Preferred Primary Adapter; Adaptive Load Balancing; Cisco Fast Etherchannel - NEC Express 5800/140Rb-4 Service Manual

Preferred Primary Adapter

With multiple adapters installed, you can specify one as the Preferred Primary adapter. For
example if you have a server with an Intel
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an Intel PRO/100+ Server Adapter as the secondary, you could configure the PRO/1000 Server
Adapter to be the preferred primary. In this scenario, if the PRO/1000 Server Adapter fails, the
PRO/100+ Server Adapter takes over. Then when the PRO/1000 Server Adapter is replaced, it
automatically reverts to being the primary adapter in the team.
If a Preferred Primary is not selected, Intel PROset will attempt to select the best adapter, based on
adapter model and speed.

Adaptive Load Balancing

Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB) is a simple and efficient way to increase your server's transmit
throughput. With ALB you group server adapters in teams to provide an increased transmit rate (up
to 8 Gbps) using a maximum of eight adapters. The ALB software continuously analyzes transmit
loading on each adapter and balances the rate across the adapters as needed. Adapter teams
configured for ALB also provide the benefits of AFT. Receive rates remain at 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps
depending on the primary adapter's capability.
To use ALB, you must have two to eight server adapters installed in your server and linked to the
same network switch.
Cisco Fast EtherChannel
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Fast EtherChannel (FEC) is a performance technology developed by Cisco to increase your server's
throughput. Unlike ALB, FEC can be configured to increase both transmission and reception
channels between your server and switch. FEC works only with FEC-enabled switches, such as the
Catalyst 5000 series. With FEC, as you add adapters to your server, you can group them in teams
to provide up to 18 Gbps at full duplex, with a maximum of eight server adapters. The FEC
software continuously analyzes loading on each adapter and balances network traffic across the
adapters as needed. Adapter teams configured for FEC also provide the benefits of AFT.
To use FEC, you must have two, four, or eight server adapters installed in your server and linked to
the same FEC-enabled Cisco switch.
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PRO/1000 Server Adapter as the primary adapter and