Chapter 10. Trunking with Multiprotocol Over ATM

This chapter covers the following key topics:

Why Two ATM Modes? Describes the relationship between LANE and MPOA, and discusses the choices of when to use one as opposed to the other.

MPOA Components and Model Provides an overview of MPOA including the various components defined and utilized by MPOA, their relationship with each other, and how they interact to support MPOA. Various traffic flows for management and user data are also described.

MPOA Configuration Details the commands to enable MPOA on an MPOA-capable Catalyst LANE module and on a Cisco MPOA-capable router. This details the configuration for both the Multiprotocol Server (MPS) and the Multiprotocol Client (MPC).

Sample MPOA Configuration This section puts it all together, and shows a sample network and the supporting MPOA configurations.

Troubleshooting an MPOA Network Offers guidelines for getting MPOA functional. It provides steps for ensuring that the MPOA components are operational, and provides insight for using MPOA debug.

Catalysts rarely stand alone. More often than not, they interconnect with other Catalysts. Chapter 8, "Trunking Technologies and Applications," discussed various methods for interconnecting Catalysts. Methods range from multiple links with each dedicated to a single VLAN, to a variety of trunk technologies. Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI, and ATM technologies are all suitable for trunking Catalysts. Within ATM, you can use LAN Emulation (LANE) or Multiprotocol over ATM (MPOA) data transfer modes to trunk Catalysts. Chapter 9, "Trunking with LAN Emulation," described that option. This chapter focuses on (MPOA) in a Catalyst environment, specifically, when to use MPOA, its components, and configuring and troubleshooting MPOA.