IEEE 802.1AX-2008

Link Aggregation allows one or more links to be aggregated together to form a Link Aggregation Group, such that a MAC Client can treat the Link Aggregation Group as if it were a single link. To this end, it specifies the establishment of data terminal equipment (DTE) to DTE logical links, consisting of N parallel instances of full duplex point-to-point links operating at the same data rate. This standard defines the MAC independent Link Aggregation capability, and general information relevant to specific MAC types that support Link Aggregation.

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. This allows improved utilization of available links in bridged LAN environments, along with improved resilience in the face of failure of individual links.

New IEEE Standard - Superseded. Link Aggregation allows one or more links to be aggregated together to form a Link Aggregation Group, such that a Media Access Control (MAC) Client can treat the Link Aggregation Group as if it were a single link. To this end, it specifies the establishment of data terminal equip­ment (DTE) to DTE logical links, consisting of N parallel instances of full duplex point-to-point links operating at the same data rate. This standard defines the MAC independent Link Aggregation capability, and general information relevant to specific MAC types that support link aggregation.