Configuring Link Aggregation from the Management Service

Link aggregation combines multiple Ethernet links into a single high-speed link. Configuring link aggregation increases the capacity and availability of the communication channel between the Citrix NetScaler SDX appliance and other connected devices. An aggregated link is also referred to as a “channel.”

When a network interface is bound to a channel, the channel parameters have precedence over the network interface parameters. (That is, the network interface parameters are ignored.) A network interface can be bound only to one channel.

When a network interface is bound to a channel, it drops its VLAN configuration. The interface is removed from the VLAN that it originally belonged to and added to the default VLAN. However, you can bind the channel back to the old VLAN, or to a new one. For example, if you bind network interfaces 1/2 and 1/3 to a VLAN with ID 2 (VLAN 2), and then bind them to channel LA/1, the network interfaces are moved to the default VLAN, but you can bind the channel to VLAN 2.

Note:

• An interface must be part of only one channel.
• A minimum of two interfaces are required to configure a channel.
• The interfaces that form part of a channel are not listed in the Network Settings view when you add or modify a Citrix NetScaler instance. Instead of the interfaces, the channels are listed.

If you configure a channel by using three interfaces that are assigned to one instance, and a second instance uses some of these interfaces, the Management Service shuts down the second instance, modifies the network settings, and restarts the instance. For example, assume two instances, Instance1 and Instance2. When these instances are provisioned, interfaces 10/1, 10/2, and 10/3 are assigned to Instance1, and interfaces 10/1 and 10/2 are assigned to Instance2. If an LA channel is created with interfaces 10/1, 10/2, and 10/3, instance1 is not restarted. However, the Management Service shuts down Instance2, assigns interface 10/3 to Instance2, and then restarts Instance2.

If you remove an interface from an LA channel, the changes are stored in the database, and the interface appears in the Network Settings view when you add or modify an instance. Before you delete the interface, only the channel that the interface is a part of is listed.