Nic Teaming - Dell Force10 C150 Configuration Manual

NIC Teaming

NIC teaming is a feature that allows multiple network interface cards in a server to be represented by one
MAC address and one IP address in order to provide transparent redundancy, balancing, and to fully utilize
network adapter resources.
Figure 25-2 shows a topology where two NICs have been teamed together. In this case, if the primary NIC
fails, traffic switches to the secondary NIC, since they are represented by the same set of addresses.
Figure 25-2. Redundant NICs with NIC Teaming
X
Port 0/1
MAC: A:B A:B:C:D
IP: 1.1.1.1
Port 0/5
fnC0025mp
When NIC teaming is employed, consider that the server MAC address is originally learned on Port 0/1 of
the switch (Figure 25-3). When the NIC fails, the same MAC address is learned on Port 0/5 of the switch.
The MAC address must be disassociated with the one port and re-associated with another in the ARP table;
in other words, the ARP entry must be "moved". To ensure that this happens, you must configure the
mac-address-table station-move refresh-arp
command on the Dell Force10 switch at the time that NIC
teaming is being configured on the server.
Note: If this command is not configured, traffic continues to be forwarded to the failed NIC until the ARP
entry on the switch times out.
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