Ethernet switch with link aggregation group facility

摘要

An Ethernet switch (12) is linked to other Ethernet switches (e.g.14) in a network and can provide a link aggregate group (LAG) function where plural links (28) are used for a particular connection to provide higher bandwidth. A packet received at a switch ingress port (24) is examined to determine if routing information in its header contains LAG information, and if so, an encapsulator in the switch determines a distribution value, based on the LAG information, which indicates on which of the links attached to egress ports the packet is to be sent. The packet is encapsulated with a header containing the distribution information and sent through the switch to the selected egress ports.