HP/Aruba's Distributed Trunking (DT) is an evolution of standard 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP) that solves a critical limitation in traditional implementations. Where conventional LACP requires all member ports to terminate on the same physical switch, DT allows ports to terminate on different switches while maintaining a single logical link.

Standard 802.3ad LACP:
- All ports must connect to same switch
- Single point of failure (switch chassis)
- Maximum 8 ports per LAG

Procurve Distributed Trunking:
- Ports can connect to different switches
- Active-active switch redundancy
- Same 8-port limit per LAG
- Requires compatible switch pairs

Here's a sample configuration for setting up distributed trunking between two Procurve 5400zl switches:

# On Switch 1 (Primary):
trunk 1/1,2/1 trk1 lacp
distributed-trunk

# On Switch 2 (Secondary):
trunk 1/1,2/1 trk1 lacp
distributed-trunk

# Verification commands:
show lacp trunk trk1
show distributed-trunk status

The server must be configured with compatible network teaming software. Here's an example for Linux using ifenslave:

# Install required packages
sudo apt-get install ifenslave

# Configure interfaces
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

# Add these lines:
auto bond0
iface bond0 inet dhcp
    bond-mode 4 (802.3ad)
    bond-miimon 100
    bond-lacp-rate 1
    bond-slaves eth0 eth1

• Switch Compatibility: Both switches must be in the same DT domain and running compatible firmware
• Cabling Requirements: Use identical port types (all SFP+ or all RJ45) with matching speeds
• STP Considerations: Disable spanning tree on DT ports to prevent blocking
• Failover Testing: Always validate failover scenarios before production deployment

When DT links fail to establish, check these diagnostic points:

1. Verify LACP system priority matches on both switches
2. Check for consistent port configuration (speed/duplex)
3. Validate physical layer connectivity
4. Review switch logs for DT negotiation errors
5. Confirm license requirements are met

When implementing high-availability server connections in data center environments, two primary approaches exist for NIC teaming across multiple switches:

// Traditional LACP (802.3ad) configuration
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
  channel-group 1 mode active
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/2
  channel-group 1 mode active

Standard 802.3ad (LACP) works well within a single switch but presents challenges in multi-switch scenarios. This is where HP's Distributed Trunking (DT) technology differs fundamentally.

The DT implementation creates a virtual switch entity that appears as a single logical switch to connected servers:

// ProCurve DT configuration example
trunk 1-2 trk1 dt-lacp

Key characteristics of DT:

• Eliminates spanning tree blocking between the paired switches
• Maintains consistent MAC address tables across switches
• Provides sub-second failover during link or switch failure

When configuring server connections using DT:

# Server-side Linux bonding configuration (for DT)
auto bond0
iface bond0 inet dhcp
  bond-mode 4
  bond-miimon 100
  bond-lacp-rate 1
  bond-slaves eth0 eth1

Critical deployment notes:

• Requires specific ProCurve switch models (5400/3500 series mentioned)
• Physical connections must follow specific port-mapping rules
• DT ports cannot participate in other trunking configurations

Throughput testing shows DT maintains line-rate performance during failover scenarios, while traditional LACP implementations may experience:

• 3-5 second traffic interruption during failover
• Potential TCP session drops
• Suboptimal load balancing post-failover

For environments transitioning from single-switch LACP to multi-switch DT:

// Migration procedure
1. Configure DT between switches first
2. Verify DT trunk status
3. Reconfigure server NIC teaming
4. Move physical connections
5. Validate failover testing

Always maintain a rollback plan during migration window.