Broadcom NetXtreme BCM57 Series, User Manual

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Teaming NetXtreme User Guide
Broadcom
®
April 2017 • 2CS57XX-CDUM514-R Page 98
Overview
Adapter teaming allows you to group network adapters together to function as a team. The benefits of teaming
include allowing membership to VLANs, providing load balancing between adapters, and offering fault
tolerance. These benefits can be combined such that you can couple the functionality of load balancing for the
load balance members and the capability of employing a failover with having the team participate on different
VLANs.
Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP) is the Broadcom teaming software. For Windows operating
systems, BASP is configured through the
Broadcom Advanced Control Suite (BACS) utility. For Linux operating
systems, teaming is done with channel bonding (see Teaming with Channel Bonding ).
BASP supports four types of load balancing teams:
• Smart Load Balancing and Failover
• Link Aggregation (802.3ad)
• Generic Trunking (FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static
• SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable)
Load Balancing and Fault Tolerance
Teaming provides traffic load balancing and fault tolerance (redundant adapter operation in the event that a
network connection fails). When multiple adapters are installed in the same system, they can be grouped with
up to 16 teams.
Each team can consist of up to eight adapters, with one adapter used as a standby for Smart Load Balancing
and Failover (SLB) or SLB (Auto-Fallback Disabled) team types. If traffic is not identified on any of the adapter
team member connections due to failure of the adapter, cable, or switch, the load will be distributed to the
remaining team members with an active connection. In the event that all primary adapters fail, traffic will be
distributed to the standby adapter. Existing sessions are maintained with no impact on the user.
Types of Teams
The available types of teams for the supported operating systems are shown in the following table:
Table 6: Types of Teams
Operating System Available Types of Teams
Windows Server 2008 and
Windows Server 2012
Smart Load Balancing and Failover
Link Aggregation (802.3ad)
Generic Trunking (FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static
SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable)
NOTE : Windows Server 2012 provides built-in teaming support, called NIC
Teaming. It is not recommended that users enable teams through NIC Teaming
and BASP at the same time on the same adapters.