A university storage engineer wants two ISLs between a pair of MDS switches to run as one SAN port-channel. One switch has the port-channel configured, and the peer still has two independent E ports. What is the right fix?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A port-channel is a handshake, not a wish on one side of the cable. You configure the same SAN port-channel membership on the peer MDS so both ends agree. Ethernet LACP is the wrong protocol family for this Fibre Channel ISL.
Full Explanation
An MDS SAN port-channel comes up only when both switches define the channel and place the same physical ISLs into it. With the channel built on one side and plain E ports on the other, there is no matching channel to bundle, so the links stay individual or the channel stays down. The least disruptive fix is to mirror the port-channel configuration on the peer, using the same members, and let the channel form. Ethernet LACP is how NX-OS bundles Ethernet ports. A Fibre Channel ISL on an MDS does not negotiate with Ethernet LACP, so enabling that feature does not create a SAN port-channel. Identical domain IDs are a merge failure, not a port-channel requirement. Each switch still needs its own domain. CFS distributes selected configuration databases such as device aliases. It is not a gate that must be turned off before a SAN port-channel can form. Caveat: the members also need compatible speed, VSAN allowance, and mode, or the channel still refuses individual links. Operational check: after the peer channel exists, confirm both members are up inside the port-channel and that the ISL is no longer two separate E ports.