Auto-Port Aggregation

HP APA (J4240AA) increases a user's efficiency by grouping or aggregating up to four ports into a single link having a single IP address. The number of link aggregates allowed per computer is 50. The aggregated connections are IEEE 802.3-compliant (IEEE 802.3u, 802.3z, 802.3ab, and 802.3ad) and can be either HSC, HP-PB, or PCI 10 or 100 Mbits/s Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet. This product offers full APA functionality on HP-UX Release 11.0 servers and workstations. It requires switches that support PAgP (HP, Cisco, 3COM, Foundry, and Alteon) or LACP (all switches that support the IEEE 802.3ad standard). With the Lan Monitor configuration mode, APA offers a max of up to 32 ports per link aggregate.LAN Monitor software for HP-UX 10.20 (J5080AA), a subset of the HP APA, offers a link Failover feature on systems running Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI, and Token Ring adapters on HSC, HP-PB, or PCI buses. LAN Monitor can connect to hubs and switches of all types.One of the key differences between HP APA and other trunking technologies is the built-in management feature. HP APA includes a protocol called Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), Cisco's Fast EtherChannel (CiscoTM). The PAgP can significantly reduce the amount of manual intervention required by a system administrator to configure and maintain port aggregations.

Refer to the manual Using HP Auto-Port Aggregations for further information on installation and administration of the software.