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LACP vs Etherchannel Misconfiguration guard?

esa_fresa
Level 1
Level 1

My understanding is that LACP will detect many misconfigurations on the connecting switch. Why is "spanning-tree etherchannel guard misconfig" needed then? What does one cover that the other doesn't?

8 Replies 8

Philip D'Ath
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

LACP will pick up mis-configured speed and duplex settings between ports, and that is about it.  LACP has no interest in spanning tree.

"spanning-tree misconfiguration guard" is not needed for LACP.  You would use it if you wanted to protect your spanning tree root, regardless of weather you are using LACP or not.

I'm sorry, I meant "spanning-tree etherchannel guard misconfig". I corrected my original post to clarify.

Also, I'm not aware of a "spanning-tree misconfiguration guard". Are you sure you're not thinking of root guard ("spanning-tree guard root")?

SAM R.
Level 1
Level 1

Etherchannel misconfiguration guard or "Etherchannel Guard"  is a feature that protects you when you incorrectly configure an etherchannel.  So, how can you incorrectly configure an etherchannel?  Well remember for an etherchannel to be configured correctly, the parameters need to be setup correctly on both ends.  

Speed must be the same
Duplex must be the same
# of ports needs to be the same
1 side is set to a trunk while other side is not
Type of port (L2 or L3) need to be the same

By incorrectly configuring or not configuring one of these settings, you can run into issues.  When the switch detects one of these types of errors (list above is not all inclusive) then it will place the port-channel interface and all associated interfaces into an "err-disabled" state.  This is to notify the administrator that the switch protected you from configuring your etherchannel incorrectly.  Hope this helps

Hello

My understanding is its used to protect against unwarranted mis-configuration of an aggregate (etherchannel)

Example: One side is configured for ethchannel and the other isn’t /or has some configuration missing thus isn’t compatible to establish a peering and with this command the switch will error disable the port-channel.

res
Paul


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Paul

johnnylingo
Level 5
Level 5

You are correct that LACP will detect most misconfigurations and remove links from bundling in those cases.  In that case, STP will go back to regular forwarding/blocking modes.  

In environments that use a mix of Spanning-Tree flavors, this feature is something to watch out for due to potential of false positives.  Personally, I recommend disabling it altogether, or at least making sure auto-recovery is enabled should it kick in.

EtherChannel Misconfig in Mixed STP Environments

assadbradley
Level 1
Level 1

With etherchannel misconfig guard, a switch will detect when it recieves a bpdu on a port (independently of the port channel interface) that is configured to be in an etherchannel and will place the port in a error disable state. This will happen when you explicitly set one side of an etherchannel to manual. 

melgebal
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

You can use EtherChannel guard to detect an EtherChannel misconfiguration between the switch and a connected device. A misconfiguration can occur if the switch interfaces are configured in an EtherChannel, but the interfaces on the other device are not. A misconfiguration can also occur if the channel parameters are not the same at both ends of the EtherChannel. If the switch detects a misconfiguration on the other device, EtherChannel guard places the switch interfaces in the error-disabled state, and displays an error message.

 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750x_3560x/software/release/12-2_55_se/configuration/guide/3750xscg/swstpopt.html#52777

 

fniccola
Cisco Employee
Cisco Employee

hi Esa_fresa,

-------------

LACP will detect only consistency problems between two switch regarding the PO creation. It will not perform configuration verification.

 

Example:

if I try to connect two interface (binded into a PO in mode LACP) with two single interfaces or two interfaces binded with a different LAG protocol, the LACP port channel not come UP (this is a consistency check)

but

if I try to connect two interface (binded into a PO in mode LACP) configured in mode trunk on SW-1, with  two interface (binded into a PO in mode LACP) configured in mode switchport on SW-2, all PO come UP correctly. (LACP not perform config. verification)

 

-------------

ETHERCHANNEL MISCONFIG GUARD is an STP feature that protect the network environment from possible loop situation, this feature helps when a PO is in MODE ON (static binding)

 

Example:

if I try to connect two interface (binded into a PO in mode ON) on SW-1, with two single interfaces on SW-2, ETHERCHANNEL MISCONFIG GUARD put SW-1 interfaces in errdisable, in order to avoid loops.

 

 

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