Can someone please explain the difference between port-channel and port-group?
I understand that port-channel is when you want to aggregate links and have more bandwidth but I find it difficult to understand what port-group is/does.
I inherited a S4148F-ON (OS10). I can see port range 1/1/41-42, are members of port-channel 41.
dell# show port-channel summary | grep 41
41 port-'channel41' (D) Eth DYNAMIC 1/1/41(D) 1/1/42(D)
However, I do not see a port-group associated with port-channel 41.
dell# show port-group
Port-group Mode Ports FEM
port-group1/1/1 Eth 10g-4x 1 2 3 4 -
port-group1/1/2 Eth 10g-4x 5 6 7 8 -
If ports 1-2-3-4 are members of 'port-group1/1/1', shouldn't there be a group name associated with ports 1/1/41-42 ??
To clarify, a port channel is a virtual interface between two devices, whereas a port group is a collection of ethernet ports on a single switch.
Now in regards to the configuration, you should be able to see the association if you use the show interface status command on the interface in question.
Let me know if this helps.
DELL-Chris H
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Ethernet 1/1/41 is up, line protocol is down Port is part of Port-channel 41 Hardware is Eth, address is 68:4f:63:58:20:e0 Pluggable media not present
Interface index is 54 Internet address is not set Mode of IPv4 Address Assignment: not set Interface IPv6 oper status: Disabled MTU 9216 bytes, IP MTU 9184 bytes LineSpeed 0, Auto-Negotiation off Flowcontrol rx on tx off ARP type: ARPA, ARP Timeout: 60 Queuing strategy: fifo
I can see the port 41 being part of a channel 41 but is not part of any port-group. When will someone create a port-group?
My understanding is that, if you want to create an aggregated link, you first create a channel (virtual interface) then you create a port-group where you add the ports you want to aggregate and finally you add that port-group to the channel. Is my thinking correct?
Is the command, for example, port-group 1/1/1 only used for changing the speed modes of a group of ports? I'm starting to understand that port-channel and port-group are unrelated in the sense that you don't need to create a port-group when you want to aggregate links (port-channel), unless you want all the aggregated links to use a different speed mode than the default one.
Hi, I'm also understanding the same as you. I think the port-group command is not only used to change the speed modes of a port group. When you create a port group, multiple physical interfaces are grouped into a single virtual interface. Instead of configuring individually, this virtual interface can be used to simplify network configuration and management. I don't think it would be necessary to create a port group to bundle connections using a port channel. port-channel interface is created using the port-channel command, and the physical interfaces are added to the port-channel.
DELL-Erman O
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Thank you Erman. Are the port-groups below created manually or are there by default?
System Type: S4148U-ON
dell# show port-group
Port-group Mode Ports FEM
port-group1/1/1 Eth 10g-4x 1 2 3 4 -
port-group1/1/2 Eth 10g-4x 5 6 7 8 -
port-group1/1/3 Eth 10g-4x 9 10 11 12 -
port-group1/1/4 Eth 10g-4x 13 14 15 16 -
port-group1/1/5 Eth 10g-4x 17 18 19 20 -
port-group1/1/6 Eth 10g-4x 21 22 23 24 -
port-group1/1/7 Eth 100g-1x 25 -
port-group1/1/8 Eth 100g-1x 26 -
port-group1/1/9 Eth 100g-1x 29 -
port-group1/1/10 Eth 100g-1x 30 -
I'm starting to think these groups are fixed and can not be manually, created. Because when I do:
dell(config)# port-group Node/Slot/PortGroup(1-10) Port-group id
dell(config)# port-group 1/1/1 dell(conf-pg-1/1/1)# end Exit to the exec Mode exit Exit from current mode mode Port-group mode no Negate a command or set its defaults show Show configuration
DELL-Chris H
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Posted February 8th, 2023 12:00
Igano,
To clarify, a port channel is a virtual interface between two devices, whereas a port group is a collection of ethernet ports on a single switch.
Now in regards to the configuration, you should be able to see the association if you use the show interface status command on the interface in question.
Let me know if this helps.
DELL-Chris H
Social Media and Communities Professional
Dell Technologies | Enterprise Support Services
#IWork4Dell
Did I answer your query? Please click on ‘Mark as Accepted Answer’. ‘Thumbs up’ the posts you like!