For LAN switches, configurations are provided for Cisco switches. Some of the features are present in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SB and higher.
The 802.3ad is a market-wide standard, supported by all common vendors. In Cisco switches, both L2 and L3, two methods are available:
In switches from other vendors (Avaya, Juniper, 3Com, HP and others), only 802.3ad is used. EtherChannel is a Cisco proprietary technology. In Cisco IOS versions up to Release 15.0(1)S, mechanisms for load balancing Ethernet service instances over member links in a port channel do not account for the service instances traffic loads, which can lead to unequal distribution of traffic over member links.
In IOS Release 15.0(1)S, a new feature was presented: 802.3ad Link Aggregation with Weighted Load Balancing feature (802.3ad LAG with WLB), which enables you to assign weights to service instances to efficiently distribute traffic flow across active member links in a port channel.
The LAG with WLB feature supports both LACP (active or passive mode) and manual (mode on) EtherChannel bundling. A weighted load-balancing configuration does not affect the selection of active member links in the EtherChannel. As member links become active or inactive, a load-balancing algorithm adjusts the distribution of Ethernet service instances to use the currently active member links.