Solaris Link Aggregation

Link aggregation or IEEE 802.1AX-2008, is a computer networking term which describes using multiple network cables/ports in parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one single cable or port, and to increase the redundancy for higher availability.

Most implementations now conform to what used to be clause 43 of IEEE 802.3-2005 Ethernet standard, usually still referred to by its working group name of “IEEE 802.3ad”. The Link Aggregation definition has since been moved to a standalone IEEE 802.1AX standard. (wikipedia.org)


Here’s the sample of setup aggregation link between :

e1000g0 and e1000g1
e1000g2 and e1000g3

Make sure your eeprom’s local-mac-address? variable is set to true (you don’t need this for x86):

# eeprom local-mac-address?
local-mac-address=false

# eeprom local-mac-address? = true

# eeprom local-mac-address?
local-mac-address?=true

1. Unplumb the interfaces to be aggregated:
# ifconfig e1000g0 down unplumb
# ifconfig e1000g1 down unplumb
# ifconfig e1000g2 down unplumb
# ifconfig e1000g3 down unplumb

2. Create a link-aggregation group with key 1 and 2:

{format= dladm create-aggr -d

interface Represents the device name of the interface to become part of the aggregation.
key Is the number that identifies the aggregation. The lowest key number is 1. Zeroes are not allowed as keys.

{passive mode by default:
# dladm create-aggr -d e1000g0 -d e1000g1 1
# dladm create-aggr -d e1000g2 -d e1000g3 2

{active mode:
# dladm create-aggr -l active -d e1000g0 -d e1000g1 1
# dladm create-aggr -l active -d e1000g2 -d e1000g3 2

*please note that, if you configure LACP passive mode on your switch, you have to configure active mode on your server. if both in passive mode, they do not exchange LACP packets. check your configuration with “dladm show-aggr -L” command.

# dladm show-link aggr1
# dladm show-link aggr2

3. Plumb up the interface aggrkey, add ip address:

# ifconfig aggr1 plumb
# ifconfig aggr2 plumb

# ifconfig aggr1 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
# ifconfig aggr2 192.168.1.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 up

4. Show link aggregation status:

# dladm show-aggr >>check the status
# dladm show-aggr -s >>to display statistics
# dladm show-aggr -L >>to display LACP specific information

5. Make the IP configuration of the link aggregation persist across reboots

create “/etc/hostname.aggrkey” file
# vi /etc/hostname.aggr1
192.168.1.1
# vi /etc/hostname.aggr2
192.168.1.2

# dladm modify-aggr -t -l passive 1 {change aggr1 to passive mode; temporary only]
# dladm modify-aggr -t -l active 1 {change aggr1 to active mode; temporary only]

for further reference:

http://docs.sun.com/source/820-3084-10/link_aggregation.html

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