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Four member ports, all in LACP Active state. The line `Time since last port bundled: 0d01h:22m:04s Gi0/2` tells you Gi0/2 flapped about 90 minutes ago. If flapping is frequent, investigate the physical link — a bad SFP or cable.
The default is usually `Source-Destination-IP`. That works well for traffic patterns with many source-destination pairs (client-server, many clients to one server). For traffic between two specific hosts — like two routers passing traffic — it produces just one flow, which hits one link.
| Hash method | Best for |
|---|---|
| src-mac | Traffic from many sources to one destination |
| dst-mac | Traffic to many destinations from one source |
| src-dst-mac | Balanced traffic patterns |
| src-ip | VLAN traffic with diverse sources |
| dst-ip | Traffic to many servers from one client |
| src-dst-ip | General purpose, most common default |
| src-port | Very fine-grained balancing (needs flow diversity) |
| src-dst-port | Fine-grained, includes TCP/UDP ports |
! Change the load-balance method globallySW1(config)# port-channel load-balance src-dst-ip! VerifySW1# show etherchannel load-balance
Load-balancing method is global on most Cisco platforms (applies to all Port-Channels). Some newer platforms support per-Port-Channel config. Check your platform's documentation. Change during a maintenance window — it can momentarily disrupt traffic.
If one link in the bundle shows much higher utilization than the others, the hash is producing too few flows. Check `show interfaces` on each member and compare input/output rates. If one link is at 90% while others are at 20%, either the traffic pattern is inherently skewed, or the hash method doesn't fit. Try `src-dst-ip` or `src-dst-port` — they produce the most distinct hashes.
Finish the lesson once you have worked through the material. This awards ★ 30 XP.