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NetXtreme User Guide
Hardware Requirements
•
Ethernet Switch
•
Router
The various teaming modes described in this document place certain restrictions on the networking equipment
used to connect clients to teamed systems. Each type of network interconnect technology has an effect on
teaming as described in the following sections.
Ethernet Switch
Ethernet switches allow an Ethernet network to be broken into multiple broadcast domains. The switch is
responsible for forwarding Ethernet packets between hosts based solely on Ethernet MAC addresses. A
physical network adapter that is attached to a switch may operate in half-duplex or full-duplex mode.
To support Generic Trunking and 802.3ad Link Aggregation, a switch must specifically support such
functionality. If the switch does not support these protocols, it may still be used for Smart Load Balancing.
Router
A router is designed to route network traffic based on Layer 3 or higher protocols, although it often also works
as a Layer 2 device with switching capabilities. The teaming of ports connected directly to a router is not
supported.
Supported Features by Team Type
Table 11
provides a feature comparison across the team types supported by Broadcom NICs. Use this table to
determine the best type of team for your application. The teaming software supports up to eight ports in a single
team and up to 16 teams in a single system. These teams can be any combination of the supported teaming
types, but each team must be on a separate network or subnet.
Type of Team
Function
Number of ports per team
(same broadcast domain)
Number of teams
Adapter fault tolerance
Switch link fault tolerance
(same broadcast domain)
TX load balancing
RX load balancing
Requires compatible switch
Broadcom
®
April 2017 • 2CS57XX-CDUM514-R
Table 11: Comparison of Team Types
Fault Tolerance
Load Balancing
SLB
a
SLB with Standby
2–8
2–8
16
16
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet Teaming Services
Switch-
Independent
Switch-
Dynamic Link
Dependent Static
Aggregation
Trunking
(IEEE 802.3ad)
Generic Trunking Link Aggregation
2–8
2–8
16
16
Yes
Yes
Switch-dependent Switch-dependent
Yes
Yes
Yes (performed by
Yes (performed by
the switch)
the switch)
Yes
Yes
Page 110
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Troubleshooting
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