3Com 3C16685 User Manual - page 96
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4: U
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NTERFACE
The fields are:
Main Link Shows the unit and port number of the main link, and the
state of the link.
Standby Link Shows the unit and port number of the standby link,
and the state of the link.
Pair State Shows whether the resilient link pair is operational or not.
When operational either the main port or the standby port can
repeat traffic.
Adding, Deleting and Swapping Links
To add a resilient link pair to the list, click Add. The Add Resilient Link
page is displayed.
To delete a resilient link pair from the list, click on the entry in the list
and then click Delete. The resilient link pair is deleted, and the
current active link remains enabled and the standby link is cancelled.
To swap the main and standby ports for a resilient link pair in the list,
click on the entry in the list and then click Swap.
What are Resilient Links?
You can make the network more robust by adding resilience to it.
When a link fails all communication between equipment on each
side of the link is lost. To ensure important communication is not lost,
the network needs to be reinstated immediately which could be very
inconvenient for the network manager. If a spare link was configured
to automatically pick up when the broken link failed, the network
would appear to function normally to the user. At worst, a few
packets would be corrupted or lost.
This is the concept of resilient links. One link is on standby (called the
standby link) waiting to take over if another link (called the main link)
fails. This pair is called a resilient link pair. The resilient link ports can
be on different units in the stack, and any network devices can be at
the other ends of the links.
When the network is in use, the stack that has been used to set up
the resilient link pair, monitors the state of both the main link and the
standby link. If the main link fails, the standby link becomes active.
You can use the Resilient Links page to view the status of the links.
If you have an SNMP network management application, you can