High Performance Ethernet Modes - IBM eServer 232 xSeries User Reference Manual

High Performance Ethernet Modes

Your Ethernet controllers support optional modes, such as teaming, priority packets,
and virtual LANs, which provide higher performance and throughput for your server.
Teaming Mode: Your Ethernet controllers provide options, called teaming options.
These options increase throughput and fault tolerance when running with Windows
NT 4.0 or NetWare 4.1x or later.
• Adapter fault tolerance (AFT) provides automatic redundancy for your adapter.
If the primary adapter fails, the secondary adapter takes over. Adapter fault
tolerance supports from 2 to 4 adapters per team.
• Adaptive load balancing (ALB) enables you to balance the transmission data
flow among 2 to 4 adapters. ALB also includes the AFT option. You can use ALB
with any 100BASE-TX switch.
• Cisco Fast EtherChannel (FEC) creates a team of 2 to 4 adapters to increase
transmission and reception thoughput. FEC also includes the AFT option. You can
only use FEC with a switch that has FEC capability.
Teaming requires you to install both integrated Ethernet controllers. For additional
information about the teaming modes, refer to the documentation that comes with
these additional adapters.
Priority Packet Mode: Priority Packet is a traffic-prioritization utility that enables you
to set up filters to process high-priority traffic before normal traffic. You can send
information from critical nodes or applications with an indicated priority. Because you
set this priority at the host or entry point of the network, the network devices can base
forwarding decisions on priority information defined in the packet.
Priority Packet information is available on the IBM Networking Web site at:
http://www.ibm.com/networking/support.
Priority Packet prioritizes traffic based on priority filters. These are parameters you
assign to outgoing (transmit) packets. Using the Priority Filter Wizard, you can set up
predefined or custom priority filters based on a node (MAC) address, Ethernet type, or
by various properties of the protocol and port. Priority Packet provides two different
methods for prioritizing traffic: IEEE 802.1p tagging and High Priority Queue.
IEEE 802.1p is an IEEE standard for tagging, or adding additional bytes of information
to packets with different priority levels. Packets are tagged with 4 additional bytes,
which increase the packet size and indicate a priority level. When you send these
packets out on the network, the higher priority packets are transferred first. Priority
packet tagging (also known as Traffic Class Expediting) enables the adapter to work
with other elements of the network (such as switches and routers) to deliver priority
packets first. You can assign specific priority levels from 0 (low) to 7 (high).
You can assign values to packets based on their priority when you use the IEEE
802.1p standard for packet tagging. This method requires a network infrastructure that
supports packet tagging. The routing devices receiving and transferring these packets
on your network must support 802.1p for tagging to be effective.
After you set up the priority filter in Priority Packet, you must launch IBMSet and select
802.1p/802.1Q Tagging on the Advanced tab.
Note: IEEE 802.1p tagging increases the size of the packets it tags. Some hubs and
switches will not recognize the larger packets and will drop them. Check your
hub or switch documentation to see if they support 802.1p. (You can configure
the switch to strip the tags from the packets and send it on to the next
destination as normal traffic). If these devices do not support 802.1p or if you
are not sure, use High Priority Queue (HPQ) to prioritize network traffic.
Chapter 5. Installing Options
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