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Using Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2: Broadcom NetXtreme® 57XX User Guide

Overview

Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 Software

Updating Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Removing Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Starting Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Using Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Configuring Teaming


Overview

Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) is an integrated utility that provides useful information about each Broadcom network adapter that is installed in your system. BACS2 also enables you to perform detailed tests, diagnostics, and analyses on each adapter, as well as to view and modify property values and view traffic statistics. BACS2 contains three panes:

Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP), which runs within Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2, is used to configure teams for load balancing, fault tolerance, and virtual local area networks (VLANs). BASP functionality is available only on systems that use at least one Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

Types of Information Provided by Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 lists all of the network adapters in your system, and provides the following information (if available) about each adapter:

  • Driver Status
  • MAC Address
  • Link Status
  • IP Address
  • Memory Address
  • Physical Address
  • Speed
  • Duplex
  • Slot No.
  • Driver Name
  • Driver Version
  • Driver Date
  • Firmware Version
  • ASIC Version
  • Bus Type
  • Bus No.
  • Device No.
  • Function No.
  • Interrupt Request
  • Team Name
  • Team Type
  • VLAN Name
  • VLAN ID
  • Properties

Vital Sign. At-a-glance information on all of the LAN adapters in your system.

Resources. Shows the resource settings for the selected adapter.

Hardware. Shows the hardware information for the selected adapter.

Advanced. Shows the available properties and their values for the selected adapter.

Statistics. Provides detailed performance statistics for the selected adapter.

BASP Statistics. Provides detailed performance statistics for the selected team (the BASP Statistics tab is displayed only when you click the name of an adapter that is part of a team).

Testing, Diagnostics, Analyses, and Teaming Functions

The following testing, diagnostics, analyses, and teaming functions are provided:

Network Test. Confirms network connectivity to a remote station.

Diagnostics. Performs comprehensive diagnostics on Broadcom network adapters.

Cable Analysis. Determines if you have the appropriate length of cable connected.

Configuring Teaming. Allows you to group multiple network adapters into teams for load balance and failover.


Installing the Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 Software

The Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2 (BACS2) software can be installed from the installation CD or by using the silent install option.

NOTES:

  • To prevent an error from occurring, type change user /install from the MS-DOS command prompt before installing the BACS2 software on a system running Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Terminal Services.
  • Before you begin the installation, close all applications, windows, and dialog boxes.

Installing from the Installation CD

  1. Insert the installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.
  2. Open the folder on the installation CD that contains the BACS Setup.exe file.
  3. Double-click the Setup.exe file to launch the Broadcom Management Programs - InstallShield Wizard installer.
  4. Click Next.
  5. After you read the license agreement, click I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next to continue.
  6. Under Custom Setup, click the icon opposite each program, click the installation option you prefer, and then click Next to continue.
  Control Suite. Installs Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2.
  BASP. Installs Broadcom Advanced Server Program.
  CIM Provider. Installs CIM Provider.

NOTE: Microsoft SNMP Service must be running for the SNMP subagent to function properly.

  SNMP. Installs the SNMP subagent.
  1. Click Install, click OK at the end of the installation process, and then click Finish to close the installer.

Using Silent Installation

NOTE: All commands are case sensitive and must be executed from within the installer source folder.

To perform a silent installation (or upgrade) of BACS2 and BASP management programs

From a command prompt, type msiexec /i "BMP.msi" /qn and then press ENTER.

To perform a silent installation (or upgrade) by feature on IA32 platforms

From a command prompt, type msiexec /i BMP.msi /qn ADDSOURCE=BACSi32,BASPi32,SNMPi32,CIMi32,CHM32 and then press ENTER.

To perform a silent installation (or upgrade) by feature on AMD64/EM64T platforms

From a command prompt, type msiexec /i BMP.msi /qn ADDSOURCE=BACSa64,BASPa64,CHM64 and then press ENTER.

To perform a silent install by feature on IA64 platforms

From a command prompt, type msiexec /i BMP.msi /qn ADDSOURCE=BACSi64,BASPi64,CHM64 and then press ENTER.


Updating Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

NOTE: Before you begin the update, close all applications, windows, or dialog boxes.

Follow the instructions for Installing from the Installation CD or Using Silent Installation.


Removing Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

  1. In Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs.
  2. Click Broadcom Management Programs, and then click Change/Remove.
  3. In InstallShield Wizard, click Remove, and then click Next.
  4. Click OK to remove the application and all of its features.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Restart your system.

Starting Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

In Control Panel, click (or double-click) Broadcom Control Suite 2 .


Using Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 2

Start BACS2. Click the tab that provides the information of interest or from which to perform a desired test, diagnostic, analysis, or set adapter properties. To create a team, from the Tools menu, click Create a Team, which starts Broadcom Advanced Server Program (BASP).

Vital Sign

The Vital Sign tab shows useful information about the network adapter(s) in your system. Such information includes the link status of the adapter and network connectivity. To view this information for any installed network adapter, click the name of the adapter listed in the Name pane.

NOTE: Information about network adapters made by others is less comprehensive than the information provided for Broadcom network adapters.

MAC Address. This is a physical MAC (media access control) address that is assigned to the adapter by the manufacturer. The physical address is never all 0s.

IP Address: The network address that is associated with the adapter. If the IP address is all 0s, this means that the associated driver has not been bound with Internet Protocol (IP).

Driver Status. The status of the adapter driver.

Loaded. Normal operating mode. The adapter driver has been loaded by Windows and is functioning.

Not Loaded

Information Not Available

Driver Name/Version/Date. The file name, version, and creation date of the software driver that is associated with the adapter.

BASP State. Information about the status of the BASP application. This information is displayed only when there is a team (see Configuring Teaming).

 

Network Status: The following network status information is provided:

Link Status. The indicator is green if a link is established. A red indicator means that a link is not established.

Speed. The link speed of the adapter.

Duplex. The duplex mode in which the adapter is operating.

Resources

Bus Type. The type of input/output (I/O) interconnect used by the adapter.

Slot No. The slot number on the system board occupied by the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Express™ type LOM adapters.

Bus Speed (MHz). The bus clock signal frequency used by the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Exress type adapters.

Bus Width (bit). The number of bits that the bus can transfer at a single time to and from the adapter. This item is not available for PCI Express type adapters.

Bus No. Indicates the number of the bus in which the adapter is installed.

Device No. The number assigned to the adapter by the operating system.

Function No. The port number of the adapter. For a single-port adapter, the function number is 0. For a two-port adapter, the function number for the first port is 0, and the function number for the second port is 1.

Interrupt Request. The interrupt line number that is associated with the adapter. Valid numbers range from 2 to 25.

Memory Address. The memory mapped address that is assigned to the adapter. This value can never be 0.

Hardware

ASIC Version. The chip version of the Broadcom adapter (this information is not available for adapters made by others).

Firmware Version. The firmware version of the Broadcom adapter (this information is not available for adapters made by others).

Vendor ID. The vendor ID.

Device ID. The adapter ID.

Subsystem Vendor ID. The subsystem vendor ID.

Subsystem ID. The subsystem ID.

Advanced

From the Advanced tab, you can view and change the values of the available properties of the selected adapter. The potentially available properties and their respective settings are described below. To view the value of a property, click the name of the property in the Property list. The property value is displayed in the Value box. To change the value, click an item in the Value list or type a new value, as appropriate (selection options are different for different properties).

NOTES:

  • You must have administrator privileges to change the values for a property.
  • The list of available properties for your particular adapter may be different.

802.1p QOS

The 802.1p QOS property enables quality of service, which is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) specification that treats different types of network traffic differently to ensure required levels or reliability and latency according to the type of traffic. This property is disabled by default. Unless the network infrastructure supports QoS, do not enable QoS. Otherwise, problems may occur.

Checksum Offload

Normally, the checksum function is computed by the protocol stack. When you select one of the Checksum Offload property values (other than None), the checksum can be computed by the network adapter.

Rx TCP/IP Checksum. Enables receive TCP/IP/UDP checksum offload.

Tx TCP/IP Checksum. Enables transmit TCP/IP/UDP checksum offload.

TX/Rx TCP/IP Checksum (default). Enables transmit and receive TCP/IP/UDP checksum offload.

None. Disables checksum offload.

Ethernet@Wirespeed™

The Ethernet@Wirespeed property enables a Gigabit Ethernet adapter to establish a link at a lower speed when only 2 pairs of wires are available in the cabling plant. By default, this property is set to Enable. To disable Ethernet@Wirespeed, change the setting to Disable.

Disable. Disables Ethernet@Wirespeed.

Enable (default). Enables Ethernet@Wirespeed.

Flow Control

The Flow Control property enables or disables the receipt or transmission of PAUSE frames. PAUSE frames enable the network adapter and a switch to control the transmit rate. The side that is receiving the PAUSE frame momentarily stops transmitting.

Auto (default). PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are optimized.

Disable. PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are disabled.

Rx PAUSE. PAUSE frame receipt is enabled.

Rx/Tx PAUSE. PAUSE frame receipt and transmission are enabled.

Tx PAUSE. PAUSE frame transmission is enabled.

Large Send Offload

Normally the TCP segmentation is done by the protocol stack. When you enable the Large Send Offload property, the TCP segmentation can be done by the network adapter.

Disable. Disables Large Send Offload.

Enable. (default). Enables Large Send Offload.

Locally Administered Address

The Locally Administered Address is a user-defined MAC address that is used in place of the MAC address originally assigned to the network adapter. Every adapter in the network must have its own unique MAC address. This locally administered address consists of a 12-digit hexadecimal number.

Value. Assigns a unique node address for the adapter.

Not Present (Default). Uses the factory-assigned node address on the adapter.

The appropriate assigned ranges and exceptions for the locally administered address include the following:

Speed & Duplex

The Speed & Duplex property sets the connection speed and mode to that of the network. Note that Full-Duplex mode allows the adapter to transmit and receive network data simultaneously.

10 Mb Full. Sets the speed at 10 Mbit/s and the mode to Full-Duplex.

10 Mb Half. Sets the speed at 10 Mbit/s and the mode to Half-Duplex.

100 Mb Full. Sets the speed at 100 Mbit/s and the mode to Full-Duplex.

100 Mb Half. Sets the speed at 100 Mbit/s and the mode to Half-Duplex.

Auto (default). Sets the speed and mode for optimum network connection (recommended).

NOTES

  • Auto is the recommended setting. This setting allows the network adapter to dynamically detect the line speed of the network. Whenever the network capability changes, the network adapter automatically adjusts to the new line speed and duplex mode. A speed of 1 Gbit/s is enabled by selecting Auto, when that speed is supported.
  • 10 Mb Half and 100 Mb Half settings force the network adapter to connect to the network in Half-Duplex mode. The network adapter may not function if the network is not configured to operate at the same mode.
  • 10 Mb Full and 100 Mb Full settings force the network adapter to connect to the network in Full-Duplex mode. The network adapter may not function if the network is not configured to operate at the same mode.

Wake Up Capabilities

The Wake Up Capabilities property enables the network adapter to wake up from a low-power mode when it receives a network wake-up frame. Two types of wake-up frames are possible: Magic Packet™ and Wake Up Frame.

Both (default). Selects both Magic Packet and Wake Up Frame as wake-up frames.

Magic Packet. Selects Magic Packet as the wake-up frame.

None. Selects no wake-up frame.

Wake Up Frame. Selects Wake Up Frame as the wake-up frame and allows the network adapter to wake the operating system when an event such as a ping or an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) request is received.

WOL Speed

The WOL Speed property sets the speed at which the network adapter connects to the network while the network adapter is in Wake on LAN mode. By default, the WOL Speed property is set to Auto.

10 Mb. Sets the speed to 10 Mbit/s. This is the network speed when the operating system is in a standby mode awaiting a wake-up frame.

100 Mb. Sets the speed to 100 Mbit/s.

Auto (default). Sets the speed for optimum network connection.

Network Test

From the Network Test tab, you can verify IP network connectivity. This test verifies if the driver is installed correctly and tests connectivity to a gateway or other specified IP address on the same subnet. Network Test uses TCP/IP. The network test sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets to remote systems and waits for a response. If a gateway is configured, the test automatically sends packets to that system. If a gateway is not configured or if the gateway is unreachable, the test prompts you for a destination IP address.

Diagnostics

From the Diagnostics tab, you can perform diagnostic tests on the physical components of Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapters. The tests are continuously performed. The number of passes and fails in the Pass/Fail column increments each time the tests are performed. For example, if a test is performed four times and there are no fails, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 4/0. If there were 3 passes and 1 fail, however, the value in the Pass/Fail column is 3/1.

NOTES:

  • You must have administrator privileges to perform diagnostics.
  • The network connection is temporarily lost when these tests are running.

Control Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the network adapter registers by writing various values to the registers and verifying the results. The adapter driver uses these registers to perform network functions such as sending and receiving information. A test failure indicates that the adapter may not be working properly.

MII Registers. This test verifies the read and write capabilities of the registers of the physical layer (PHY). The physical layer is used to control the electrical signals on the wire and for configuring network speeds such as 1000 Mbit/s.

EEPROM. This test verifies the content of the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) by reading a portion of the EEPROM and computing the checksum. The test fails if the computed checksum is different from the checksum stored in the EEPROM. An EEPROM image upgrade does not require a code change for this test.

Internal Memory. This test verifies that the internal memory of the adapter is functioning properly. The test writes patterned values to the memory and reads back the results. The test fails if an erroneous value is read back. The adapter cannot function if its internal memory is not functioning properly.

On-Chip CPU. This test verifies the operation of the internal CPUs in the adapter.

Interrupt. This test verifies that the Network Device Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) driver is able to receive interrupts from the adapter.

Loopback MAC and Loopback PHY. These tests verify that the NDIS driver is able to send packets to and receive packets from the adapter.

Test LED. This test causes all of the port LEDs to blink 5 times for the purpose of identifying the adapter.

Cable Analysis

From the Cable Analysis tab, you can run a test to determine if you have the appropriate length of cable connected. The Cable Length test makes this determination by using a return loss algorithm. This information allows you to determine whether a problem you may be experiencing is related to the adapter or if the cabling is too long.

NOTES:

  • The network connection must be a Gigabit Ethernet connection.
  • The network connection is temporarily lost during an analysis.

To run a Cable Length test

  1. Click the Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapter listed in the Name pane.
  2. Click Test.
  3. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

The resulting test information is described below:

Distance. The estimated cable length in meters (an average of all 4 channels using a return loss algorithm).

Margin. The minimum difference (in dB) between the measured length of the cable pair and the maximum length specified in IEEE 802.3ab.

Frequency Margin. The minimum difference (in MHz) between the measured frequency of the cable pair and the maximum frequency specified in IEEE 802.3ab.

Statistics

From the Statistics tab, you can view traffic statistics for both Broadcom adapters and adapters made by others. Statistical information and coverage are more comprehensive for Broadcom adapters.

NOTE: Team statistics are not compiled for a Broadcom adapter if it is disabled.

General Statistics

Frames Tx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully transmitted. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK.

Frames Rx OK. A count of the frames that are successfully received. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, frame check sequence (FCS), length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Receive OK.

Directed Frames Tx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully transmitted.

Multicast Frames Tx. A count of frames that are successfully transmitted (as indicated by the status value Transmit OK) to a group destination address other than a broadcast address.

Broadcast Frames Tx. A count of frames that were successfully transmitted (as indicated by the transmit status Transmit OK) to the broadcast address. Frames transmitted to multicast addresses are not broadcast frames and therefore, are excluded.

Directed Frames Rx. A count of directed data frames that are successfully received.

Multicast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to an active nonbroadcast group address. This does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status.

Broadcast Frames Rx. A count of frames that are successfully received and are directed to a broadcast group address. This count does not include frames received with frame-too-long, FCS, length, or alignment errors, or frames lost due to internal MAC sublayer errors. This counter is incremented as indicated by the Receive OK status.

Frames Rx with CRC Error. The number of frames received with CRC errors.

IEEE 802.3 Statistics

Frames Rx with Alignment Error. A count of the frames that are not an integral number of octets in length and do not pass the FCS check. This counter is incremented when the receive status is reported as Alignment Error.

Frames Tx with one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in a single collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the result of a transmission is reported as Transmit OK, and the attempt value is 2.

Frames Tx with more than one Collision. A count of the frames that are involved in more than one collision and are subsequently transmitted successfully. This counter is incremented when the transmit status is reported as Transmit OK, and the value of the attempts variable is greater than 2 and less than or equal to the attempt limit.

Frames Tx after Deferral. A count of the frames that were delayed being transmitted on the first attempt because the medium was busy. The frames involved in any collision are not counted.

Custom Statistics

NOTE: Custom statistics are available only for an enabled Broadcom network adapter.

Frames size less than 64-byte with bad FCS. The number of frames with a size less than 64 bytes with bad FCS.

MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length = 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length equal to 0.

MAC Rx w/ Pause Command and Length > 0. MAC control frames with the pause command and a length greater than 0.

MAC Rx w/ no Pause Command. MAC control frames with no pause command.

MAC Sent X-on. MAC Transmit with X-on was on.

MAC Sent X-off. MAC Transmit with X-on was off.

Large Send Offload Transmit Requests. The number of times the adapter was requested to transmit a packet performing TCP segmentation.

BASP Statistics

From the BASP Statistics tab you can view performance information about the network adapters that are on a team. To view this information for any team member adapter, click the name of the adapter. To view the BASP statistics for the team as a whole, click the name of the team.

Configuring Teaming

The teaming function allows you to group any available network adapters together to function as a team. Teaming is a method of creating a virtual LAN (a group of multiple adapters that functions as a single adapter). The benefit of this approach is that it enables load balancing and failover. Teaming is done through the Broadcom Advanced Server Program software.

NOTES:

  • For further information regarding teaming protocols, see Teaming.
  • If you do not enable LiveLink™ when configuring teams, disabling Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) at the switch is recommended. This minimizes the downtime due to spanning tree loop determination when failing over. LiveLink mitigates such issues.
  • BASP is available only if your system has one or more Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet adapters installed.
  • The Large Send Offload (LSO) and Checksum Offload properties are automatically enabled for a team only if LSO and Checksum Offload are supported and configured on all members of a team.
  • You must have administrator privileges to create or modify a team.
  • The load balance algorithm in a team environment in which members are connected at different speeds favors members connected with a Gigabit Ethernet link over members connected at lower speed links (100 Mbps or 10 Mbps) until a threshold is met. This is normal behavior.

You can create 4 types of load balance teams:

Smart Load Balancing™ and Failover. In this type of team, a standby member handles the traffic if all of the load balance members fail (a failover event). All load balance members have to fail before the standby member takes over. When one or more of the load balance members is restored (fallback), the restored team member(s) resumes the handling of the traffic. The LiveLink feature is supported only for this type of team.

Link Aggregation (802.3ad). In this type of team, you can dynamically configure the network adapters that have been selected to participate in a given team. If the link partner is not correctly configured for IEEE 802.3ad link configuration, errors are detected and noted. All adapters in the team are configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. The outbound load balancing scheme is determined by the BASP driver. The link partner of the team determines the load balancing scheme for inbound packets. In this mode, at least one of the link partners must be in active mode.

Generic Trunking (FEC/GEC)/802.3ad-Draft Static. This type of team is very similar to the link aggregation type, in that all adapters in the team must be configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. This mode does not provide link aggregation control protocol (LACP) or marker protocol support. This mode supports a variety of environments where the link partners are statically configured to support a proprietary trunking mechanism. Trunking supports load balancing and failover for both outbound and inbound traffic.

SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable). This team is identical to Smart Load Balancing and Failover, with the following exception — when the standby member is active, if a primary member comes back on line, the team continues using the standby member rather than switching back to the primary member. This type of team is supported only for situations in which the network cable is disconnected and reconnected to the network adapter. It is not supported for situations in which the adapter is removed/installed through Device Manager or Hot-Plug PCI.

NOTE: If any of the adapters on an SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) type of team is disabled, this type of team cannot function as described. Instead, the team functions as a Smart Load Balancing and Failover type of team.

Creating a Team

NOTE: Enabling Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is not recommended for members of an SLB type of team.
  1. From the Tools menu, click Create a Team. The available adapters are listed (these adapters are not currently members of any team).

  2. Type a team name in the Enter a name you will use to identify this team box.
  3. Click the type of team, and then click Next.
  4. Assign any available adapter or adapters to the team by moving the adapter from the Available Adapters list to the Load Balance Members list. There must be at least one adapter in the Load Balance Members list.
  5. If desired, assign any other available adapter or adapters to the team by moving the adapter from the Available Adapters list to the Standby Member list.
NOTE: There must be at least one Broadcom network adapter assigned to the team.
  1. Click Apply.
  2. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

NOTES:

  • The number of characters that can be used in a team name is a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 39.
  • A team name cannot begin with spaces or contain the character "&."
  • Team names must be unique. If you attempt to use a team name more than once, an error message is displayed indicating that the name already exists.
  • The maximum number of team members is 8.
  • When team configuration has been correctly performed, a virtual team adapter driver is created for each configured team.
  • To view the configuration of the team, click Preview before clicking Apply. If you are satisfied with the configuration, click Configure. If you are not satisfied, either delete the team, or reconfigure it.
  • If you disable a virtual team and later want to reenable it, you must first disable and reenable all team members before you reenable the virtual team.
  • When you create Generic Trunking and Link Aggregation teams, you cannot designate a standby member. Standby members work only with Smart Load Balancing and Failover and SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) types of teams.
  • For an SLB (Auto-Fallback Disable) team, to restore traffic to the load balance members from the standby member, click the Fallback button on the Team Properties tab.
  • When configuring an SLB team, although connecting team members to a hub is supported, it is recommended to connect team members to a switch.
  • Not all network adapters made by others are supported or fully certified for teaming.
  1. Configure the team IP address.
    1. From Control Panel, double-click Network Connections.
    2. Right-click the name of the team to be configured, and then click Properties.
    3. On the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
    4. Configure the IP address and any other necessary TCP/IP configuration for the team, and then click OK when finished.

Modifying a Team

After you have created a team, you can modify the team in the following ways:

To modify a team

  1. Right-click the name of the team you want to modify, and then click Configure Team.
  2. Make the desired changes, and then click OK.
  3. Click Apply.
  4. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.

Adding a VLAN

You also can add virtual LANs (VLANs) to a team. This enables you to add multiple virtual adapters that are on different subnets. The benefit of this is that your system can have one network adapter that can belong to multiple subnets. With a VLAN, you can couple the functionality of load balancing for the load balance members, and you can employ a failover adapter.

You can define up to 64 VLANs per team (63 VLANs that are tagged and 1 VLAN that is not tagged). VLANs can only be created when all teams members are Broadcom adapters. If you try to create a VLAN with a non-Broadcom adapter, an error message is displayed.

To configure a team with a VLAN

  1. Click the name of the team you want to configure.
  2. From the Team Properties tab, click Add VLAN.
  3. Type the VLAN ID and VLAN name, and then click OK.
    NOTE: The Untagged VLAN check box is exclusively used by the VLAN ID field. To use VLAN ID 0, select this check box. If you type a VLAN name or ID and the name already exists, an input error message is displayed.
  4. When you are finished adding VLANs to this team, click OK. A new virtual adapter is created for each VLAN.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.
NOTE: To maintain optimum adapter performance, your system should have 64 MB of system memory for each of the 8 VLANs created per adapter.

Viewing VLAN Properties and Statistics and Running VLAN Tests

  1. Click the name of the VLAN adapter of interest.
  2. Click the Vital Sign tab to view the properties of the VLAN adapter.
  3. Click the BASP Statistics tab to view the statistics for the VLAN adapter.
  4. Click the Network Test tab to run a network test on the VLAN adapter.

Removing a VLAN

  1. From the Tools menu, click Configure a Team.
  2. If there is more than one team, click the name of the team that has the VLAN you want to remove, and then click OK.
  3. Click Remove VLAN.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.
NOTE: If you remove a team, do so only after you remove the individual virtual adapters that are a part of the team.

Configuring LiveLink for a Smart Load Balancing and Failover Team

Read the following notes before you attempt to configure LiveLink.

NOTES:

  • Before you begin configuring LiveLink™, review the description of LiveLink. Also verify that each probe target you plan to specify is available and working. If the IP address of the probe target changes for any reason, LiveLink must be reconfigured. If the MAC address of the probe target changes for any reason, you must restart the team (see Troubleshooting).
  • A probe target must be on the same subnet as the team, have a valid (not a broadcast, multicast, or unicast), statically-assigned IP address, and be highly available (always on).
  • To ensure network connectivity to the probe target, ping the probe target from the team.
  • You can specify up to 4 probe targets.

To configure LiveLink

  1. Right-click the name of the SLB team, and then click Configure LiveLink.
  2. Select the Enable LiveLink check box.
  3. It is recommended to accept the default values for Probe interval (the number of seconds between each retransmission of a link packet to the probe target) and Probe maximum retries (the number of consecutively missed responses from a probe target before a failover is triggered). To specify different values, click the desired probe interval in the Probe interval (seconds) list and click the desired maximum number of probe retries in the Probe maximum retries list.
  4. Click the probe target at the top of the list, click Edit Target IP Address, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

    NOTE: Only the first probe target is required. You can specify up to 3 additional probe targets to serve as backups by assigning IP addresses to the other probe targets.

  5. Click one of the listed team members, click Edit Member IP Address, type the member IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.
    NOTE: All of the member IP addresses must be in the same subnet as the subnet for the probe targets.
  6. Repeat step 6 for each of the other listed team members.
  7. Click OK.

To Configure LiveLink in VLAN-tagged environments

CAUTION: For the teams with VLANs (on which LiveLink is enabled): to be able to communicate with the probe target, both the probe target and the team must be on an untagged VLAN (VLAN ID 0). Otherwise, the team loses connectivity.
  1. Ensure that the team has an untagged VLAN (VLAN ID 0).
  2. Ensure there is network connectivity between the team and the probe target on the untagged VLAN.
  3. Right-click the name of the SLB team with VLAN(s).
  4. Select the Enable LiveLink check box.
  5. Click the desired probe interval (the number of seconds between each retransmission of the link packet to the probe target) in the Probe interval (seconds) list.
  6. Click the desired maximum number of probe retries in the Probe maximum retries list.
  7. Click the probe target at the top of the list, click Edit Target IP Address, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

    NOTE: It is not necessary to specify more than one probe target. If you do want to specify more than one, for each additional probe target (up to a total of 4), click the next probe target in the list, type the target IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.

  8. Click one of the listed team members, click Edit Member IP Address, type the member IP address in the IP Address box, and then click OK.
    NOTE: All of the member IP addresses must be in the same subnet as the subnet for the probe targets.
  9. Repeat step 8 for each of the other listed team members.
  10. Click OK.

Viewing the Team Properties and Statistics

  1. Click the name of the newly created team.
  2. Click the Statistics tab to view the team statistics.

Saving and Restoring a Configuration

To save a configuration

  1. From the File menu, click Team Save As.
  2. Type the path and file name of the new configuration file, and then click Save (a .bcg extension is added).

The configuration file is a text file that can be viewed by any text editor. The file contains information about both the adapter and the team configuration.

To restore a configuration

  1. From the File menu, click Team Restore.
  2. Click the name of the file to be restored, and then click Open.
  3. NOTE: If necessary, go to the folder where the file is located.

  4. Click Apply.
  5. Click Yes when the message is displayed indicating that the network connection will be temporarily interrupted.
  6. If a configuration is already loaded, a message is displayed that asks if you want to save your current configuration. Click Yes to save the current configuration. Otherwise, the configuration data that is currently loaded is lost.

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