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Appendix D—Tuning Gigabit Ethernet Network Performance
June 2010 Spectra nTier700 Backup and Archive Appliance
69
Teaming NICs
NIC teaming (link aggregation) is a function of the Intel Pro NIC driver in
Windows Storage Server 2003 which lets you use multiple Ethernet ports
in parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one NIC. In
high-performance network environments you can aggregate the Gigabit
Ethernet ports in the nTier700 into a single logical network link for added
performance. If you have additional Gigabit Ethernet NICs installed, you
can also include them in the team.
Notes: You cannot team the optional 10 GigE NIC.
Refer to Spectra Logic Knowledge Base Article 456 for
additional technical information about determining whether
teaming is appropriate for your environment.
The additional configuration tabs for the NICs in the
Windows Device Manager on the nTier700 are only visible
through the console session on the nTier700 server. They are
not available through a standard Remote Desktop connection.
Use the following steps to team the Gigabit Ethernet ports in the nTier700
into a single logical network link.
1. From a Windows-based computer on the same network as the nTier700,
select Start > Run to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type mstsc /v:server /console, where server is the DNS name
or IP address of the nTier700.
3. Select OK to connect to the console session on the nTier700 server.
Note: You can only run one console session at a time. When you
connect to the console session remotely, other users may be
unable to log on to the nTier700 locally.
4. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel to open the Control Panel.
5. Select the Network Connections icon to open Network Connections
window.
6. In the Local Area Connections pane, double-click the Local Area
Connection you want to configure and select Properties to display the
Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.
7. On the General tab, select Configure to display the Intel driver
configuration dialog box.
8. On the Teaming tab, select Team with other adapters.
9. Select New Team and enter a name for the new team.
10. Select the NICs you want to include in the team.
You can choose the two standard GigE NICs included in the nTier700. If
you have any optional Gigabit Ethernet NICs installed, you can also
include them in the team.