Link aggregation provides an industry standard means of aggregating multiple switch ports along with their directly connected network interface cards (NICs) to form a Link Aggregation Group (LAG), such that networking interfaces connected through these NICs can treat the LAG as if it were a single port. This configuration provides a High Available network connection with increased bandwidth. Example Link Aggregation Control Protocols (LACPs) for Ethernet are defined in the 802.3ad and 802.1ax standards promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Current IEEE LAG architecture does not permit a NIC port to be configured in multiple LAGs or shared outside of a LAG at the same time. This is due to the direct peer-to-peer control interlock requirement of LACP to maintain a port within a LAG. The requirement dictates that all NICs within a LAG be configured to a single switch (virtual switch or physical switch). In other words, there is no sharing of a NIC configured in a LAG with multiple switches.