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Preferred Primary/Secondary adapters:
You can specify a preferred adapter in Intel PROSet. Under
normal conditions, the Primary adapter handles all non-TCP/IP traffic. The Secondary adapter will
receive fallback traffic if the primary fails. If the Preferred Primary adapter fails, but is later restored to
an active status, control is automatically switched back to the Preferred Primary adapter.
To specify a preferred primary or secondary adapter
1. From Device Manager, open the properties of a team.
2. Click the
Settings
tab.
3. Click the
Modify Team
button.
4. Select the adapter you want to be the primary adapter and click the
Set Primary
button.
The adapter's preferred setting appears in the Priority column.
Failover and Failback
When a link fails, either because of port or cable failure, team types that provide fault tolerance will continue to
send and receive traffic. Failover is the initial transfer of traffic from the failed link to a good link. Failback
occurs when the original adapter regains link. You can use the Activation Delay setting (located on the
Advanced tab of the team's properties in Device Manager) to specify a how long the failover adapter waits
before becoming active. If you don't want your team to failback when the original adapter gets link back, you
can set the Allow Failback setting to disabled (located on the Advanced tab of the team's properties in Device
Manager).
Adapter Fault Tolerance
Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT) provides the safety of an additional backup link between the server and switch.
In the case of switch port, cable, or adapter failure, network connectivity is maintained.
Adapter Fault Tolerance is implemented with a primary adapter and one or more backup, or secondary
adapters. During normal operation, the backup adapters are in standby. If the link to the primary adapter fails,
the link to the secondary adapter automatically takes over. For more information, see
To use Adapter Fault Tolerance all adapters must be connected to the same subnet.
Switch Fault Tolerance
Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT) teaming allows you to connect each of two teamed adapters to a separate
switch.
Switch Fault Tolerance can detect failures when they occur:
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on either teamed adapter
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on either cable connecting the teamed adapter to its switch
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on switch ports connected to the adapters, if link is lost
In SFT teams, one adapter is the primary adapter and one adapter is the secondary adapter. During normal
operation, the secondary adapter is in standby. In standby, the adapter is inactive and waiting for failover to
occur. It does not transmit or receive other network traffic. If the primary adapter loses connectivity, the
secondary adapter automatically takes over.
In SFT teams, each adapter in the team can operate at a different speed than the other.
