Sun Microsystems Sun Fire V490 - Manual (Page 76)

48 Sun Fire V490 Server Administration Guide • August 2004
Two back panel ports with RJ-45 connectors provide access to the on-board Ethernet
interfaces. Each interface is configured with a unique media access control (MAC)
address. Each connector features two LEDs, as described in
TABLE 4-1 .
Additional Ethernet interfaces or connections to other network types are available
by installing the appropriate PCI interface cards. An additional network interface
card can serve as a redundant network interface for one of the system’s on-board
interfaces. If the active network interface becomes unavailable, the system can
automatically switch to the redundant interface to maintain availability. This
capability is known as automatic failover and must be configured at the Solaris OS
level. For additional details, see “About Redundant Network Interfaces” on page 48.
The Ethernet driver is installed automatically during the Solaris installation
procedure.
For instructions on configuring the system network interfaces, see:
■ “How to Configure the Primary Network Interface” on page 144
■ “How to Configure Additional Network Interfaces” on page 146
About Redundant Network Interfaces
You can configure your system with redundant network interfaces to provide a
highly available network connection. Such a configuration relies on special Solaris
software features to detect a failed or failing network interface and automatically
switch all network traffic over to the redundant interface. This capability is known
as automatic failover.
To set up redundant network interfaces, you can enable automatic failover between
the two similar interfaces using the IP Network Multipathing feature of the Solaris
OS. For additional details, see “About Multipathing Software” on page 64. You can
also install a pair of identical PCI network interface cards, or add a single card that
provides an interface identical to one of the two on-board Ethernet interfaces.
TABLE 4-1 Ethernet Port LEDs
Name Description
Activity This amber LED lights when data is either being transmitted or
received by the particular port.
Link Up This green LED lights when a link is established at the particular
port with its link partner.