Dell Broadcom NetXtreme Family of Adapters - Manual (Page 84)

Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet Teaming Services: Broadcom NetXtreme BCM57XX User Guide
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Layer 3 Routing/Switching
The switch that the teamed ports are connected to must not be a Layer 3 switch or router. The ports in the team must be in
the same network.
Teaming with Hubs (for troubleshooting purposes only)
Hub Usage in Teaming Network Configurations
SLB Teams
SLB Team Connected to a Single Hub
Generic and Dynamic Trunking (FEC/GEC/IEEE 802.3ad)
SLB teaming can be used with 10/100 hubs, but it is only recommended for troubleshooting purposes, such as connecting a
network analyzer in the event that switch port mirroring is not an option.
Hub Usage in Teaming Network Configurations
Although the use of hubs in network topologies is functional in some situations, it is important to consider the throughput
ramifications when doing so. Network hubs have a maximum of 100 Mbps half-duplex link speed, which severely degrades
performance in either a Gigabit or 100 Mbps switched-network configuration. Hub bandwidth is shared among all connected
devices; as a result, when more devices are connected to the hub, the bandwidth available to any single device connected to
the hub is reduced in direct proportion to the number of devices connected to the hub.
It is not recommended to connect team members to hubs; only switches should be used to connect to teamed ports. An SLB
team, however, can be connected directly to a hub for troubleshooting purposes. Other team types can result in a loss of
connectivity if specific failures occur and should not be used with hubs.
SLB Teams
SLB teams are the only teaming type not dependant on switch configuration. The server intermediate driver handles the load
balancing and fault tolerance mechanisms with no assistance from the switch. These elements of SLB make it the only team
type that maintains failover and fallback characteristics when team ports are connected directly to a hub.
SLB Team Connected to a Single Hub
SLB teams configured as shown in Figure97 maintain their fault tolerance properties. Either server connection could
potentially fail, and network functionality is maintained. Clients could be connected directly to the hub, and fault tolerance
would still be maintained; server performance, however, would be degraded.
Figure 6. Team Connected to a Single Hub