802.1AX-2014 – Link Aggregation
Full title: IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks–Link Aggregation
Link Aggregation provides protocols, procedures, and managed objects that allow:
1. One or more parallel instances of full duplex point-to-point links to be aggregated together to form a Link Aggregation Group, such that a Medium Access Control (MAC) Client can treat the Link Aggregation Group as if it were a single link.
2. A resilient interconnect using multiple links among one or more nodes in a network and one or more nodes in another, separately administered, network, along with a means to ensure that frames belonging to any given service will use the same physical path in both directions between the two networks.
This standard defines the MAC independent Link Aggregation capability, and general information relevant to specific MAC types that support Link Aggregation. The capabilities defined are compatible with previous versions of this standard.
Link Aggregation allows the establishment of full duplex point-to-point links that have a higher aggregate bandwidth than the individual links that form the aggregation, and the use of multiple systems at each end of the aggregation. This allows improved utilization of available links in bridged LAN environments, along with improved resilience in the face of failure of individual links or systems. In applications connecting separately administered networks, the networks are isolated from each other’s fault recovery events.
Current Status
| Standard | Available free from the IEEE Get Program. |
| Status | Approved 10 December 2014, Published 24 December 2014. Revision 802.1AX-Rev in progress |
| Corrigendum | 802.1AX-2014/Cor 1-2017: Link Aggregation—Corrigendum 1: Technical and editorial corrections |
| Editors | Panagiotis Saltsidis, Norman Finn |