Configuration Recommendations - Dell Broadcom NetXtreme Family of Adapters User Manual

Switch-Independent
The Broadcom Smart Load Balancing type of team allows two to eight physical adapters to operate as a single virtual adapter.
The greatest benefit of the SLB type of team is that it operates on any IEEE compliant switch and requires no special
configuration.
Smart Load Balancing and Failover
SLB provides for switch-independent, bidirectional, fault-tolerant teaming and load balancing. Switch independence implies
that there is no specific support for this function required in the switch, allowing SLB to be compatible with all switches. Under
SLB, all adapters in the team have separate MAC addresses. The load-balancing algorithm operates on Layer 3 addresses of
the source and destination nodes, which enables SLB to load balance both incoming and outgoing traffic.
The BASP intermediate driver continually monitors the physical ports in a team for link loss. In the event of link loss on any
port, traffic is automatically diverted to other ports in the team. The SLB teaming mode supports switch fault tolerance by
allowing teaming across different switches- provided the switches are on the same physical network or broadcast domain.
Network Communications
The following are the key attributes of SLB:
Failover mechanism (link loss detection)
Load balancing algorithm. Inbound and outbound traffic are balanced through a Broadcom proprietary mechanism
based on L4 flows.
Outbound load balancing using MAC address is not supported.
Outbound load balancing using IP address is supported.
Multivendor teaming is supported (must include at least 1 Broadcom Ethernet adapter as a team member).
Applications
The Smart Load Balance and Failover algorithm is most appropriate in home and small business environments where cost is a
concern or commodity switching equipment is used. Smart Load Balance and Failover teaming works with unmanaged Layer 2
switches and is a cost-effective way of getting redundancy and link aggregation at the system. Smart Load Balance and
Failover also supports the teaming physical adapters having different link capabilities. In addition, Smart Load Balance and
Failover is recommended when switch fault tolerance is required.

Configuration Recommendations

The Smart Load Balance and Failover type of team supports connecting the teamed ports to hubs and switches if they are on
the same broadcast domain. It does not support connecting to a router or Layer 3 switches because the ports must be on the
same subnet.
Switch-Dependent
Generic Static Trunking
This mode supports a variety of environments where the adapter link partners are statically configured to support a
proprietary trunking mechanism. This mode could be used to support Lucent's Open Trunk, Cisco's Fast EtherChannel (FEC),
and Cisco's Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC). In the static mode, as in generic link aggregation, the switch administrator needs to
assign the ports to the team, and this assignment cannot be altered by the BASP, as there is no exchange of the Link
Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) frame.
With this mode, all adapters in the team are configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. Trunking operates on
Layer 2 addresses and supports load balancing and failover for both inbound and outbound traffic. The BASP driver
determines the load-balancing scheme for outbound packets, using Layer 4 protocols previously discussed, whereas the team
link partner determines the load-balancing scheme for inbound packets.
The attached switch must support the appropriate trunking scheme for this mode of operation. Both the BASP and the switch
continually monitor their ports for link loss. In the event of link loss on any port, traffic is automatically diverted to other ports
in the team.
Network Communications