In aggressive mode, UDLD detects a unidirectional link by using the previous detection methods. UDLD in aggressive mode can also detect a unidirectional link on a point-to-point link on which no failure between the two devices is allowed. It can also detect a unidirectional link when one of these problems exists:
•On fiber-optic or twisted-pair links, one of the interfaces cannot send or receive traffic.
•On fiber-optic or twisted-pair links, one of the interfaces is down while the other is up.
•One of the fiber strands in the cable is disconnected.
In these cases, UDLD shuts down the affected interface.
In a point-to-point link, UDLD hello packets can be considered as a heart beat whose presence guarantees the health of the link. Conversely, the loss of the heart beat means that the link must be shut down if it is not possible to re-establish a bidirectional link.
If both fiber strands in a cable are working normally from a Layer 1 perspective, UDLD in aggressive mode determines whether those fiber strands are connected correctly and whether traffic is flowing bidirectionally between the correct neighbors. This check cannot be performed by autonegotiation because autonegotiation operates at Layer 1.