Dell Broadcom NetXtreme Family of Adapters - Manual (Page 113)

Broadcom Teaming Services: Broadcom NetXtreme II® Network Adapter User Guide
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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
The following are the key attributes of Generic Static Trunking:
Failover mechanism – Link loss detection
Load Balancing Algorithm – Outbound traffic is balanced through Broadcom proprietary mechanism based L4 flows.
Inbound traffic is balanced according to a switch specific mechanism.
Outbound Load Balancing using MAC Address – No
Outbound Load Balancing using IP Address - Yes
Multivendor teaming – Supported (Must include at least one Broadcom Ethernet adapter as a team member)
Applications
Generic trunking works with switches that support Cisco Fast EtherChannel, Cisco Gigabit EtherChannel, Extreme Networks
Load Sharing and Bay Networks or IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation static mode. Since load balancing is implemented on Layer
2 addresses, all higher protocols such as IP, IPX, and NetBEUI are supported. Therefore, this is the recommended teaming
mode when the switch supports generic trunking modes over SLB.
Configuration Recommendations
Static trunking supports connecting the teamed ports to switches if they are on the same broadcast domain and support
generic trunking. It does not support connecting to a router or Layer 3 switches since the ports must be on the same subnet.
Dynamic Trunking (IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation)
This mode supports link aggregation through static and dynamic configuration via the Link Aggregation Control Protocol
(LACP). With this mode, all adapters in the team are configured to receive packets for the same MAC address. The MAC
address of the first adapter in the team is used and cannot be substituted for a different MAC address. The BASP driver
determines the load-balancing scheme for outbound packets, using Layer 4 protocols previously discussed, whereas the
team's link partner determines the load-balancing scheme for inbound packets. Because the load balancing is implemented on
Layer 2, all higher protocols such as IP, IPX, and NetBEUI are supported. The attached switch must support the 802.3ad Link
Aggregation standard for this mode of operation. The switch manages the inbound traffic to the adapter while the BASP
manages the outbound traffic. 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
The following are the key attributes of Dynamic Trunking:
Failover mechanism – Link loss detection
Load Balancing Algorithm – Outbound traffic is balanced through a Broadcom proprietary mechanism based on L4
flows. Inbound traffic is balanced according to a switch specific mechanism.
Outbound Load Balancing using MAC Address - No
Outbound Load Balancing using IP Address - Yes