Link Aggregation and LACP

important

This feature is currently in Beta. Support for LAG has been added for a limited number of use cases. Please refer to the Caveats section for details.

A Link Aggregation Group (LAG) enables the grouping Ethernet interfaces to form a single link layer interface. LAGs are formed by connecting multiple ports in parallel between two devices. As more links are added between the two devices, bandwidth expands. Traffic is automatically load-balanced, and in a network failure scenario, there is link-level redundancy.

LACP is the protocol that defines how the group of interfaces operates. LACP enables dynamic LAG, allowing the exchange of information between the members of the LAG network, monitoring bundle endpoints, and adding or removing new or unused individual links.

A Link Aggregation Group (LAG) that does not have LACP enabled operates as a static LAG, where the interfaces do not communicate state information.

For a deeper look at LAG and LACP, see Aggregated Ethernet Interfaces.

How It Works

The LAG is created by defining a device interface as a bond. The bond interface is configured with a network-interface. Members of the bond are configured as ethernet device interfaces, and have the parent-bond setting defined as the bond device interface. bond members (the device interfaces) are not allowed to be configured with their own network-interfaces.

Requirements

LAG/LACP has the following requirements:

• LAG/LACP must be configured on the devices on each end of the link.
• A bond must have between 1 and 8 members. Members are device-interfaces that reference the bond interface as their parent-bond.
• All members of the bond must be of the type ethernet.
• All members of the bond must be the same speed and support full duplex.

Supported Platforms

LAG is currently supported on the following platforms:

• SSR120
• SSR130

Caveats

The following caveats have been identified:

• Dynamic reconfiguration is not currently supported. Changes in LAG configuration require a 128T service restart and may result in service disruption. Any changes to LAG configuration should be performed during a maintenance window.
• High Availability has not been fully tested, and may not be fully functional.
  • VRRP with LAG is not supported
  • Shared physical addresses are not allowed.

Configuring LAG and LACP

LACP is enabled by default on the bond device interface, and must be configured on each end of the link. The following device interface configuration shows a bond interface and lacp-enabled as true (default). The interfaces that are part of the LAG are configured as ethernet interfaces and the parent-bond is identified as the name of the bond interface.

important

Please note that after any changes to the LAG configuration, you must restart the 128T service.

Configuration using the PCLI

1. Create the LAG by configuring the bond device-interface.
   • Name the interface
   • Set the type to bond
   • lacp-enable is enabled by default

              device-interface  bond0
                    name               bond0
                    type               bond

                    bond-settings
                        lacp-enable  true
                    exit  

2. Configure the network interface used by the LAG.

                    network-interface  bond-nw
                        name       bond-nw
                        global-id  1
                        tenant     red

                        address    1.1.1.1
                            ip-address     1.1.1.1
                            prefix-length  24
                            gateway        1.1.1.100
                        exit
                    exit
             exit

3. Configure at least one device interface to be part of the LAG.
   • Be sure to configure the parent-bond with the device name of the bond interface.
   • The only configuration allowed on the bond-members are pci-address and parent-bond. All other settings must be configured on the bond interface.

             device-interface  ge-0-1
                    name         ge-0-1
                    type         ethernet
                    pci-address  0000:04:00.0
                    parent-bond  bond0
             exit

             device-interface  ge-0-0
                    name         ge-0-0
                    type         ethernet
                    pci-address  0000:04:00.1
                    parent-bond  bond0
             exit

Configuration Using the GUI

These same settings are accessed from the GUI at the Authority > Router > Node > Device Interface level.

1. Create the LAG by configuring the bond device-interface.
   • Name the interface
   • Set the type to bond
   • lacp-enable is enabled by default

2. Configure the network interface used by the LAG.

3. Configure at least one device interface to be part of the LAG.
   • Be sure to configure the parent-bond with the device name of the bond interface.
   • The only configuration allowed on the bond-members are pci-address and parent-bond. All other settings must be configured on the bond interface.

Configuring LLDP

LLDP allows other devices in the network to discover the SSR. It is not required for LAG, but when enabled it provides information about the LAG interface in the network. It should be noted that when enabled as part of LAG, it is configured for the entirety of the bond, not on the individual interfaces within the group. For additional information about using the LLDP command, see lldp

              device-interface  bond0
                    name               bond0
                    type               bond
                    bond-settings
                        lacp-enable  true
                    exit
                    lldp mode        enabled
                    exit
            exit         

Show Commands

Use the show device-interface name <name> command to troubleshoot or view the status of the LAG/LACP interface.

admin@sn2028220232.router# show device-interface name bond0
Mon 2023-06-26 19:03:32 UTC
Retrieving device interface information...

=======================================================================================================
 sn2028220232:bond0
=======================================================================================================
 Type:                bond
 Forwarding:          true
 MAC Address:         90:ec:77:32:e3:f6

 Admin Status:        up
 Operational Status:  up
 Provisional Status:  up
 Redundancy Status:   non-redundant
 Speed:               2 Gb/s
 Duplex:              full

 in-octets:                    73018210
 in-unicast-pkts:                 86729
 in-errors:                           0
 out-octets:                    5611232
 out-unicast-pkts:                45281
 out-errors:                          0

 Bond Information:
   mode:                       LACP
   device_port:                1
   dpdk_port:                  3
   member_count:               2
   active_members:             2
   xmit_policy:                LAYER34
   bond_members:
       aggregator_port_id:     1
       selection:              SELECTED
       actor_detail_info:
        system_priority:      65535
         system_mac_address:   90:ec:77:32:e3:f6
         port_key:             17
         port_priority:        255
         port_number:          2
         port_state:           ACTIVE, TIMEOUT, AGGREGATION, SYNCHRONIZATION, COLLECTING, DISTRIBUTING
       partner_detail_info:
         system_priority:      127
         system_mac_address:   88:0a:a3:e6:5d:d4
         port_key:             1
         port_priority:        127
         port_number:          1
         port_state:           ACTIVE, TIMEOUT, AGGREGATION, SYNCHRONIZATION, COLLECTING, DISTRIBUTING
       aggregator_port_id:     1
       selection:              SELECTED
       actor_detail_info:
         system_priority:      65535
         system_mac_address:   90:ec:77:32:e3:f5
         port_key:             17
         port_priority:        255
         port_number:          1
         port_state:           ACTIVE, TIMEOUT, AGGREGATION, SYNCHRONIZATION, COLLECTING, DISTRIBUTING
       partner_detail_info:
         system_priority:      127
         system_mac_address:   88:0a:a3:e6:5d:d4
         port_key:             1
         port_priority:        127
         port_number:          2
         port_state:           ACTIVE, TIMEOUT, AGGREGATION, SYNCHRONIZATION, COLLECTING, DISTRIBUTING


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