A police records bureau sees backup flows hashing unevenly across a port-channel even though all members are up. Which factor most directly governs how frames are distributed across members?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Port-channel members don’t round-robin like grocery checkout lanes by default—they hash. If every big backup flow looks the same to the hash, one link gets fat and the others stay skinny. Pick a load-balance method that sees enough header diversity for those flows.
Full Explanation
EtherChannel load distribution follows a platform load-balancing algorithm (MAC, IP, or Layer-4 ports, depending on configuration and hardware). Long-lived flows with identical hash inputs pin to one member even when other members are healthy. Member failure behavior is separate from hash selection: surviving members continue the channel, but balance still depends on the algorithm. STP root priority, VTP, and UDLD do not choose the per-flow member hash.