channels
Reenabling LACP Graceful Convergence

Command or Action Purpose

Step 4 no lacp graceful-convergence Disables LACP graceful convergence on the
port channel.
Example:
switch(config-if)# no lacp
graceful-convergence

Step 5 no shutdown Brings the port channel administratively up.

Example:
switch(config-if) no shutdown

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to disable LACP graceful convergence on a port channel:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 1
switch(config-if)# shutdown
switch(config-if)# no lacp graceful-convergence
switch(config-if)# no shutdown

Reenabling LACP Graceful Convergence

If the default LACP graceful convergence is once again required, you can reenable convergence.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the port channel interface to configure
and enters the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 shutdown Administratively shuts down the port channel.

Example:
switch(config-if) shutdown

Configuring Port Channels

40
 Configuring Port Channels
Disabling LACP Suspend Individual

Command or Action Purpose

Step 4 lacp graceful-convergence Enables LACP graceful convergence on the port
channel.
Example:
switch(config-if)# lacp
graceful-convergence

Step 5 no shutdown Brings the port channel administratively up.

Example:
switch(config-if) no shutdown

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to enable LACP graceful convergence on a port channel:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 1
switch(config-if)# shutdown
switch(config-if)# lacp graceful-convergence
switch(config-if)# no shutdown

Disabling LACP Suspend Individual

LACP sets a port to the suspended state if it does not receive an LACP PDU from the peer. This process can
cause some servers to fail to boot up as they require LACP to logically bring up the port.

Note You should only enter the lacp suspend-individual command on edge ports. The port channel has to be in
the administratively down state before you can use this command.

Before you begin

Enable LACP.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Configuring Port Channels

41
 Configuring Port Channels
Reenabling LACP Suspend Individual

Command or Action Purpose

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the port channel interface to configure
and enters the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 shutdown Administratively shuts down the port channel.

Example:
switch(config-if) shutdown

Step 4 no lacp suspend-individual Disables LACP individual port suspension

behavior on the port channel.
Example:
switch(config-if)# no lacp
suspend-individual

Step 5 no shutdown Brings the port channel administratively up.

Example:
switch(config-if) no shutdown

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to disable LACP individual port suspension on a port channel:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 1
switch(config-if)# shutdown
switch(config-if)# no lacp suspend-individual
switch(config-if)# no shutdown

Reenabling LACP Suspend Individual

You can reenable the default LACP individual port suspension.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Configuring Port Channels

42
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Delayed LACP

Command or Action Purpose

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the port channel interface to configure
and enters the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch(config)# interface port-channel
1
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 shutdown Administratively shuts down the port channel.

Example:
switch(config-if) shutdown

Step 4 lacp suspend-individual Enables LACP individual port suspension

behavior on the port channel.
Example:
switch(config-if)# lacp
suspend-individual

Step 5 no shutdown Brings the port channel administratively up.

Example:
switch(config-if) no shutdown

Step 6 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to reenable the LACP individual port suspension on a port channel:
switch# configure terminal
switch (config)# interface port-channel 1
switch(config-if)# shutdown
switch(config-if)# lacp suspend-individual
switch(config-if)# no shutdown

Configuring Delayed LACP

The delayed LACP feature enables one port channel member, the delayed LACP port, to come up first as a
member of a regular port channel before LACP PDUs are received. You configure the delayed LACP feature
using the lacp mode delaycommand on a port channel followed by configuring the LACP port priority on a
one member port of the port channel.

Note For vPC, you must enable the delayed LACP on both vPC switches.

Configuring Port Channels

43
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Delayed LACP

Note For vPC, when the delayed LACP port is on the primary switch and the primary switch fails to boot, you need
to remove the vPC configuration on the delayed LACP port-channel of the acting primary switch and flap the
port-channel for a new port to be chosen as the delayed LACP port on the existing port-channel.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2 interface port-channel number Specifies the port channel interface to configure
and enters the interface configuration mode.

Step 3 lacp mode delay Enables delayed LACP.

Note To disable delayed LACP, use the
no lacp mode delay command.

Complete the configuration of the delayed

LACP by configuring the LACP port priority.
See the "Configuring the LACP Port Priority"
section for details.
The priority of a LACP port determines the
election of the delayed LACP port. The port
with the lowest numerical priority is elected.
When two or more ports have the same best
priority, the VDC system MAC is used to
determine which vPC is used. Then within a
non-vPC switch or the elected vPC switch, the
smallest of the ethernet port names is used.
When the delayed LACP feature is configured
and made effective with a port channel flap, the
delayed LACP port operates as a member of a
regular port channel, allowing data to be
exchanged between the server and switch. After
receiving the first LACP PDU, the delayed
LACP port transitions from a regular port
member to a LACP port member.
Note The election of the delayed LACP
port is not complete or effective
until the port channel flaps on the
switch or at a remote server.

Example
The following example configures delayed LACP.

Configuring Port Channels

44
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Port Channel Hash Distribution

switch# config terminal

switch(config)# interface po 1
switch(config-if)# lacp mode delay

switch# config terminal

switch(config)# interface ethernet 1/1
switch(config-if)# lacp port-priority 1
switch(config-if)# channel-group 1 mode active

The following example disables delayed LACP.

switch# config terminal

switch(config)# interface po 1
switch(config-if)# no lacp mode delay

Configuring Port Channel Hash Distribution

Cisco NX-OS supports the adaptive and fixed hash distribution configuration for both global and port-channel
levels. This option minimizes traffic disruption by minimizing Result Bundle Hash (RBH) distribution changes
when members come up or go down so that flows that are mapped to unchange RBH values continue to flow
through the same links. The port-channel level configuration overrules the global configuration. The default
configuration is adaptive globally, and there is no configuration for each port channel, so there is no change
during an ISSU. No ports are flapped when the command is applied, and the configuration takes effect at the
next member link change event. Both modes work with RBH module or non-module schemes.
During an ISSD to a lower version that does not support this feature, you must disable this feature if the fixed
mode command is being used globally or if there is a port-channel level configuration.

Configuring Port Channel Hash Distribution at the Global Level

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 no port-channel hash-distribution {adaptive Specifies the port-channel hash distribution at

| fixed} the global level.
Example: The default is adaptive mode.
switch(config)# port-channel The command does not take effect until the next
hash-distribution adaptive
switch(config)#
member link event (link down/up/no
shutdown/shutdown). (Do you still want to
continue(y/n)? [yes])

Step 3 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:

Configuring Port Channels

45
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring Port Channel Hash Distribution at the Port Channel Level

Command or Action Purpose

switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to configure hash distribution at the global level:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no port-channel hash-distribution fixed

Configuring Port Channel Hash Distribution at the Port Channel Level

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#

Step 2 interface port-channel {channel-number | Specifies the interface to configure, and enters
range} the interface configuration mode.
Example:
switch# interface port-channel 4
switch(config-if)#

Step 3 no port-channel port hash-distribution Specifies the port-channel hash distribution at

{adaptive | fixed} the port channel level.
Example: There is no default.
switch(config-if)# port-channel port The command does not take effect until the next
hash-distribution adaptive
switch(config-if)
member link event (link down/up/no
shutdown/shutdown). (Do you still want to
continue(y/n)? [yes])

Step 4 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Copies the running configuration to

the startup configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Example
This example shows how to configure hash distribution as a global-level command:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no port-channel hash-distribution fixed

Configuring Port Channels

46
 Configuring Port Channels
Enabling ECMP Resilient Hashing

Enabling ECMP Resilient Hashing

Resilient ECMP ensures minimal impact to the existing flows when members are deleted from an ECMP
group. This is achieved by replicating the existing members in a round-robin fashion at the indices that were
previously occupied by the deleted members.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal

Step 2 hardware profile ecmp resilient Enables ECMP resilient hashing and displays
the following: Warning: The command will
Example:
take effect after next reload.
switch(config)# hardware profile ecmp
resilient Note This command is not supported
on Cisco Nexus 9808 platform
switches.

Step 3 copy running-config startup-config Copies the running configuration to the startup
configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Step 4 reload Reboots the switch.

Example:
switch(config)# reload

Disabling ECMP Resilient Hashing

Before you begin
ECMP resilient hashing is enabled.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Example:
switch# configure terminal

Configuring Port Channels

47
 Configuring Port Channels
Configuring ECMP Load Balancing based on Inner NVGRE Header

Command or Action Purpose

Step 2 no hardware profile ecmp resilient Disables ECMP resilient hashing and displays
the following: Warning: The command will
Example:
take effect after next reload.
switch(config)# no hardware profile ecmp
resilient

Step 3 copy running-config startup-config Copies the running configuration to the startup
configuration.
Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config
startup-config

Step 4 reload Reboots the switch.

Example:
switch(config)# reload

Configuring ECMP Load Balancing based on Inner NVGRE Header

Configuring the ECMP load-sharing algorithm based on inner NVGRE header enables hashing for Layer 3
ECMP paths and port-channels. To configure the ECMP load-sharing algorithm based on inner NVGRE
header, use the following command in global configuration mode:

Note ECMP load balancing based on inner NVGRE header is supported only on N9K-C9504-FM-E,
N9K-C9508-FM-E, N9K-C9516-FM-E, N9K-C9516-FM-E2 devices.

Procedure

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 ip load-sharing address { source-destination Configures the ECMP load-sharing algorithm
[port source-destination | inner all for data traffic.
infra-mode]} [universal-id seed ] [rotate
The following options are available for IP load
rotate ] [concatenation]
sharing configuration based on inner NVGRE
Example: header:
ip load-sharing address • The universal-id option sets the random
source-destination port
source-destination inner all infra-mode seed for the hash algorithm and shifts the
flow from one link to another.
You do not need to configure the universal
ID. Cisco NX-OS chooses the universal
ID if you do not configure it. The
universal-id range is from 1 to
4294967295.
• The rotate option causes the hash
algorithm to rotate the link picking
selection so that it does not continually

Configuring Port Channels

48
 Configuring Port Channels
Verifying the ECMP Resilient Hashing Configuration

Command or Action Purpose

choose the same link across all nodes in
the network. It does so by influencing the
bit pattern for the hash algorithm. This
option shifts the flow from one link to
another and load balances the already
load-balanced (polarized) traffic from the
first ECMP level across multiple links.
If you specify a rotate value, the 64-bit
stream is interpreted starting from that bit
position in a cyclic rotation. The rotate
range is from 1 to 63, and the default is 32.
• The concatenation option ties together
the hash tag values for ECMP and the hash
tag values for port channels in order to use
a stronger 64-bit hash. If you do not use
this option, you can control ECMP
load-balancing and port-channel
load-balancing independently. The default
is disabled.

The infra-mode option is not needed for Cisco

Nexus N9K-C9516-FM-E2 based switch.
Caution The VXLAN and infra-mode
option cannot coexist. You must
disable feature nv overlay before
enabling this option.

Caution This configuration enables inner

header based hashing for GRE
traffic on port channel and ECMP.

Step 2 (Optional) show ip load-sharing Displays the ECMP load-sharing algorithm for
data traffic.
Example:
switch(config)# show ip load-sharing
IPv4/IPv6 ECMP load sharing:
Universal-id (Random Seed): 398176901
Load-share mode : address
source-destination port
source-destination inner all infra-mode
GRE-Outer hash is disabled
Concatenation is disabled
Rotate: 32

Verifying the ECMP Resilient Hashing Configuration

To display ECMP Resilient Hashing configuration information, perform one of the following tasks:

Configuring Port Channels

49
 Configuring Port Channels
Verifying the Port-Channel Configuration

Command Purpose
switch(config)# show running-config | grep Displays the enabled status.
"hardware profile ecmp resilient
hardware profile ecmp resilient
switch(config)#

switch(config)# show running-config | grep Displays the disabled status.

"hardware profile ecmp resilient
switch(config)#

Verifying the Port-Channel Configuration

To display port-channel configuration information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command Purpose

show interface port-channel channel-number Displays the status of a port-channel interface.

show feature Displays enabled features.

load- interval {interval seconds {1 | 2 | 3}} Sets three different sampling intervals to bit-rate and
packet-rate statistics.

show port-channel compatibility-parameters Displays the parameters that must be the same among
the member ports in order to join a port channel.

show port-channel database [interface Displays the aggregation state for one or more
port-channel channel-number] port-channel interfaces.

show port-channel load-balance Displays the type of load balancing in use for port
channels.

show port-channel summary Displays a summary for the port-channel interfaces.

show port-channel traffic Displays the traffic statistics for port channels.

show port-channel usage Displays the range of used and unused channel
numbers.

show lacp {counters [interface port-channel Displays information about LACP.

channel-number] | [interface type/slot] | neighbor
[interface port-channel channel-number] |
port-channel [interface port-channel
channel-number] | system-identifier]]}

show running-config interface port-channel Displays information about the running configuration
channel-number of the port-channel.

Configuring Port Channels

50
 Configuring Port Channels
Monitoring the Port-Channel Interface Configuration

Monitoring the Port-Channel Interface Configuration

Use the following commands to display port-channel interface configuration information.

Command Purpose

clear counters interface port-channel Clears the counters.

channel-number

clear lacp counters [interface port-channel Clears the LACP counters.

channel-number]

load- interval {interval seconds {1 | 2 | 3}} Sets three different sampling intervals to bit-rate and
packet-rate statistics.

show interface counters [module module] Displays input and output octets unicast packets,
multicast packets, and broadcast packets.

show interface counters detailed [all] Displays input packets, bytes, and multicast and output
packets and bytes.

show interface counters errors [module module] Displays information about the number of error
packets.

show lacp counters Displays statistics for LACP.

Example Configurations for Port Channels

This example shows how to create an LACP port channel and add two Layer 2 interfaces to that port channel:

switch# configure terminal

switch (config)# feature lacp
switch (config)# interface port-channel 5
switch (config-if)# interface ethernet 1/4
switch(config-if)# switchport
switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 mode active
switch(config-if)# lacp port priority 40000
switch(config-if)# interface ethernet 1/7
switch(config-if)# switchport
switch(config-if)# channel-group 5 mode

This example shows how to add two Layer 3 interfaces to a channel group. The Cisco NX-OS software
automatically creates the port channel:

switch# configure terminal

switch (config)# interface ethernet 1/5
switch(config-if)# no switchport
switch(config-if)# no ip address
switch(config-if)# channel-group 6 mode active
switch (config)# interface ethernet 2/5
switch(config-if)# no switchport
switch(config-if)# no ip address
switch(config-if)# channel-group 6 mode active
switch (config)# interface port-channel 6

Configuring Port Channels

51
 Configuring Port Channels
Related Documents

switch(config-if)# ip address 192.0.2.1/8

Related Documents
Related Topic Document Title

System management Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS System Management

Configuration Guide

High availability Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS High Availability

and Redundancy Guide

Licensing Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide

Configuring Port Channels

52