How interface groups work in Data ONTAP

An interface group is a feature in Data ONTAP that implements link aggregation on your storage system. Interface groups provide a mechanism to group together multiple network interfaces (links) into one logical interface (aggregate). After an interface group is created, it is indistinguishable from a physical network interface.

The following figure shows four separate network interfaces, e3a, e3b, e3c, and e3d, before they are grouped into an interface group.

The following figure shows the four network interfaces grouped into a single interface group called Trunk1.

Different vendors refer to interface groups by the following terms:

•	Virtual aggregations

•	Link aggregations

•

Trunks

•	EtherChannel

Interface groups provide several advantages over individual network interfaces:

•	Higher throughput

Multiple interfaces work as one interface.

•	Fault tolerance

If one interface in an interface group goes down, your storage system stays connected to the network by using the other interfaces.

•	No single point of failure

If the physical interfaces in an interface group are connected to multiple switches and a switch goes down, your storage system stays connected to the network through the other switches.