Link Aggregation (English: Link Aggregation) is a computer network terminology, refers to the aggregation of multiple physical ports together to form a logical port for incoming / outgoing traffic load balancing members certain ports, the switch configuration according to user the port load sharing policy determines network packets sent to the switch port from which the members of the peer. When the switch detects when one member port link fails, it stops sending packets on this port, and share strategies in the rest of the recalculated link packet transmission port, according to the load port after the failure to restore the reappointment send and receive ports. Link aggregation increase the link bandwidth for transmission elasticity and redundancy engineering and other aspects is a very important technology.
Further umbrella term used to describe the method further comprising port trunking, link bundling, Ethernet / network / NIC binding (Ethernet / network / NIC bonding) or adapter binding (NIC teaming). These general terms include not only the standard vendor-independent, and as defined in the IEEE 802.1ax IEEE 802.3ad for Ethernet Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), IEEE802.3ad defined or previously, there are also various patents including s solution.