Channelization

Table 1. Channelization product support

Feature

Product

Release introduced

Port Channelization

5320 Series

Not Applicable

5420 Series

Not Applicable

5520 Series

VOSS 8.2.5

5720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.7

7520 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

Port 1/51 only

7720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

All ports except 1/28

VSP 4900 Series

VOSS 8.1 (4x10G only)

VSP 7400 Series

VOSS 8.0

Supported on VSP 7432CQ

Port Auto-Channelization

5320 Series

Not Applicable

5420 Series

Not Applicable

5520 Series

Fabric Engine 8.9

5720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.9

7520 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

7720 Series

Fabric Engine 8.10

VSP 4900 Series

VOSS 8.9 (4x10G only)

VSP 7400 Series

VOSS 8.9

Supported on VSP 7432CQ

Use the channelization feature to configure a single port to operate as four individual ports. Channelization can apply to the following port speeds:

You can use breakout direct attach cables (DAC) or transceivers with fiber breakout cables to connect the channelized ports to other servers, storage, and switches.

For the number of ports on the switch that support channelization, see the applicable hardware documentation.

If the product supports channelization and you enable or disable channelization on a port, the port QoS configuration resets to default values. For information about configuring QoS values, see Quality of Service.

Note

Note

When you use channelized ports in an Split MultiLink Trunking (SMLT) configuration, the system does not display the channelized ports properly when you show MLT information for the remote port member if the remote switch runs a release that does not support channelization.

When a port is channelized, use only break out cables (copper or active optical DAC) in it. Using other cables in either a channelized port or a non-channelized port results in mismatched link status between link partners, which can lead to network issues.

Use the following CLI show commands to view the port channelization status from the GigabitEthernet Interface Configuration:
  • show interfaces gigabitEthernet channelize [{slot/port[-slot/port]
  • show interfaces gigabitEthernet channelize detail [{slot/port/sub-port[-slot/port/sub-port][,...]}]

Automatic Channelization

By default, ports are not channelized, which means that a port operates as one single port at the fully supported speed. The switch automatically channelizes a port if the port operates in Auto-sense mode and you insert one of the following:

You can also enable or disable channelization on a port manually. To disable automatic channelization on a port, you must disable Auto-sense on the port.

Note

Note

Automatic channelization does not affect 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps SR parts; you can enable or disable channelization of ports with these parts regardless of the Auto-sense port configuration.

If you remove the existing part from an auto-channelized port, the port does not automatically disable channelization until you insert a new part that does not support channelization. For more information, see Automatic Channelization with Auto-sense.