layer 3 etherchannel !

[illusion_rox]

hi all, can some 1 explain me the difference between layer 3 and 2 etherchannel ? ( kindly also refer me a cisco doc also ), and suppose i have 1841 router with 2 fastethernet interfaces then can i make a layer 3 etherchannel based on these 2 interfaces ?

[Mark Yeates]

I really don't think that there is much of a difference between layer 2 & layer 3 etherchannels, besides that layer 2 are switched interfaces, and layer 3 are routed interfaces. Here's a great guide to configuring them.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk389/tk213/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094714.shtml

Mark

[Wilson Samuel]

Hi,

The basic difference between L-2 and L-3 EtherChannel is that an L-3 EtherChannel has all the feastures that are available to an L-3 interface. Though it doesn't offer much help in pure LAN Switching environment, however the benefits are higher when one is combining Routing with the LAN Switching environment i.e. you may include Routing Parameters to engineer traffic patterns or you may include L-3 based ACL or even Network Manangement Features for the logical interface.

HTH

Regards,

Wilson Samuel