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IXEL
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WITCH
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ANAGEMENT
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46
Load Balancing
Load balancing builds on the Automatic Trunking functionality by specifying the path that the data
uses to flow between multiple switches. Users can manage the switch’s aggregate bandwidth by
manually distributing traffic across multiple cascade ports as shown below. A cascade port is a
port that is attached to another switch of the same type and configured as a String or Tree
Cascade Smart Setting on the Port Smart Settings page. All data flows through the primary
cascade, unless the switch is configured differently.
In Figure 3-24, host 1 uses cascade port 1, while host 2 uses cascade port 2. All traffic will use
the lowest numbered (primary) cascade port by default but ports may be configured to use other
cascades.
Load balancing configuration settings are available on the Web Manager’s Load Balancing page.
Before implementing load balancing on the switch, the automatic trunking settings must be
configured. See “Automatic Trunking” on page 45 for additional information.
To view the Load Balancing page:
Click
Advanced Functions > Load Balancing
.
Note:
Cascade ports must be properly configured before load balancing will work.
Note:
When tape drives or tape libraries are included in multiple switch configurations
incorporating multiple trunks, place the tape drive or tape library and any devices that
access those devices on the secondary (duplicate) trunk, not the primary trunk.
Figure 3-24: Load Balancing Across Multiple Cascade Ports
