Can link aggregation be used to aggregate WANs?

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows, I understand that the Netonix switches has Link Aggregation capabilities. May I know if it can be used to aggregate 2 WAN networks of 1Gbps each to present a virtual single network of 2Gbps to the devices behind the switch?

Not referring to WAN failover, but rather, 2Gbps at any one time.

[sirhc]

I grabbed this from another post so it may sound a bit off but you get the point

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=739&p=5475&hilit=LAG#p5475

LAG stands for Link Aggregation and I would not use LAG with wireless connections unless maybe with 2 AF24 links. Google LACP and read Wikipedia on how this is used. I create a LAG to connect my router to the switch at each tower so that my VLANs going to each AP which are 10/100 links that will issue pause frames are divided up across 2 physical links. You can see how I do a tower setup in this post by clicking HERE.

There are 2 types of LAG we support, Static, and LACP. Now LACP can be Active or Passive but you will read about this in the Wikipedia page on LACP. It just has to do with how the ports advertise to each other. You will also learn what the Key is but basically an LACP Key just identifies which port groups belong together.

Also the way the standard is both links have to have the same physical links state which means you would not LAG an AF24 and a PowerBridge unless you forced the AF24 to only link at 100 MB. We use a Static LAG between our Cisco and the switch because Cisco does not support LACP on most routers but they do with their switches and switch cards for routers.

A LAG does not create a single 2 GB but rather aggregates streams across them based on the method you select at the top of the TAB such as 'Source Destination IP' so a single file copy will not yield more then 1G but the aggregated capacity (all streams) added together is up to 2G for 2 ports used or 4G for 4 ports.

[ryanm]

And the aggregation depends on the provider (if it's not your own, private links) doing the same link aggregation with you on their end.

[ralliart12]

...A LAG does not create a single 2 GB but rather aggregates streams across them based on the method you select at the top of the TAB such as 'Source Destination IP' so a single file copy will not yield more then 1G but the aggregated capacity (all streams) added together is up to 2G for 2 ports used or 4G for 4 ports.

In that case, when I'm aggregating multiple WANs, how is link aggregation different from dual-WAN failover?

I assume what you are trying to tell me, is not to equate link aggregation with WAN-bonding?

[sirhc]

You should google LACP and Static LAG and read the wikipedia pages.

LACP and Static LAG are industry standard protocols used to create a fatter pipe between 2 devices such as routers and switches.

LACP can also be used for redundancy 'if' the equipment manufacturer implemented it properly, we did.