1-8DuraLAN Fast Ethernet NICs User’s GuideFEC (Fast EtherChannel)Fast EtherChannel® (FEC) is a technology developed by CiscoSystems based on standard Fast Ethernet used in parallel to providethe additional bandwidth network backbones required today. FECcombines two or four Fast Ethernet links to single logical connectioncapable of carrying 800 Mbits/sec of aggregate full-duplexthroughput. In addition to scalable bandwidth, the technology alsoprovides fault tolerance and resiliency, protecting the network fromoutages due to failed links.Fast EtherChannel allows grouping of DuraLAN ports or NICsallowing full utilization of available bandwidth (up to800 Mbits/sec). Up to four single port NICs, 2 two port NICs, or 1four port NIC can be grouped. This technology also provides loadbalancing and management of each link by distributing traffic acrossmultiple links in the channel. In addition, FEC technology providesredundancy in the event of link failure.Duralink64 v4.2 software and all of Adaptec DuraLAN NICssupport Fast EtherChannel technology, allowing redundancy andhigh-speed aggregation between switches and servers.Fast EtherChannel is available on select Cisco Catalyst switches andCisco routers.For additional information on Cisco’s Fast EtherChannel technology,visit the Cisco Systems web site:http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/729/fec
