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Interface group types

Three types of interface groups are supported on the storage system: single-mode, static multimode, and dynamic multimode. Each interface groups provides different levels of fault tolerance. Multimode interface groups provide methods for load balancing network traffic.

  • Characteristics of single-mode interface groups
    In a single-mode interface group, only one of the interfaces in the interface group is active. The other interfaces are on standby, ready to take over if the active interface fails.
  • Characteristics of static multimode interface groups
    The static multimode interface group implementation in ONTAP complies with IEEE 802.3ad (static). Any switch that supports aggregates, but does not have control packet exchange for configuring an aggregate, can be used with static multimode interface groups.
  • Dynamic multimode interface group
    Dynamic multimode interface group implement Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) to communicate group membership to the directly attached switch. LACP enables you to detect the loss of link status and the inability of the node to communicate with the direct-attached switch port.
  • Load balancing in multimode interface groups
    You can ensure that all interfaces of a multimode interface group are equally utilized for outgoing traffic by using the IP address, MAC address, sequential, or port-based load balancing methods to distribute network traffic equally over the network ports of a multimode interface group.