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NetXtreme II User Guide
January 2010
Broadcom Corporation
Page 56 Frequently Asked Questions Document ENGSRVT52-CDUM100-R
Question: Can I connect the teamed adapters to a hub?
Answer: Teamed ports can be connected to a hub for troubleshooting purposes only. However, this practice is not
recommended for normal operation because the performance would be degraded due to hub limitations. Connect the
teamed ports to a switch instead.
Question: Can I connect the teamed adapters to ports in a router?
Answer: No. All ports in a team must be on the same network; in a router, however, each port is a separate network by
definition. All teaming modes require that the link partner be a Layer 2 switch.
Question: Can I use teaming with Microsoft Cluster Services?
Answer: Yes. Teaming is supported on the public network only, not on the private network used for the heartbeat link.
Question: Can PXE work over a virtual adapter (team)?
Answer: A PXE client operates in an environment before the operating system is loaded; as a result, virtual adapters have
not been enabled yet. If the physical adapter supports PXE, then it can be used as a PXE client, whether or not it is part of
a virtual adapter when the operating system loads. PXE servers may operate over a virtual adapter.
Question: Can WOL work over a virtual adapter (team)?
Answer: Wake-on-LAN functionality operates in an environment before the operating system is loaded. WOL occurs when
the system is off or in standby, so no team is configured.
Question: What is the maximum number of ports that can be teamed together?
Answer: Up to eight ports can be assigned to a team.
Question: What is the maximum number of teams that can be configured on the same server?
Answer: Up to eight teams can be configured on the same server.
Question: Why does my team loose connectivity for the first 30 to 50 seconds after the Primary adapter is restored
(fallback)?
Answer: Because Spanning Tree Protocol is bringing the port from blocking to forwarding. You must enable Port Fast or
Edge Port on the switch ports connected to the team or use LiveLink to account for the STP delay.
Question: Can I connect a team across multiple switches?
Answer: Smart Load Balancing can be used with multiple switches because each physical adapter in the system uses a
unique Ethernet MAC address. Link Aggregation and Generic Trunking cannot operate across switches because they
require all physical adapters to share the same Ethernet MAC address.
Question: How do I upgrade the intermediate driver (BASP)?
Answer: The intermediate driver cannot be upgraded through the Local Area Connection Properties. It must be upgraded
using the Setup installer.
Question: How can I determine the performance statistics on a virtual adapter (team)?
Answer: In Broadcom Advanced Control Suite 3, click the Statistics tab for the virtual adapter.
Question: Can I configure NLB and teaming concurrently?
Answer: Yes, but only when running NLB in a multicast mode (NLB is not supported with MS Cluster Services).
Question: Should both the backup server and client servers that are backed up be teamed?
Answer: Because the backup server is under the most data load, it should always be teamed for link aggregation and
failover. A fully redundant network, however, requires that both the switches and the backup clients be teamed for fault
tolerance and link aggregation.