Cisco IOS to CatOS Etherchannel Configuration

Here are the relevant parts of the configuration to setup an etherchannel between an IOS device and a CatOS device. First lets start with the CatOS device, in this case a 6509. We will be using ports 3/9 and 3/10.

We first need to set the ports we want to use to be a trunk. Here we are forcing dot1q.

6509#set trunk 3/1-2 nonegotiate dot1q

Now we need to setup the port channels. These channels will be used as 1 and aggregate bandwidth between them.

6509#set port channel 3/9-10

Note: There is an option at the end of this command to specify the admin group. This is how the CatOS groups the ports. If you do not specify the admin group, the CatOS will automatically assign one. This is something to watch out for if you set each port separately.

Now, turn the port channel on.

6509#set port channel 3/9-10 mode on

That is it for the CatOS. The config for the IOS is quite a bit different. First, create a port channel interface and make it a trunk.

3750(config)#interface port-channel 1
3750(config-if)#switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
3750(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

Assign ports to the port channel group.

3750(config)#interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
3750(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on
3750(config-if)#interface GigabitEthernet1/0/2
3750(config-if)#channel-group 1 mode on

Just connect the ports and everything should come up. To check on the CatOS.

6509#show port channel
Port Status Channel Admin Ch Mode Group Id
—– ———- ——————– —– —–
3/9 connected on 746 1734
3/10 connected on 746 1734

Port Device-ID Port-ID Platform
—– ——————————- ————————- —————-
3/9 3750 GigabitEthernet1/0/1 cisco WS-C3750-48P
3/10 3750 GigabitEthernet1/0/2 cisco WS-C3750-48P

Here, both ports 3/9 and 3/10 show as connected and on the same admin channel.

And for the IOS.

3750#show etherchannel summary
Flags: D – down P – in port-channel
I – stand-alone s – suspended
H – Hot-standby (LACP only)
R – Layer3 S – Layer2
U – in use f – failed to allocate aggregator
u – unsuitable for bundling
w – waiting to be aggregated
d – default port

Number of channel-groups in use: 1
Number of aggregators: 1

Group Port-channel Protocol Ports
——+————-+———–+———————————————–
1 Po1(SU) – Gi1/0/1(P) Gi2/0/1(P)

The last line is the important one. Notice that is shows both ports are in port channel 1.

To configure and IOS to IOS etherchannel, just repeat the exact steps for the IOS on the second switch.
That’s all there is to it.