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802.3ad vs. FEC/GEC

tato386
Level 6
Level 6

Is 802.3ad the same thing as FEC/GEC? If not, what are the differences? If I have a non-Cisco switch that supports 802.3ad can I connect that to a Cisco using FEC/GEC?

Thanks,

Diego

6 Replies 6

donewald
Level 6
Level 6

Diego,

It defines the protocol that allows the GEC and FEC to happen. 802.3ad defines LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) which is the standard EtherChanneling protocol. So to answer your question "yes", if you have another vendor that supports 3ad, and Cisco support as well (Default is proprietary PAGP Channeling which will not work with LACP devices) then it will work.

Here is a URL showing an example LACP configuration between two Cisco devices.

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/473/126.html

Hope this helps you,

Don

Are all the benefits of FEC/GEC (fault-tolerance, load-balancing...) present with 3ad also?

Diego

Yes.. More actually than with PagP.

Don

Wow, I was hoping that those kinds of features were only available with Cisco technology. I am hard pressed now to explain to a client why he shoud purchase a $6K Cisco gigabit switch (3550 series) when Dell has something that is appears to have all the features we need for under $2K. Do you have any good answers for that question? ;)

Thanks,

Diego

Outside of having much more experience in the switching market, a much better product, world class support I can think of just one. Dell has just recently come into the market and I am sure there product is juvenile. Ours has been around, is proven and feature rich.

Hope this helps,

Don

Thanks for all your help.

Diego

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